Want a new bunny - advice needed !!

I already have a Bunny he's a year old unneutered male.
I would like another rabbit to keep him company.He's very friendly , he wants to play with my cats all the time -but they are scared of him - as he's a giant !! British giant breed.
I know he may not get on with another male due to my garden being his now!! Would i be able to put a female in with him ???
Obviously i would have to have her nuetered .Ive always had single bunnies in the past so any advice please.

Even if you get her spayed he may be a little "humptastic" with her, so best bet would be to get him neutered & get a spayed female.

If you pair an un-neutered male with another male, it's likely one of them may lose his bits.

new bunny

Hi,
I dont mind them having one litter.But would it be ok to put a female in the same hutch as a male ??I know two males will fight.
I think he could do with a "Friend" thats all.He's a really friendly gentle giant.

Re: new bunny

pixie said:

Hi,
I dont mind them having one litter.But would it be ok to put a female in the same hutch as a male ??I know two males will fight.
I think he could do with a "Friend" thats all.He's a really friendly gentle giant.

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Why would you want to breed them? when there are so many unwanted rabbits in rescues
Why not just get him neutered first then go around your local rescue,you cant put an un neutered male with an spayed female as he will pester her to the point she might castrated him for you!

Personally, I'd reccomend you get him neutered then take him to your local rescue, most of them do a dating service so he would have a choice of lovely buns, he'll soon find a wifely bun

Bunny

The last male rabbit i had Neutered died .I am very aprehensive about nuetering a male rabbit since this happened.It was probably a one off but still upsetting.
I have had females neutered and had no problems.

Re: new bunny

pixie said:

Hi,
I dont mind them having one litter.But would it be ok to put a female in the same hutch as a male ??I know two males will fight.
I think he could do with a "Friend" thats all.He's a really friendly gentle giant.

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What if they have 19 babies? You'd have to neuter/vaccinate/rehome/separate at 10 weeks - that's at least 3 hutches.Then more when the baby boys start to fight. Could be costly. Plus, where would you rehome the babies?

A rescue would also be unlikely to re-home to a person who wants to breed them. So you'd have to get from a Pet shop, free ads or a breeder. With Pet shops & free ad buns - you don't have their history/medical defects/etc - that they could pass on to babies (dental problems anyone?).

Better to Neuter/spay & not subject little bunny girl to a pregnancy - that a) she might not survive, or b) often buns kill their first litter.

Re: Bunny

pixie said:

The last male rabbit i had Neutered died .I am very aprehensive about nuetering a male rabbit since this happened.It was probably a one off but still upsetting.
I have had females neutered and had no problems.

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Female spay is more invasive & therefore a lot more "serious". Also, she may not even survive a pregnancy.
I got 6 neutered males - all fine

Re: Bunny

[quote
Female spay is more invasive & therefore a lot more "serious". Also, she may not even survive a pregnancy.
I got 6 neutered males - all fine

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[/quote]

Theoretically I suppose but out of all my rabbits i have had Neutered it was the only male that died through it.
Im wary of sending big merl for the chop!!

Does anyone have a Unneutered male with a Nuetered female ????

Hello Pixie :wave:

So sorry that you lost a boy bun after neutering
The female spay is actually a much bigger op' so maybe your wee lad had an undetected problem that made him a high risk for a GA.
It would be lovely to find a friend for your Bun
Maybe you could book an appointment with your Vet to talk about your concerns re getting him neutered. Your Vet could give your Bun a thorough MOT and explain the op' to you. It might put your mind at rest a bit. I know we all worry when our Buns have to have a GA though :roll:
Then if your lad is neutered you could take him on a speed dating trip to your local rescue :lol: He can meet a few girls and see if he pulls :wink:
The girls are likely to be spayed so you wont have the worry about girlie having an op'
Baby Buns are absolutely GORGEOUS. But there are just so many bunnies who, through no fault of their own, find themselves in rescues. They are likely to have been purchased as cute little babies but once they become adult people, sadly and inexplicably, lose interest
If you wanted to experience caring for a Mum and litter of Kits why not contact you local rescue and see if they need any Foster Carers. Often people hand over already pregnant Does to rescues so it would really help them and the Buns if you could look after Mum as she raises her Kits and then the Rescue can go about re-homing all the babies.
Just a few suggestions and whatever you decide hope you will find RU a useful source of info'

Janex

bunny

Hi,
Just had some advice.
Apparently you can bond a Unneutered male with a Spayed female .
Also whether the male is Neutered or not it will not stop him from mating.
Mating for Bunnies is an act of nature.Spaying/ Neutering only stops unwanted pregnancies.

