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Bonding an unspayed female?

sillyrabbit

Wise Old Thumper
Pretty please :lol:

Im about to try it properly with Beau and Buu and I am terrified :shock: :oops: I am getting myself into a right state Im so scared!! :oops: I was pretty calm with Trip and Scarlett but now I have seen Buu and Beau fight I have convinced myself they hate each other :oops:

I am disinfecting the run, bringing them into the house again for a little while, then I will take them for a short drive to the vets because I need to get some advantage (neighbours cat has fleas again and is going close to the hutches :roll: ) Then I will be putting them in the run outside.

So please if you all have any spare vibes send them to me :D to help get my bunnies back to being in :love:

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Also this is Beau's first time in the garden on grass :love: Well in a long time anyway :D
 
Hi, sending "loved up bunnies" bonding vibes. When mine were bonding it scared me senseless. I was convinced it was going to fail and they would really hurt each other. They had a couple of major "fights" but someone very sensible told me look at it from a rabbit view point not a hooman one. Its what rabbits do, as long as there's no blood or serious injury. Have a water squirter or soft broom ready to discourage any fighting. You do need to give it time and have nerves of steel. But I'm sure you already know all this :D I'm a fine one to talk!!! And it can be two steps forward, three steps back. But mine are truly loved up bunnies now :love: :love: Sending lots of Good Luck.
 
Hi there, I am sorry that your bunnies are squabbling. Are they neutered and spayed, as I couldn't see this in your old threads?
 
Are they neutered and spayed, as I couldn't see this in your old threads?

Beau is neutered. Buu hasnt been spayed yet as the vet wants to wait until she is bonded before the operation and see if that calms her down. She gets very frightened and has hurt herself at the vets before. Its strange because at home she is so confident. He said he has never seen a bunny so frightened before and wasnt comfortable going ahead yet. I have had the same from three vets :( Obviously I really want to get her done and really want her to settle down with a boy bun to see if it helps.
 
Hi Becky. Why does he think that bonding will help calm her down? Her hormones will kick in whether or not she's with another bun and she'll probably pester him! Surely it's more usual to spay first if possible and then try to bond a (hopefully) calmer, less hormonal bunny? What do others think?
 
Hi Capel. He isnt hoping it will calm her hormones, he is hoping she will be a bit more relaxed if she has a partner there with her to cuddle up to, he is worried about the state she gets herself into at the vets and thinks it would be too risky to put her under anasthetic. The vet we first saw when she was 6 months said he didnt think it was a good idea either to put her under anasthetic, I saw a different vet to get another opinion and he said the same that it would be so risky for her :(

She is 2 and a half so her hormones kicked in long ago, I havent had any problems with aggression or her being territorial or anything and she wasnt too bad when she went through the teenage stage. She is lovely and confident at home with me but is terrified of people she doesnt know, me and my mum are the only people she will let touch her though.

I think I started a thread about it when I was given the advice asking if anyone else had a very scared and nervous bunny that the vet wasnt confident with going under anasthetic but nodody did.

I do trust the vet as I have seen her when she is put in the carrier, it terrifies me :shock: Its not just stamping her feet like my others and hiding at the back of the box, she shakes like mad and just goes completely nuts. Also the same vet had no problem spaying my other girl, he said it didnt matter if she was bonded with Trip or not.

I guess I could take her to a different vet pracitce and see another vet, see what they think :?:
 
I am not sure how difficult it will be to bond a neutered bunny with an unspayed female, if they have started squabbling. I can see why your vet hoped she would have bonded before her operation. Personally, I would not persevere with the bonding if they are fighting and she is unspayed. Hopefully someone with bonding experience will come on this evening for you and give you advice.

Am I right in thinking that the pair were bonded and it has now broken down?

When you say they have started fighting? What did they actually do?

PS You might want to edit your thread title to say bonding of neutered bunny with unspayed female to get some advice. Good luck
 
When I took Pippa to the vets for the first time she was absolutely terrified, she shook and shook and the vet had to get her into a trance position to look at her and commented on how scared and difficult she was (made me feel a bit stupid for taking her on actually). I still spayed her though as at the end of the day as soon as the anasthetic goes in they will relax surely :? And when I picked her up she was still so sleepy she wasn't panicking at all when she was picked up.

There is no way she would have bonded prior to her spay either.
 
Hi Becky. I hadn't realised her history, so thanks for filling me in. I think kayjay's made some good points, esp the fact that once she's "under" she'll be fine. All the best and I hope you get some more opinions and help with the decision of when to spay.
 
Thanks Raine, dont worry I wont try and force it at all :D

It was kind of an accidental bonding last Sunday

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=40952
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=41017

They were just laying down, then they started putting their heads down then the other would, to be groomed. Then they were running around the room fighting. I stopped it because it looked like it was getting bad and then tried them back together and they were nipping at each other loads and stamping their feet.

Today they are back in the house, they were going for it quite bad in the run. Inside there has been grooming then a little chasing and they are both flopping and binkying. Oh now they are snuggling together :? Do many bunnys fall out and then make up?

Even though she doesnt seem too hormonal and its not causing any problems I really do want her spayed for the other health reasons.
 
