• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Bunny bonding males

HI, I hava a little 16 week old dwalf lop alfie who is absolutley adorable, hes a house bunny but in a few weeks will be moving outside to a nice bug hutch when i move house.he is obviously not neutered yet and i wanted to get hima friend asap so they will be bonded to ive together when i move and while i have space in my house to give them seperate houses and space to bond,i just took in a new 10 week old unneutered dwalf lop called bobby and have tried bonding them, despite alfie bein absolutley crazy about bobby mitherin him to death he is constantly mounting him, bobby seems to be very docile and isnt too bothered about this,i introduced them for the second time tonight and despite a lot of mounting they snuggled up together and lay relaxed stretched out on thier side only inches from each other, no fighting at all.However reading up im worried about them not getting along now, i would have got a female but needed a friend asap and obviosy didnt want babies so thought i would try bondin the two young ones then get them neutered in a few months, im very relieved they seem to be ok with each other, alfie seems besotted.Can it work seen as one seems dominant the other very laid back and after only a day they are cuddling??? help i need some answers!! thanks!
 
HI, I hava a little 16 week old dwalf lop alfie who is absolutley adorable, hes a house bunny but in a few weeks will be moving outside to a nice bug hutch when i move house.he is obviously not neutered yet and i wanted to get hima friend asap so they will be bonded to ive together when i move and while i have space in my house to give them seperate houses and space to bond,i just took in a new 10 week old unneutered dwalf lop called bobby and have tried bonding them, despite alfie bein absolutley crazy about bobby mitherin him to death he is constantly mounting him, bobby seems to be very docile and isnt too bothered about this,i introduced them for the second time tonight and despite a lot of mounting they snuggled up together and lay relaxed stretched out on thier side only inches from each other, no fighting at all.However reading up im worried about them not getting along now, i would have got a female but needed a friend asap and obviosy didnt want babies so thought i would try bondin the two young ones then get them neutered in a few months, im very relieved they seem to be ok with each other, alfie seems besotted.Can it work seen as one seems dominant the other very laid back and after only a day they are cuddling??? help i need some answers!! thanks!

Hi
:wave:

Sounds to me like they are getting along great. Just be sure to check that they are both actually girls!!!!

Mounting will continue whist dominance is being asserted. keep an eye on the baby bun to check that it isn't all becoming too stressful for him and make sure he is still eating etc. You do need to neuter the older bun now though before he does become too hormonal, then you will need to neuter bobby as soon as his testicles descend. I find it helps to neuter them early before any behavioural issues arise.
 
If there is to be any chance of this bonding to work, the older rabbit needs to be neutered ASAP. He is not too young as ARC gets all their male rabbits neutered as soon as they are mature which can be from about 12 weeks upwards. If they seem ok at the moment I would leave them together provided that the elder one is neutered very soon, as soon as the younger one develops testicles he should also be neutered.

It is impossible to say if this bonding will work, there is only one way to find out. Ideally a neutered male / neutered female bonding is best, however this is possible if they are both neutered young. If they are not done young the chance of success is minimal.
 
If they are both boys (here's hoping :D) make sure you take them TOGETHER when they are neutered, even if just one is being done at a time. The bond between unrelated boys isn't very strong compared to a male/female couple, so you need to always keep them together, unless they start fighting badly of course (a bit of mounting, chasing and nipped bums being just normal)
 
Back
Top