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Bonding a giant boy to smaller girl

T

Thorby444444

New Kit
Hi everyone :) im just after some advice on bonding my bunnies. Im bonding a 3 month old unspayed giant to a small breed 3 year old girl whos husbun sadly died. I have had them side by side in pens and have had them out together at playtime in a neutral pen, there was urine spraying from the female but mostly she was scared and ran around in circles which confused the boy. After three hours of eating together a little running around, they eventually settled about a foot apart for a lie down. By this point it was after midnight and i didnt dare leave them togethet so i put them back in their pens and left them there for the night. ...im not sure where to go from here, the daytime is too hectic to bond them, the boys a giant so i cant spey him for months....do i just keep on trying them together the splitting them? Do i stop up all night with them one night? Thanks for any advice x
 
The problem is as the male rabbit gets a little bit older he will start to pester the female and she will get very stressed out. You need to wait until he is neutered (castrated) and then when over the op, you can bond them. This needs to be done in neutral territory as your female may try to defend her "space" by attacking him. Maybe this is why she sprayed him. I assume the female is neutered (spayed)? Once the boy's testicles have appeared, you can ask your Vet if he is willing to neuter him. This shouldn't be too long to wait.
 
Hi there :) yes the female is speyed.....heres the problem, my lovely usually bunny savvy vet said that yes both testicles are descended but giants dont mature til later than smaller breeds so they cant spey him til 10 months!! I have read some vets will spay at 6 but it seems to be a consensus that giants need neutered later. x
 
Thorby444444 said:
Hi everyone :) im just after some advice on bonding my bunnies. Im bonding a 3 month old unspayed giant to a small breed 3 year old girl whos husbun sadly died. I have had them side by side in pens and have had them out together at playtime in a neutral pen, there was urine spraying from the female but mostly she was scared and ran around in circles which confused the boy. After three hours of eating together a little running around, they eventually settled about a foot apart for a lie down. By this point it was after midnight and i didnt dare leave them togethet so i put them back in their pens and left them there for the night. ...im not sure where to go from here, the daytime is too hectic to bond them, the boys a giant so i cant spey him for months....do i just keep on trying them together the splitting them? Do i stop up all night with them one night? Thanks for any advice x
Click to expand...

I assume your female rabbit is spayed?

Personally I would be very careful in bonding such a large rabbit with such a small female (if they are that different in size). When he gets 'spring fever' or whatever else you like to call it, and he starts to mount the female, she may feel distressed ...

Basically, when he is neutered, take it slowly and carefully. It can take many weeks for his hormones to settle, and as I say, in the meantime he may feel randy towards her (and possibly always!)
 
Thorby444444 said:
Hi everyone :) im just after some advice on bonding my bunnies. Im bonding a 3 month old unspayed giant to a small breed 3 year old girl whos husbun sadly died. I have had them side by side in pens and have had them out together at playtime in a neutral pen, there was urine spraying from the female but mostly she was scared and ran around in circles which confused the boy. After three hours of eating together a little running around, they eventually settled about a foot apart for a lie down. By this point it was after midnight and i didnt dare leave them togethet so i put them back in their pens and left them there for the night. ...im not sure where to go from here, the daytime is too hectic to bond them, the boys a giant so i cant spey him for months....do i just keep on trying them together the splitting them? Do i stop up all night with them one night? Thanks for any advice x
Click to expand...

You wont be able to bond them until the Buck has been castrated. He will simply continue to try to mate with your Doe and given the size difference he could end up really hurting her. Even if that did not happen it would be hugely stressful for her to be housed with an entire Buck.

Your Buck should be able to be castrated as soon as his testicles have descended. As he is a Giant this may occur slightly later than it would in a smaller Rabbit, but I doubt you would have to wait for 'months' before he's could be done.
 
Thorby444444 said:
Hi there :) yes the female is speyed.....heres the problem, my lovely usually bunny savvy vet said that yes both testicles are descended but giants dont mature til later than smaller breeds so they cant spey him til 10 months!! I have read some vets will spay at 6 but it seems to be a consensus that giants need neutered later. x
Click to expand...

Jut seen your post about your female being spayed :)

Your vet is right. Even though testicles may have descended, giants mature later. However, I think 10 months is an awfully long time to wait!

Why don't you ring round a few vets and get a consensus? Savvy vets of course :D

Welcome to RU by the way :wave:
 
Thankyou :) . Sadly there is only one bunny savvy vet anywhere near me :( they are quite open to talking though i may try ringing them and asking if they would consider neutering earlier. Thank you x
 
My french lop has been neutered and he is 4 months old. My female conti is being neutered next week at almost 5 months. I'd ask a few vets.
 
You need to have your male neutered as soon as possible because otherwise he will harass your little female even spayed and will mark with jets of urine.
 
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