I still spayed her though as at the end of the day as soon as the anasthetic goes in they will relax surely

Thats what I thought but the vet said he really wasnt comfortable at all with it. He got me to bring her in to see if she would relax after a little while but she just got worse and ended up hurting herself from all the jumping about, and my mum had to go and get her after a few hours :(

Its ok Capel, I should have really put all that in the thread anyway :D

I will definetly take her to another practice and get another opinion now though :D
 
OMG i know the feeling. Sorry to jump into this post, but i don't want to start another bonding thread. Picked up a lovely male rabbit today, the first session at the rescue was great, lots of humping but all friendly. He was a bit nervous when we got back home, still ok though, they cuddled up to each other, 'kissed' and all that.....and then started fighting an hour later.... I couldn't tell which one was the culprit and still can't as have seen them trying to bite each other in turn.

They sat sulking for a bit, in different rooms, now I have taken the new lad to the hutch , where he is looking rather relieved to be honest. Norah is in a huff :(

I know it's only day one and patience is required, but feeling somewhat discouraged. I was hoping they would be looking after each other but seems i have only stressed them out. Do you think one of the reasons Norah might be showing agression is because the boy is smaller? (she's been getting along with a huge german shepherd, at least treating her with respect)
 
I guess bonding a non- spayed doe CAN cause problems but there is the rescue I help at that doesnt spay any females and never has a problem with bonding (well apart from one :lol: ) so I dont see why this wont work out for your two until your vet feels Buu is ready....I myself have done two bondings with an unspayed doe so I personally wouldnt worry too much.
 
norah said:
OMG i know the feeling. Sorry to jump into this post, but i don't want to start another bonding thread. Picked up a lovely male rabbit today, the first session at the rescue was great, lots of humping but all friendly. He was a bit nervous when we got back home, still ok though, they cuddled up to each other, 'kissed' and all that.....and then started fighting an hour later.... I couldn't tell which one was the culprit and still can't as have seen them trying to bite each other in turn.

They sat sulking for a bit, in different rooms, now I have taken the new lad to the hutch , where he is looking rather relieved to be honest. Norah is in a huff :(

I know it's only day one and patience is required, but feeling somewhat discouraged. I was hoping they would be looking after each other but seems i have only stressed them out. Do you think one of the reasons Norah might be showing agression is because the boy is smaller? (she's been getting along with a huge german shepherd, at least treating her with respect)

Have you seen this thread?
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/viewtopic.php?t=10221&highlight=nonsence+bonding
 
Sillyrabbit - Thanks for the link to their "accidental bonding". What lovely photographs of the pair, laying on top of each other. They certainly don't look as though they dislike each other in any of those pictures and at that time, bonding was going well. I am pleased Mandy has giving you her experience of bonding unspayed females and it does appear positive.

You did say they were going for it in the run. Were they biting or just chasing each other? Do you have any other bunnies near the run? Its good they are now flopped together and it does sound as if its going well.
 
Thanks Mandy that has made me feel better :D

Do you think one of the reasons Norah might be showing agression is because the boy is smaller?

I think lots of people on here have bonded pairs of different sizes, Scarlett is smaller than Trip and its becoming clear that she is the boss :wink: That thread Mandy posted is a really good one to read, I must have gone through it about 10 times before I bonded Trip and Scarlett :D

. Were they biting or just chasing each other? Do you have any other bunnies near the run?

Do you know I didnt even think of that :oops: I did move the run so it was half on the grass bringing it closer to Trip and Scarletts hutch and run and they would have been able to see them. That might be it because they are fine now.
There was a lot of chasing in the run, with neither giving up. I cant even be sure they were biting because I didnt have my contacts in but it looked pretty bad (I know it always looks worse than it is)

They are both flopped next to each other right now and there has been grooming from them both. And they have been laying on each other like in the pictures so hopefully they have made up.

I will sleep downstairs with them tonight and move the run further away tomorrow before I try them outside again :D

Thank you all by the way :D
 
Rabbits will often fight if they can smell other bunnies and it sounds as if yours could smell and see your other two. I think the term is referred aggression (possibly). When I first had Daisy and Maisy and they were unspayed and they were in the run in the garden. My neutered male was out and about and the girls chased each other round and round the run, humping each other and one kept pulling chunks of fur out of the other. I had to get them spayed faster than I intended.

As yours are fine inside the house away from the other two, it sounds as if you could have a reason.

Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks Raine. I even started a thread about how far away I would need to keep to pairs a while ago, I cant believe I didnt think of that yesterday :oops:

Does it sound right that they still might be trying to work out who will be dominant? They are happy to cuddle and groom each other, he is still grooming more than her but she has started just going and grooming him whithout him having to ask. They will be cuddled and grooming one minute then have a little scrap. They seem to start fighting when they are both putting their heads down to be groomed at the same time, its like they are both trying to get their heads under the others :lol:

Also up until now its been Beau who has humped a few times and she has just put up with it for a bit then stuck her head down to be groomed and he has groomed her. But for the first time last night she started trying to hump him :?

I am getting really confused because I thought they did the chasing and humping before they would snuggle and groom each other, but these too are grooming and cuddling, then humping, then grooming again and then chasing and humping :? :? :? :?:
 
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