bonding rabbits

[mousetarget]

I have a lovely 4yr old unspayed female who i would love to get a friend for. I really do not want to get her spayed as i have read so many times about rabbits dying under GA. I read on the rabbit rehome info it is possible to get a neutered male for my unspayed female but it might not go so easily. Has anyone got any advice or similar experiences with my problem. Should i leave her as she is or try?

 

[waggytailstina]

GAs have changed somewhat over the past few years and vets have more options of how to treat a rabbit while under GA. One of the reasons rabbits died under a GA was they used to much and didn't know how to give them proper after care. also some bunnies were starved before and thats not good as they need to eat to keep the gut moving. GA are safer now than they have been.
Maybe you could introduce a neuted male to her!

 

[The Duchess]

Hi there.

I know that you are asking about bonding and not spaying, but to be honest I think that the risk of uterine cancer and the possibility of an early and painful death from cancer (and it's associated vet bills) far outways the risk of loosing a bunny under GA.

I haven't tried bonding an unspayed female as it's hard enough with two neutered rabbits. I have a bunny who is going for her spay tomorrow. I don't question what might happen as for me it's a no-brainer.

I can see however, that if there is a history of a bad reaction to GA with your particular bunny or her litter mates, then there may be a reason to think about the pros and cons.

I would find a really good bunny vet and go ahead and spay her, you will find a partner for her much more easily then.

Helen

 

[Siona]

Hi :wave:

I successfully bonded an unspayed female with a neutered male a few months back. She was only 3 months old so I couldn't spay her yet, but now I will as I don't want her to get cancer (she also suffered 2 months of horrendous phantom pregnancy, and I can't let her go through that again )

It can be done though

 

[janice]

From my own personal experience of bonding rabbits, unneutered females being bonded with a neutered male takes longer and can also be more tricky than when being done with an neutered female.

I would personally bond rabbits who have a history of agression to other rabbits than a potentially hormonal unneutered female as they are far more unpredictable than any other rabbit. Unneutered babies are totally different as their hormones have not kicked in yet.

With the risks of uterine cancer being so high and also being a silent killer where it developes unnoticed and undetected. I would certainly not go down the route of leaving females unneutered where the pain and suffering to the rabbit and incidently the cost to your pocket will significantly outway the cost of neutering. The key consideration is finding an experienced vet.

 

[stu the rabbit]

Newbie seeking your advise

Hello, My name is Linda. As that name is offically taken I am aka "Stu the Rabbit" ! My question is... I have a 3 year old friendly neutered male Chinchilla rabbit - Stu, and we have recently acquired a female lion head 12 week old Cassie. She has not been spayed & I hadn't planned on getting her done, my vet said there was no need ? They can see each other so it won't be too dramatic a shock, but when do you recommend I put them together ? Thank you Linda

 

[Siona]

Hello, My name is Linda. As that name is offically taken I am aka "Stu the Rabbit" ! My question is... I have a 3 year old friendly neutered male Chinchilla rabbit - Stu, and we have recently acquired a female lion head 12 week old Cassie. She has not been spayed & I hadn't planned on getting her done, my vet said there was no need ? They can see each other so it won't be too dramatic a shock, but when do you recommend I put them together ? Thank you Linda

I'm in favour of the 'all at once' technique personally. It's worked the best for me.
- put them in a clean neutral carrier together (the small space means they won't fight)
- take them on a car journey of around an hour or move or shake the carrier or otherwise unsettle them
-after a couple of hours together like this move them into a small neutral smelling area that neither bunny have been in before, like a pen or run in the house somewhere, or in the bath or bathroom.
-scatter food around not in bowls
-leave them alone but so you can still see them
- mounting and humping, fur pulling, chasing is all normal - let this happen, do not interfere as they need to find out who is boss
- only break them up if a real fight starts , kicking locking together, biting etc. - once bonding has started do not seperate them unless you really have to.
-it should only take a couple of days for them to settle
- as they settle more, gradually give them more space

Good luck

Edit: If I were you I would get her spayed at 6 months, just a recommendation from somebody who has just had a very sad little bunny pluck herself bald making nests for phantom babies non stop for 2 months
Plus they have a high chance of getting cancer, and not all vets know that...

 

[janice]

I bond between 2 and 3 pairs of rabbits a week for ARC (100 - 150 pairs of rabbits a year) and I will only use the quick method of bonding as I find it far less stressfull for rabbits than the slow method where they are introduced for a small amount of time then separated.

I would certainly recommend using this guide which Cheryl wrote a few years ago http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=55913&highlight=bonding Cheryl is someone experienced in bonding.

I do not advocate pairing up unneutered rabbits, due to hormonal issues which can result in a bond failing if the old hormones makes her tempremental at times. If you must bond an unneutered female I would suggest doing it prior to the hormones kicking in as this is easier. If fighting starts as the rabbits get older it is essential this is done earlier rather than later ... also take both rabbits to the vets when this is done unless you want to risk having to rebond them.

The key points for me are:
Neutral territory is a must
Keep all other rabbits out of sight and smell from the ones you are bonding.
If handling other rabbits change clothes and wash before handling a pair you are bonding as other rabbit smells can upset your bonding rabbits.
A confinded area so that they have to meet each other and start bonding
A confinded area so that it is easier to split them if they need to be temporarily separated rather than have to chase them around a room whcih increases the chance of injury to you and the buns.
Do not interfere with them unless they are locked on to each other.
Only split them if you need to for the count of 10, then release them back together.
The area you use to start bonding them should be maintained for at least 48 hours to allow them to get used to each other without then having to restart and find out who is the boss in their new territory.
Ensure that you have at least 48 hours where you can supervise them as required as opposed to having to split them after a few hours as you have to go out.
If you expland the territory and they start fighting, restrict the territory again.
Ensure that all areas are either neutral or have been thoroughly cleaned before you allow them access to this new area.

 

[halfpenny]

Up until recently we have always had unneutred females with castrated males. We have only once had any problems and once a bond has been formed it has never broken, in fact I didn't realise it could happen until I joined RU. We always use a slow method, initially letting the rabbits run side by side, putting them in each others runs, every other day. After a couple of weeks or when they are sitting side by side we put them together in a neutral place. If all goes well, we leave them in that run for a couple of days before putting them in a hutch. If there is a bit more fighting, we seperate them at night (because we can't supervise them then) and put them together the next day, it usually only takes a couple of days before they settle. We are lucky because we have indoor runs, where the rabbits can be safe overnight, and we aren't bonding lots of rabbits at a time.

Having said all that, we are now spaying the girls, because we lost one recently with uterine cancer, not only is it very common but it is also very aggressive, and by the time we realised something was wrong it had spread to Betha's lungs as well. She was PTS there and then, we had no other option.

There are always risks with a GA, but if an animals does die under a GA at least it doesn't feel anything, if it gets cancer it may feel sore and unwell for quite a time before you realise. I've learnt this , much to my cost.

 

[stu the rabbit]

Stu the rabbit

Well thank you all very much for your advice. I will be making an appointment to get Cassie 'done' once she is 6 months old. It appears to be in her best interest. I am looking forward to the car ride in the next couple of days, I will let you know how they get on. Thanks again Linda :wave: