Bonding service in North West Surrey/Berkshire/Hampshire?

Hi

We got a new male unneutered rabbit yesterday as a companion for our female neutered rabbit. We were thinking of doing the bonding ourselves but today has not gone smoothly! We are now wondering if we first get him neutered (which we were always planning on doing) and then using a bonding service. Hence the request if there are any services not too far away from us.

Any advice on what the best plan of action would be would be gratefully received as well. We always knew it would be stressful to bond and I think it's just that bit too stressful for me! They are in their own cages side by side and we then tried letting them get a bit nearer each other but the male just wanted to hump the female (we're not surprised at this) but the female becomes too aggressive for my liking and so we separated them again after only a few minutes. We had a previous male who constantly humped the female (he was neutered but couldn't seem to get enough of it!) and she just used to take it but she is not liking this male. Although she seems quite happy to get on with her own thing when they are in their cages side by side.

Thanks.

I wouldn't put them together again until the male has been neutered, just next to each other through bars. Even after neutering, it takes a couple of weeks for the hormones to die down. Humping is a sign of dominance as well, so it could be that they are struggling over who is boss.

Happy to help you start off a bond at home if you get your bunny neutered first and allow a few weeks post op for hormones to die down. I bond most weeks and have lots of experience. It would however depend on where you are and how far away from my rescue you are situated (I don't have lots of spare time so you'd need to be nearby).

If you need some advice, feel free to read my guide to bonding on my Facebook page (link in my signature) or you can e-mail me at therabbitcrossing@yahoo.co.uk and I can send you my info over.

Helen

Thanks for the replies.

Helen - We are in Frimley so we are close to you. I had heard of The Rabbit Crossing before as I was looking around for a new rabbit but seemed to have missed your facebook page so wasn't sure about any other details for you.

We may well get back to you when we are ready to move forward with the bonding. It'll be good to get someone with lots of experience available to help!

Abbie