Bonding a 2 yr old French Lop...is it too late?

Hi, I am new to these rabbit forums but not entirely new to the world of rabbits. I am however, new to the giant french lop varieties!

Last Wednesday we adopted our beautiful boy Bobby, a 2 year old giant french lop rabbit who was in need of a home. He has settled in wonderfully as a house rabbit and is a happy and very loving rabbit and very soppy with people! My partner and I have read a lot about the benefits of rabbits living as pairs and are contemplating as to whether our Bobby would be even happier with a partner too? We would not mind becoming second best to another rabbit, we want to do the best for Bobby as priority.

Firstly we are intending on having him neutured this week, (however although not being an expert I really think he has been neutered already! I am aware this may sound silly as it ought to be more than obvious! But the place we had him from told us he had not been done which has left me doubting and wanting a second opinion!!) I am aware we would need to wait at least 3 months before introducing a female if he does need neuturing, but I am more concerned as to whether he is too old to bond successfully when the time is ready? I am guessing it is not completely impossible to do, but would the odds be more against them bonding well with him being 2 yrs?

Also I have never done this before, my last house rabbit was a happy boy lop ear rabbit who liked his own space as well as a fuss in his own terms, he may well have liked to have had a friend however he seemed happy enough as an only one. Bobby is the soppiest rabbit i have ever known and although gets a lot of fuss, we were thinking he may benefit a lot from constant companionship especially at night times and on the days we do have to go out.

We have seen a female 2 yr old french lop in need of a home in out local area, and if Bobby is already neutured we would be very tempted in adopting this second rabbit having given consideration to the space, food costs, vaccines and vet bills etc. However, before taking the plunge in the near or distant future I would really appreciate any advice, particularly from anyome who has bonded rabbits of this size and age. I have read quite a bit online but many stories are about bonding very young rabbits which I have heard is a lot easier all round.

Thank you :wave:
Mel

Hi and welcome :wave:

No rabbit is too old to bond, I don't think age generally has an impact on whether or not a bond will work, it's normally about the personalities of the rabbits and whether they're compatible if you think Bobby would be happiest with a friend then you'll be able to find a bunny who happily be his partner I'm sure rescues can help you find which bunnies would work best with him and some can even bond them for you

My Harvey is like Bobby, absolutely loves a fuss and loves attention, that's what made me think he needed a friend too because I thought he must be so lonely when I'm not with him so I got Lilly and bonded them and he's still very soppy with me, but now he has someone to groom him and play with him when I'm not there! They are so very much in love, and there's nothing as heart warming as seeing loved up bunnies

I bonded my two when Harvey was 1 year and 4 months and Lilly was 3-4 months old and it was such a smooth bond! Some bonds go better than others, but with some good advice (this forum has loads and rescues will help) you should be able to choose a rabbit who will bond well with Bobby! I really don't think age matters at all, anyway, 2 is still a youngster!

It'd be lovely to see photos of Bobby

No bunny is too old to be bonded, so im sure he'd be delighted to have a friend. Size and breed dont matter either.

I'd really recommend getting a female bun directly from a rescue, who will bond for you. This also means that if the first bun isnt compatable they can try another, etc, until they get a good match. Then you bring them home as happy bonded bunnies. This also saves you the stress of bonding (for such social animals the initial bonding can be very difficult).

The other advantages of a rescue are the new bun will already have been vaccinated and neutered (some rescues even microchip), so that saves you a lot of hassle and money too. You'll also know shes had a full health check.

Your Bobby sounds lovely. Bobby is still a young bunny and would benefit from having a friend. If he hasn't already been neutered you only need to wait about a month post neuter before introducing him to a spayed female. They will need to be introduced in a neutral area, where neither of them has been. Good luck

Bobbie sounds so sweet, would be lovely to see pictures from what everyone told me on the forum its basically down to the individual personality of the bunny as to whether a bond will work. Good luck

Thank you to everyone for all your advice and support on the topic of bonding French lops! Having searched my local area and just outside of it there appears to be no evidence of a rabbit rescue anywhere (with exception of Pets at Home adoption centres which don't bond for you apparently)which means I will have to take the challenge myself if we do the whole bonding idea. This is not my first choice, as I am obviously not experienced in this field! However, I am continuing to research and learn the theory in order to apply it to the practical should we go ahead and try to bond, and hopefully we might even pull it off! Fingers crossed!

We are taking our lovely Bobby for a check up tomorrow to confirm for definite whether he is or isn't neutered and this will be step 1 in deciding about the white rabbit we have seen advertised in need of a home in our local area. The vet has said though that if we have to get him neutered we should wait 3 months before introducing a female? Yet I too thought it was 4 weeks, and the internet says the same? That bit has puzzled me a little!!

