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Now Neutered - not happy bunnies :(

gillmanning

Alpha Buck
I bought 2 boy bunnies three weeks ago. Since then the vet told me I had 1 boy and 1 girl, so yesterday I had the boy (Zola)neutered as he was continually pursuing Dennis (named when we thought he was a boy). They are 14 weeks old. I put Zola back in with Dennis when we got home and Dennis has become a demon bunnie trying to mount Zola and they keep circling, sniffing each others bottoms. It was getting a bit aggressive so I separated them. I kept Zola in a different cage last night and tried to put them back together this morning. They continued where they left of last night so I've separated them again. Dennis seems quite stressed and hasn't eaten his grass which he usually loves. I'm thinking now that Dennis may actually be a boy. Should I keep trying to put them together? Is this activity just them trying to bond? Any advice would be very welcome. Dennis is also thumping his feet as if he is angry. They were such loving animals before this happens and I would love them to be happy together again. Thanks. Gill
 
If Dennis is a girl, your other male bun should be kept separate from her for 6 weeks after hi neuter as he's still fertile for a while after the op. If Dennis is in fact a boy (though really a vet should be able to reliably tell) then i'd have thought he would need neutering too before they can bond back together.
If your unsure of whether your vet sexed them correctly perhaps you need to change to a more rabbit savvy vet, if you post where you are someone here could most likely give you a heads up to a good practice.
Either way, bonding must be carried out in an entirely neutral area where neither bun has been before. (alot of people use the bathroom) Sometimes bonding can take from a day to a few weeks to get them really settled. When they are returned to where they usually live it and evryhting in it should be cleaned to remove any possible smell of either of them else it could provoke fighting again.
Have said that, mounting and fur pulling are normal behaviours in sorting out whose boss. But as there is some doubt as to whether Dennis is a girl or a boy I would keep them separate until that is cleared up And also if Dennis is a girl keep them separate til 6 weeks after the other little lads neuter.
Hope that helps you. Good luck x x x

ETA: there's alot of threads on bonding on the forums, if you do a search for them and have a read through that should give you more idea of the whole process and preparation, normal behaviours etc. x
 
rabbits are very hard to sex - a lot of vets get it wrong, and since yours forgot to tell you that a male rabbit is STILL FERTILE for up to 6 weeks after being neutered, it's possible he got this wrong too - and it's also possible that if he's right about the sexing, you have a very young, pregnant female rabbit - Really you need to find some help sexing these 2 ASAP, from a bunny expert - do you know anyone who breeds them, or are there any rescues nearby that could help you?

As for bonding, the rules are, never split them up when one goes to the vets - take them both as the one that's back from the vets will smell odd and be rejected.

Also females are more territorial - if Dennis is a female (shall we call her Denise?) she will have been quite annoyed at having a funny smelling rabbit put in her accomodation.

If they have lost their close bond then you mustn't put them together in their normal accomodation - it needs to go back to being a neutral area - put them in a carrier together, carry them around, put them in your bathroom or somewhere new to them, supervise them to make sure normal scuffling and chasing/nipping doesn't get dangerous, and leave them to bond there for a couple of days and nights, within earshot (some people camp out on the floor during this)

But the main thing is to sex these 2 properly, as Zola is still fertile, and Dennis could be pregnant or about to become so if you get it wrong.
 
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