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Neutering/Bonding Question (sorry for all the threads tonight)

SisterMoonbeam

Mama Doe
Well.... I am about to embark on something i haven't done before - bonding!

Now, i have had fidget since she was 8 weeks and have just got a neutered 1 year old mini rex buck for her companion. She is an indoor bun at the mo and he is living outdoors in their (hopefully) future home.

Fidget is not yet neutered, she is only 5/5.5 months still and my vet refused to neuter her until she was 6 months. She is planned to be done in June so i can do it back home in Manchester so she has the shed to recover. (away at uni at present)

Anyway, would it be better to leave the bonding until she is neutered? She is a VERY laid back bunny as is Frankie so my plan was to see how they got on and if she was really intolerant of him then wait and try again after she has been neutered.
 
It makes no difference. If the character of a bun is laid back, all you need is to take them to a neutral territory, like your backyard, and let them hop around on their own.

You put 1 bun in 1 corner, then the other bun in a different corner. You then watch them hop around. If they fight, and the fighting is not serious, then let them do some fighting for no more than 20 min., then separate them and ends that day. Do the above tomorrow.

If the fighting is serious, then you have to separate them right away. And wait 1 weeks before re-introduce them.

When I bond Monty w/ Minnie, the whole thing took 20 min., eventhough Minnie is very dominant and territorial, and I didn't even bother w/ the neutral ground rule, I took Monty to Minnie's area (the dinning room). I put Monty on the sofa, and Minnie try to get to know Monty thru the table gap that separate the sofa, and in 20 min., they become 2 goofy little bunny friends.

But after Monty passed away, I got Bernie from SPCA. It took 9 mth. to bond, there were so much fighting, it's not even funny
 
If your male has been neutered for at least 5 weeks then it is ok to bond them. If it is less than 5 weeks I would leave it until he is at least that time post castrate.

What appears to be the character of the bun often does not work out the same when they are bonded. It is easier to bond a dominant and a non dominant bun together, unfortunately until they are put together you cannot tell what is what. I

I have bonded some bunnies twice or even more times whom did not get along with their prospective partners on the first attempt. Another time they were bonded they may have changed from dominant to submissive or vice versa. The only way of finding out is to try and see ....

If you are going to bond it is less stressful to bond them in one go, have 48 hours free where you have no committments and you can start and get on with it. Use a confined, neutral space.
 
Thanks. He was only neutered a few days ago so it will be a few weeks before any attempt is made.

Should the bonding be a success, when Fidget is neutered will she need to be separated from him for any length of time and will it cause problems?

Thanks :)
 
Thanks. He was only neutered a few days ago so it will be a few weeks before any attempt is made.

Should the bonding be a success, when Fidget is neutered will she need to be separated from him for any length of time and will it cause problems?

Thanks :)

ARC always recommend not separating bunnies who are going for any surgery, If I owned your buns they would both go to the vets when Fidget is neutered, our vet would put the male back in with the female immediatly after Fidget has started waking up. I would collect them and leave them together.

The only reason I would separate them is if the male started persistently mounting Fidget. To date I have never had to do this.
 
ARC always recommend not separating bunnies who are going for any surgery, If I owned your buns they would both go to the vets when Fidget is neutered, our vet would put the male back in with the female immediatly after Fidget has started waking up. I would collect them and leave them together.

The only reason I would separate them is if the male started persistently mounting Fidget. To date I have never had to do this.

Thanks for your help :D

Do you think it would help the process if they were introduced to each others scents or will this aggravate them. Fidget has a run with all her toys in in my bedroom and i was thinking of putting Frankie in for a while

EDIT: Not in with her just in her run while she is out of it
 
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