It was great to hear about everyone's success stories! I wont assume a definite success will happen for us but I want to be open minded and positive so as the rabbits don't pick up on negative vibes lol My other half is happy to take the plunge if I am, I just really really really hope it works if we go for it...I will have to let you all know what we finally decide and how it goes!! I am kind of thinking it could be best to try and fail than not try at all as if it is love at first sight then they could be so very happy together and we would have done something kind for 2 bunnies instead of just 1, and at least we would never wonder?

I have contacted the owner of the white rabbit to get her feedback too, if she wants a potentially good loving forever home for her bunny then hopefully she will not mind the slightly more complex circumstances that come with us adopting her...however she may prefer for a quick simple sale to someone else who doesn't already have a bunny to consider first. I have had to explain if after every effort to bond them we are unsuccessful we would either have to return her rabbit or take her to pets at home adoption centre, whichever she would prefer us to do, but either would be very upsetting!! As we just don't have the space to accommodate 2 large rabbits and 2 lots of housing areas and belongings, plus I would want them both free range the majority of the time not on a turn taking rota. So I guess we do still have some thinking to do on the matter but I will see what she the other owner feels if and when she replies. We could bond him still in the future but having seen a French lop locally in need I kind of felt drawn!

Anyway, thank you all again for taking the time to help and advise me on the matter, it is very much appreciated and I know now where to come should we have any other bunny queries! I will have to post an update in the near future! Also, I was looking to try and post a photo of Bobby but can't seem to work out how to attach a picture? Am I missing something obvious? I have uploaded photos to other sites but never a forum, is it a different method?!

Thanks again!:lol:

Kind Regards
Mel

Where are you located?

Hi Mel

My French Lop (house bun) Bailey, sounds exactly like your Bobby. I think he was about 6-9 months when we adopted him in the Christmas of 2012. He loves human attention and you can do whatever you like to him, he's like a little dog really. I was however getting increasingly upset at the thought of him being alone when we weren't at home and after lots of research decided it best to get him a wife. We rescued Belle (another French Lop, about 1 years old when we had her) in August of last year (so Bailey was about 1 1/2). And kept her in another part of the house whilst she was recovering from her spay. We left it 6 weeks before the bond.

I was a complete bonding novice, but did it all myself in a spare room upstairs solidly for a week (before moving them to Baileys room which had been thoroughly neutralised) . And I am very glad I did whilst Belle doesn't like to be fussed/handled (she had a bad start in life), she is a friendly bun and loves Bailey! I sort of think as Bailey as my bun and Belle as Baileys bun.haha.

I think if you did the bonding yourself and followed the guidelines available you'd have every success in bonding Bobby with the other French Lop

xxx

PS-look forward to seeing a pic of Bobby




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My 10 year old girl lost her husbun last year and I bonded her to a 6-7 year old boy, bunnies are never too old to be bonded.
This is what I've ended up with

Hi all! I have had some wonderful feedback on this forum about bonding bunnies and they all sound and look so happy! But pets at home staff are less than supportive and advise strongly against it one person there said the fights can be awful and once they fight they always do...totally contradictory to what I have read and heard online! Although some staff are a little too condescending at times for my liking, afterall I would not be asking advice from the staff there or people on here if I was the type of person to make careless animal related decisions which I felt was slightly been implied...

I live in the Stoke on Trent area, annoyingly not a lot of rescue centres about the place to approach for further advice, from what I have googled. :-(

Taken Bobby to the vets yesterday, he does need to be neutered and is booked in for Monday, he has very small man bits apparently! Hence us being a bit surprised as there really is not a lot there! He is already laid back so goodness knows what he'll be like after. Anyway...the vet said all rabbits are individual but introduce a female no sooner than 2 weeks...but thought it was 4-6 week wait? One website even said 3 months. It's all very confusing when a lot of the info seems to be contradictory. Also told to starve him overnight but another vet I casually asked said he must eat right through to op and immediately after...confused and a little concerned! I hope he is in safe hands for this pending op.

So now our first plan is to get him neutered and recovered. I'm just not sure what to do regarding the bonding. I don't want to risk babies nor do I want to do it too early after his op for recovery purposes, but I also don't want two rabbits to seriously damage one another from a fight. Although plenty of you seem to have had such success and happiness for your buns!

Feeling a little confused again as to what to do to say the least. :what: a few days ago we were going for it for definite, but the doubts are back again now!

