Re-introducing un-neutered female to neutered male rescue

My bunny called Truffle has got his girlfriend back since he was neutered. They are both rescue bunnies that I am fostering and were kept in nasty conditions without much positive human contact. The female had two babies that have now been rehomed and didn't have any more so I am trying them back together.

I introduced them again after being separated for about 8 weeks - first he mounted her and she tolerated it and then she started mounting him which he did not like. They ended up going round and round each other and Truffle started to get really fed up (I was worried he might attack her) so I separated them again. There was a bit of hair pulling but no outright biting. I tried them again later in a different location. Truffle tried to groom her head and put his head down to be groomed but she did not want to be groomed or vice versa. Also whenever she ran over to Truffle he thumped his feet and ran away so he ended up being chased.

I must admit I hoped there wouldn't be any problems as they were previously together.

The female isn't neutered at the moment and I will have to get her done but need to get the funding first from the animal rescue.

Should I carry on putting them in together or wait until she is done as she seems quite pushy- and Truffle is a nervous rabbit

Any other suggestions or does so far seem okay - I haven't bonded bunnies for years!!!

Thank you

I think the main thing to remember is to put them together in a space as far away as possible from where the female has been so she doesn't consider it to be hers. The other consideration is as she has only just weaned her babies her hormones will possibly be influencing her behaviour and instead of wanting to get along nicely with him she is wanting more babies. Perhaps the best thing would be to wait a bit longer for her to settle down before trying to get them back together.

If you do decide to try to bond them, once together keep them together unless of course they fight. Good luck.

Thank you tonibun, that really makes sense. How long should I leave it before trying again and once I put them in together if they don't fight initially, how long should I be watching them closely before leaving them on there own - for example overnight? If they don't fight at first could they start fighting when they are completely left alone?

If you try again now you will need to keep a careful eye on them for the first day and by evening you will have a good idea how they are getting along. Try not to separate them the first night even if it means camping out near them (I have to admit I have never done this as if I am not really sure of them I separate and start afresh the next day.) After 3 days of no fighting they should be settling down nicely and hopefully you should be on the way to having 2 happy bunnies. If you feel her hormones are still influencing her behaviour detrimentally to the bond then it would be best to wait until after she is neutered. But always keep a neutral space ready for when you need it.

Could you keep them in pens or hutches that are very near each other so they get used to seeing each daily, but without physical contact, until the female has had her spay? I would just be worried that if they keep meeting and she is feeling hormonal and decides she doesn't like him then it might influence her opinion of him even after the spay, whereas once her hormones have died down they could meet with both feeling fairly neutral towards one another.
Mine played in adjoining pens for about 2 months before we were ready to bond which I think probably helped with the bond a bit.
I would suggest sleeping next to the bonding area just in case anything happens during the first night they are together. If you could put them together fairly early in the morning and watch them all day then hopefully by the evening they will have calmed down - mine had fights for the first hour but by about 6 hours later they were snuggling up together.
I'm definitely not a bonding expert but I do think that keeping them separate (but able to see each other) until she is well recovered from her spay is a good idea.
I'd probably listen to tonibun - I've only just finished bonding my two, mainly using advice from tonibun!