Surgery recovery, bonding, neutral territory help needed

Hi guys,

I have plenty of questions..hoping to get answers as researching the internet for answers is tiring and gives a lot of contradicting information!

I have a 7 month old boy (Hiro) and he was neutered almost 3 weeks ago. Last week, we picked up a 6 month old girl (Luna) and the breeder had her spayed for me, so she was spayed a week and a half ago. Hiro lives outdoors and he gets about 6 hours a day indoors and gets to run around freely. Luna is staying indoors in a playpen until she fully recovers,. 2 questions - how long should I wait to put them both together and start introducing them? Also, is it ok to have her in his 'terrority' for the introductions so they get used to each other's smell?

They have had a couple of sniffs at each other through the bars but I have to watch thm because they have given each other a few nips and it worried me that they were fighting so I keep pushing Hiro out the way. Is this because they are not on neutral territory, but in his territory?

I have ordered another playpen for Hiro and plan to put them in our summer house, where neither of them have been, and this way they can get used to each other on neutral territory. How long should this initial phase go on for until I can start introducing them together without bars separating them? Also, once they are ready for this, is it ok to just open the play pens so they can roam around and be around each other? Or do I put them in one of the playpen a together and c how it goes? Ideally I would like to keep them in our conservatory and not put them in the summerhouse but if there is no way of it becoming neutral (as Hiro has always been allowed to roam free there) then they will have to go there.

A lot of questions I know..there's too much information out there and it's really confusing! Any help would be greatly appreciated guys!

Thanks in advance
Jasmine xz

Hormones are still quite evident for a few weeks after being spayed so I would keep them separate a little while longer.

What I did with mine was swap them over for a while so that they can get used to each others smell.
It can be a difficult process but each bun is different.

Neutral ground would be best when introducing them properly as territory can be the major cause for fighting. If they were to fight sometimes a little squirt of water can separate them.
Keep up the through the bars contact so they can get used to each other and when they start showing not much interest then I think thats a good time to put them together.

I have only done what worked for my buns so I am by no means an expert . So see what others say.

Hi Jasmine

I would keep them totally separate (not even introductions through bars) until both their hormones have settled down, so at least 6 weeks. I had to keep Belle in the downstairs bathroom whilst she was recovering and Bailey remained in his room.

When you are ready to bond it is hugely important that this is on neutral territory-have you a room either bun hasn't been? (I used a spare room upstairs for mine).

You then have two choices - the fast track method or dating. I chose the fast track method (hopefully someone else can advise on the dating method)and felt this worked really well. So basically I supervised the two of them constantly (no breaks, so I slept in the room with them etc.)) until I felt they were bonded (so grooming, snuggling, no aggressive behaviour). This only took a few days (I took some time off work). I then moved them into their permanent living room (this was Baileys so I thoroughly disinfected and neutralised everything and moved it about a bit and bought some new toys and stuff so it felt new for them and reduced the likelihood of bailey being territorial over it). This is actually the conservatory. So I see no reason why you can't have Hiro and Luna in there together once they are ready as long as its neutralised and they are firmly bonded you should have no issues.

In terms of the play pens, I'd set up one in your bonding room then as you progress in the bonding increase the size of the space.

Hope that helps a little

xxx


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Thanks for the replies.

It seems there are different ways to bond rabbits and some may work for some but not others. Wow Emma, that was real commitment! I won't be able to take time off work to get them bonded quickly unfortunately. The new playpen arrived today! So tonight, they will both be moved into the neutral room where they will be bonded in.

Once fully bonded, they will go in the new big hutch which I have yet to unpack so this neutral living space should be perfect for them. Obviously I would bring them in for about 6 hours a day to have free reign of the house. Would I need to completely neutralise the room beforehand so no territorial behaviour comes back? If so, how do I do this? Especially on carpets??

Also last night after I posted on the forum, I saw Hiro lie down next to Luna in her playpen, see my avatar for the photo. This is a good sign right?! Despite the occasional nips they seem to have had, they do sniff and touch noses

x

Haha-I just felt it would be the least stressful for me and would get them bonded quicker

Don't put them together tonight! It's not been long enough from their operations for their hormones to die down so they are likely to show more aggression, especially Luna (I think girls are meant to be worse than boys).


I'm not 100% as I didn't date bailey and belle, but if you're not doing the fast track method the neutral room is solely for the 'dates', don't make that their living space whilst you are 'dating' them(not sure if thats what you meant by moving them to the neutral room) Hopefully someone who has experience of the dating method can confirm this

Im not sure about carpet I'm afraid, all of our downstairs rooms (bar one which they aren't allowed in.haha.) are wood. If they have a strong bond before you bring them in (maybe leave them in their new space for a while) then you should be okay. There's no harm in doing hard surfaces though.

xxx


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Oh i see, neutral room is only for when I start the bonding process. I did plan to move them both into that neutral space to get used to each other that way..in that case, I just have to leave them as they are - with Hiro roaming free in the conservatory and Luna in the playpen in the same room until she has recovered and they get used to each other?

It's difficult because my mum is not a huge animal lover and so I am restricted to certain rooms. I can't keep them in separate rooms as you did with yours because I have no other options! I want to keep the summerhouse rabbit free for the bonding on neutral space.

x