I have tried to attach some pictures below...not sure if they work? Haven't ever posted pictures on a forum before so I am a bit of a learner!




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Pets at home are rubbish for advice! If you put two unneutered rabbits together - yes theyll fight. Also if you just put a new rabbit into an existing rabbits territory, then yes they'll fight. but if you bond two neutered, preferably a male and a female, rabbits on neutral territory and then neutralise the area that the orignal rabbit lived in before putting them in there together, then they will be very loved up and happy bunnies.

For rescues have you looked here: http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/centres.asp - its part of this site. Even if theres not one right by you it can be well worth travelling. The rescie i used to get poppy a new friend, when her partner died was about 50mins away, but so so worth the travel and still a much easier way to do things.

Also no bunny should be starved and i would seriously consider using an alternate veterinary surgery, as vets experienced with rabbits should tell you NOT to starve and that its important that rabbit eats right up until they go for the op.

Hes a cutie by the way.

2 is a baby! Bunnies can live for 10+ years! And they can bond at any age. Otherwise if you had a pair of 9yo for example & one died & the other pined, you can get them a new friend ASAP to help then not feel so bad


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He is lovely

But please find another vet. Any vet that recommends to starve a rabbit does not know anything about rabbit medicine. If a rabbit's gut empties and/or stops, it can be fatal, so the advice is NEVER to starve a rabbit. Apart from that, there is no need at all, because starving before operations is to prevent vomiting, and rabbits physically cannot vomit. A vet that doesn't know this is not one I would want anywhere near my rabbit - unfortunately rabbits are classed as 'exotic' animals which means normal vets often have not been trained in rabbit medicine. If you post a thread with the title 'Rabbit savvy vets in Stoke-on-Trent' in the Rabbit Chat section, I'm sure there will be someone near you with a recommendation.

As for timescales, he will remain fertile for 4-6 weeks after the op, but it can take longer for his hormones to settle down, which is why most people recommend a minimum of 8 weeks. Before bonding, the female bunny will also need to be spayed and healed and her hormones need to have settled. They need to be kept completely separate before they are ready to bond.

As you don't have enough space for 2 single bunnies, I really would recommend finding a rescue bunny, as most rescues will take back the bunny if the bonding doesn't work out. That way, you rest assured that even if you can't keep her she will still find a good home, as with Pets at Home adoption you really don't know, anyone could get her, as they don't homecheck and as you have found their advice is often not the best. Most good rescues also spay their does before rehoming, so you wouldn't have to worry about that or waiting for hormones to settle. Most rescues also encourage having the rabbits meet before you take them home, so you have an idea of if they will get along, and many will help with bonding, or do it for you.

Many rescues rehome nationally, and it is worth the extra distance to get a bunny suited to your circumstances, rather than having to rehome your new bunny after you have spent 3 months and £100-200 on spaying and vaccinating. There are also a few rescues in Staffordshire that may be worth contacting, scroll down to get to Staffordshire: http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/centres.asp Some of the website links don't work but I'd try the numbers and email addresses too.

Hello everyone! Right here is my update! Bobby got neutered by a vet we were happy with several weeks ago and today we became the proud parents to a second bunny! We took the plunge and adopted the white French lop and it truly has been love at first sight so far in these early days! Now we have introduced them carefully, no aggressive behavior infact quite the opposite...which brings me to my next question, will Bobby always be so rampant despite being neutered? Is it all a big novelty that will calm down? I am all for nature, but I don't want our new arrival to be mauled 24 hrs a day. We are housing them separately currently in a temporary set up, just whilst we are not there to supervise them like tonight during these early days but I really hope one day to see them snuggle up together in an evening or groom one another...rather than just being amorously involved all the time! Advice much appreciated as it has been previously Xx

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Forgot to mention our new little girl is named Rosie xx

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When we bonded Sheldon with Holly, Sheldon was very humpy and wouldn't leave Holly alone.

So we put them in a carrier together and for a car ride and other than a bit of spring fever, he's been fine. .I think it did help that he hates car journeys and Holly is fine with them.

I hate advocating putting buns in a stressful situation deliberately, but it is known to work with bonding buns ..so would try as a last resort. Obviously all buns are different so no guarantees.

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How long ago was he neutered? It can take a good 6-8 weeks for his hormones to settle down properly.

Sorry for delays...he was neutered 6 weeks ago so perhaps the hormones are having a part to play.
I think we may well try the car journeys!
It's now day 3 and after the first positive start we have now had aggression each day and almost fighting. Which of course we have separated and tried our best to prevent. Is this normal behavior in these early days or signs to be concerned?
Thanks again
Xx

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