Hiya - sorry but I do disagree with the advice you have been given, as I suspect will most rescues who have experience of hundreds or thousands of rabbits. What source did this advice come from (no need to name specifics, I'm just interested to know what their experience is)

Neutered buns will hump OCCASIONALLY to assert dominance NOT as an 'act of mating' - I see mine hump maybe once a month if that (and it's the female mounting the male as often as not), whereas unneutered ones are obviously hormonal and will try and hump pretty much constantly - and I do mean pretty much constantly.

I am 100% in favour of keeping rabbits with other rabbits for company, so I really don't take it lightly when I say it's really not fair to put an unneutered male with a neutered female. There is an extremely high likelihood that the female will get very stressed by this behaviour (which in itself will lead to an unhappy rabbit and possibly fights), and also because in his excitement he is likely to hump her head as well as the 'right' end and he could therefore end up with an extremely painful and nasty wound on his 'bits'. The risk of either of these things is FAR higher than the anaesthetic risk for neutering.

People aren't suggesting that he is neutered just for fun, but because it's important for the health and happiness of the pairing. I totally understand your reluctance to neuter your male given that you have had an anaesthetic death before (even though the advice you have been here given is right - a spay is MUCH riskier), but I'm sorry to say that putting him as he is with a neutered female is almost certainly a recipe for disaster.

Re: bunny

pixie said:

Hi,
Just had some advice.
Apparently you can bond a Unneutered male with a Spayed female .
Also whether the male is Neutered or not it will not stop him from mating.
Mating for Bunnies is an act of nature.Spaying/ Neutering only stops unwanted pregnancies.

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Im sorry but i fully disagree with that advice
neutering has stopped both my males humping Alfie has never done it since his neuter
Ask jill what alfie was like i introduced him to truffle before he was neutered he never stopped humping so they were spilt up alfie was neutered and they were kept apart for another 3 weeks
it would be cruel to keep a un neutered male with a spayed female as she would never be left alone.

Re: Bunny

pixie said:

Does anyone have a Unneutered male with a Nuetered female ????

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I do but I don't recommend it.

My Blue has had Coccidiosis, together with the vet we have decided that we aren't neutering him as he has a slightly enlarged heart, I don't feel confident that he'd survive the neutering.

Blue is very dopey, and doesn't pester his girl very much but occasionally he really goes for it and I have to seperate them for a couple of hours

pixie said:

Just had some advice.
Apparently you can bond a Unneutered male with a Spayed female .
Also whether the male is Neutered or not it will not stop him from mating.
Mating for Bunnies is an act of nature.Spaying/ Neutering only stops unwanted pregnancies.

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Yes it can be done but often you end up with two seperate rabbits through the male pestering the female for sex basically

The urge does die down but will never go away, usually its more of a dominance thing rather than 'mating'

I think saying she'll have 19 babies (my giant was one of 16 and that's a big litter for a giant) is over the top, plus she wouldn't vaccinate or neuter them as she'd be too young.
If you genuinely want to breed rabbits, don't do it with two random crossbreeds, you won't find homes for them. If you are serious, do your research and only breed pure bred buns. I'm not saying you should go into breeding, but if you choose to, then research it carefully.

bunny

raven_guest said:

I think saying she'll have 19 babies (my giant was one of 16 and that's a big litter for a giant) is over the top, plus she wouldn't vaccinate or neuter them as she'd be too young.
If you genuinely want to breed rabbits, don't do it with two random crossbreeds, you won't find homes for them. If you are serious, do your research and only breed pure bred buns. I'm not saying you should go into breeding, but if you choose to, then research it carefully.

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I dont want to Breed rabbits
I obviously cannot put another male in with him neutered or not.

Re: bunny

pixie said:

I dont want to Breed rabbits

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Er, this is what letting them have a litter is.... :?

.

my girl is a giant and am getting her donei would love to breed from her bt its true there are so many unwanted rabbits.and am going to find her a friend male bt he will be done and i plan on giving a home to one that needs bt its ur choice wot will be best fo u and big mer.!!

Re: bunny

Beany said:

pixie said:

I dont want to Breed rabbits

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Er, this is what letting them have a litter is.... :?

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Dont be sarcastic ! I posted for advice not sarcasm !

Re: bunny

pixie said:

Beany said:

pixie said:

I dont want to Breed rabbits

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Er, this is what letting them have a litter is.... :?

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Dont be sarcastic ! I posted for advice not sarcasm !

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I think she's just confused as to what you intend to do. You did mention earlier that you may breed from them, then you said you didn't want to. I don't think sarcasm was intended (due to the "confused" face at the end), I think she's just getting mixed messages and wants some clarification.

Sometimes on the internet things come out the wrong way!

AMETHYST