Bonding & Neutering - different question

Hi
I've had buck rabbits for about 30 years, but never had a doe or more than one bun at a time. My situation has changed since I got my last bunny. There's no-one home during the day now, so I've chosen 2 yellow Dutch, thinking they'd be company for each other. I've reserved a buck aged 6 weeks and doe from a different litter (same breeder) aged about 12 weeks. I plan to bring them both home at the end of May when the buck reaches 10 weeks.

Now I'm panicking, having read that a buck can remain fertile for 6 - 8 weeks afer neutering, and that an unneutered doe may attack the buck because of her desperate urge to mate. I've no experience of introducing/bonding rabbits, but imagined I 'd get the buck neutered soon after arrival and then introduce them a couple of weeks later, having the doe neutered later. They'll be housebunnies and I don't want to confine them to cages/hutches long-term, partly so they'll have a bigger shared area while I'm at work.

I'm well outside my comfort zone! :? Should I abandon the idea of having 2 rabbits? Would it be much better if they were litter-mates? I have 2 cats but they won't be company for the bun(s) til I can totally trust cats and buns together unattended.

Is it really so bad to be a single buck if you're well cared for and have plenty of attention morning, evening and weekends when your slave's at home? Or am I building this whole bonding/neutering thing into a bigger issue than it really is?

Thanks in advance to anyone who can clarify this.
Sue

P.S. I don't want to be an irresponsible owner, I want the best for my pets. Better to change my mind about the second rabbit now, than take on something I can't cope with and have to put one of them through the stress of rehoming later.

Hi welcome to RU

If it were me, I'd always have two rabbits together as once you've seen them snuggled up together you realise that we can never be a substitute for bunny love

I'm not sure about the minimum age to neuter rabbits - I'm sure someone will be along who knows - but it may work out that you can spay the doe before the male is able to get her pregnant, or if his bits are dropped he can be neutered as early as possible

It's a shame that you've already reserved these rabbits as there are thousands of unwanted rabbits in rescue and you could have had a ready bonded pair of loved up rabbits. An alternative would be to still get one of your babies and adopt a ready neutered mate for it

Hi and welcome to RU!!!

kayjay said:

It's a shame that you've already reserved these rabbits as there are thousands of unwanted rabbits in rescue and you could have had a ready bonded pair of loved up rabbits. An alternative would be to still get one of your babies and adopt a ready neutered mate for it

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Agree with this 100% and there are many rescue rabbits that are young too so you wouldn't have to worry about an age gap if it was a concern.

Muppet2 said:

But for what it's worth, I have a single [neutered] male, who's about 9 months old, and I work full-time and he has lots of attention before/after work and at weekends. It may not be perfect but I'd say he has a happy life

You've not mentioned having the female spayed but you've probably read by now that there's a high incidence of uterine cancer in unspayed females. And then there are all the issues around phantom pregnancies and territorial behaviour... So best she's done when she's old enough too.

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I have read about this, the cancer risk was my main reason for wanting the doe spayed.

I know what you mean, a single male can be happy, hence I wavered about only getting one youngster when I began to panic about neutering/bonding. My last buck Charlie seemed very happy, plenty of happy-flopping (stopped for a few weeks when the new cats arrived, but soon resumed). He had a great time running around when I was at home.

Please can someone tell me how to attach a photo and I'll send one of Charlie? Thanx[/img]

I think rescues have come on since then, after all it's in the rescue's interest to get the rabbits a good permanent home. I have rescues and all are healthy (touchwood) and friendly. Also for future information, homechecks can be done by someone local to you and the rabbits can go on a bunnyrun to get to you whereby people off the forum share the journey to your home

However it sounds like you have thought about it and chosen your bunnies, so the best option might be as you say to spay the doe as early as you can and bond them then. Can't wait to see pictures of them, they sound very cute

it's put my post up here and doubled it :lol: :lol:

I would definately get two rabbits as I don't think single rabbits are as happy.
A female rabbit can be spayed at 5-6 months and a male neutered at 4-5 months but the male could be fertile for 6 weeks after his op.

If you are going to get this pair from the breeder then it would be best to keep them separate until they have both been spayed/neutered and had time to let their hormones die down. Bonding isn't that difficult with a male and female. You would need to introduce them together in neutral territory though.

Alternatively you could go to a rescue and get a pair that are already bonded. They would also be neutered, spayed and vaccinated already which would probably cost a lot less than doing it all yourself.
My vet charges £60 for a spay, £48 for a neuter and £40 for both vaccinations whereas a rescue only usually charge around £60 for a rabbit

hi

I will echo what the others have said
but also add I would advise NEVER to leave cats and rabbits togehter unattended..better safe than sorry

If you have space etc for two then have two. Your only issue is timing re: neutering really - it's not insurmountable.

But for what it's worth, I have a single [neutered] male, who's about 9 months old, and I work full-time and he has lots of attention before/after work and at weekends. It may not be perfect but I'd say he has a happy life

You've not mentioned having the female spayed but you've probably read by now that there's a high incidence of uterine cancer in unspayed females. And then there are all the issues around phantom pregnancies and territorial behaviour... So best she's done when she's old enough too.

How about some already neutered and bonded young Dutches

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/moreinfo.asp?RabID=8268

Janex

Jack's-Jane said:

How about some already neutered and bonded young Dutches

http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/moreinfo.asp?RabID=8268

Janex

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awww aren't they lovely! I think Jill has a home lined up for them in Watford though.

look at these two lovelys http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/moreinfo.asp?RabID=6239

Kayjay wrote:
I'm not sure about the minimum age to neuter rabbits - I'm sure
someone will be along who knows - but it may work out that you can
spay the doe before the male is able to get her pregnant, or if his bits
are dropped he can be neutered as early as possible

It looks like this may be the case. Apparently my (RWA recommended) vet is often willing to spay females from 16 weeks, subject of course to approving her condition/development. Meanwhile the buck is only 10 weeks. This would simplify things greatly. Vet will ring me later to discuss, but it looks promising, even if it had to be slightly later than 16 weeks.

In principle I agree about rescue rabbits but have not found any suitable, available locally. I've no transport, it's easy enough getting a lift to a local vet but quite another to get to Leicester, for example. Many rescues insist on a home visit, which would be impractical.) Also I had poor past experiences with rescues, being unwilling/unable to tell me anything about the animal's previous circumstances or health. My first rabbit was a rescue but didn't live very long. Hopefully rescues have improved now but I wanted to avoid rabbits who've been traumatised by cats/kids and hence aggressive/panicky around them.

This probably sounds very defensive, but I did give careful consderation to a rescue bonded pair first - it would indeed be simpler as I've no experience of a bunny 'arranged marriage'.