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Vet Check Up/Bonding

kgattrell

Alpha Buck
Ellie & Fudge had their check up this week and they both passed with flying colours. They did have a slight reaction from the cylap vaccination, so thank god I took Jack's Jane advice and didn't go with the other type as it could have been a lot worse.

Fudge's teeth are perfect :D which is a huge relief of my mind, I'm so thankfull it wasn't hereditry. We are still going to keep checking them though just to be on the safe side.

They are both booked in for their operations on the 24th November when Ellie will be six months and Fudge five months. At the moment theyare happy to sit and lie side by side but the vet said that when they have the operation. Fudge will smell different.

Does that mean I have to start the bonding all over again?
How long after the operation can Ellie still get pregnant?
How soon can I start introducing them, as they are living side by side can I just take the divide out or do I need to try and find a neutral area.

Any advice on how to do this will be gratefully received, as I don't have a lot of expereince. Yoshi & Bisky was so easy I just let Bisky out and that was that but looking back Yoshi was ill at the time...

Please help....I'm scared :lol::lol:
 
If they recover next to each other then they should still recognise each other. They will both smell different though.

If Ellie is to be spayed then she won't be able to get pregnant after because they remove the uterus and ovaries. However, she will need a while to recover because it's a huge operation, and she also shouldn't be mounted for a while after, so if he is a very hormonal boy then you may need to keep bonding between the bars until at least 4 weeks after the operation (others may differ on the time, that's just what I do with a hormonal acting boy).

I would suggest trying a completely neutral area because its better to be safe than sorry. Given they are next to each other they understand compeltely where their boundaries and territory end. I have some who can be friends this way, and lie together through bars, but can't tolerate actually sharing territory with the bun. Far safer to go with neutral territory.
 
He's not hormonal at all, not that I have noticed anyway. Can they be a late developer if so does it affect the operation.

Once they have met on neutral ground and say they don't fight, do I put them back in their own sections or take the divide down and let them share the complete run?
 
Has he got his testicles? If he has then the operation can be done :) If he hasn't then either they will not descend or he is a late developer.

As for bonding, there are two main ways to bond, one involving dates, where you put them together and separate them after X amount of time (depending on the bunnies involved), and they then go back into their areas. This can work well for some bunnies (worked brilliantly for my anxious bunny), but can work badly for others (have seen stomach upsets due to the stress of it).

The other way is to put them together and not separate them and keep them supervised closely for at least 48 hours. Again, this can work well for some buns and not for others.

Some buns don't mind which way its done for them.

I would suggest searching bonding on the forum and reading as much as you can about what people have suggested.

Whatever way you do it though you will need to neutralise where they will live, so that they don't get territorial there. That means it needs to be scrubbed down with a distilled vinegar solution, to remove all the smells.
 
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