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Bonding clueless

raimon

New Kit
Hi all,

Completely noob here, we're looking to get 2 female bunnies at 8 weeks old from the same family/breeder. Now having done more research into this it seems getting 2 very young bunnies from the same family/breeder is still not the perfect solution. From what i have now learnt about bonding, very young bunnies get along well with everyone even not from the same family, and the bond they have aren't real bonds, they are only baby bonds, and when they reach puberty age there is a high chance they will fight, and will need to do the real true bond then. So from previous research i thought getting them from same family solves the problem and been messaging breeders do they have a pair of Does (thought this is perfect as they will be bonded already) lol but it doesn't look like it from my recent findings. So this has now opened up more options i could get a bunny from different breeders. Bonding process is unavoidable for new rabbits.

Am I correct on all this?

Thanks
 
Female/female bonds are probably the hardest bond, and related/unrelated won’t make really any difference. Sometimes by spaying early you can manage to keep them together before hormones get in the way. The best advice I could give would be to get a ready bonded pair from a rescue, they will have been spayed/neutered and vaccinated and you will know what their personality will be like, without it being changed at puberty.
 
I'd say you're correct - yes.

Bonding new rabbits is unavoidable but some rabbits go together much more easily than others.

Totally support what Zoobec said, rescuing makes it loads easier on the owner & you're doing a good thing too
 
Female/female bonds are probably the hardest bond, and related/unrelated won’t make really any difference. Sometimes by spaying early you can manage to keep them together before hormones get in the way. The best advice I could give would be to get a ready bonded pair from a rescue, they will have been spayed/neutered and vaccinated and you will know what their personality will be like, without it being changed at puberty.

I second this. Rescuing bunnies is really the way to go, especially if you have no experience of bonding. Not to mention they will already be spayed/neutered and will already be bonded if you get a pair, so no need to go through the often long and difficult process of separating for spay and rebonding. Also there is no guarantee that the two bunnies you get will even be compatible when they are spayed if their personalities clash which can often happen.
 
I agree with all the above posts but if you are intent on getting baby rabbits and you are not an experienced rabbit owner, then the best and safest way to go about it is to get a male bunny first and wait until he has been neutered then get a female as a companion for him. They can be bonded before she is spayed. The other big problem with getting 2 babies at the same time is babies are not easy to sex so you can end up with 2 boys or girls. Many people who thought they had 2 boys end up with babies and there are too many rabbits looking for homes already.
 
Thank you all for your replies.
It is very exciting to get brand new bunnies. The rabbit book i have might be dated, but it says 2 female rabbits are the best.
I originally thought getting 2 female bunnies will be fine don't need to get spayed. And then seems to be a lot of contradicting information on the internet, about ideal pairs.
I now know unneutered female bunnies can turn aggressive when they reach puberty but what if i neuter both bunnies just before puberty then this can reduce the aggressive behaviour.
Getting bunnies at 8 weeks old should know the sex then, breeders should know what they are doing. I also will be taking them to the VET for a healthcheck pretty much next day after i got them
 
I had a look at rescue centres online, there is pretty much limited choice and the rabbits are mostly full grown adults. Also some don't state the breed.
 
Thank you all for your replies.
It is very exciting to get brand new bunnies. The rabbit book i have might be dated, but it says 2 female rabbits are the best.
I originally thought getting 2 female bunnies will be fine don't need to get spayed. And then seems to be a lot of contradicting information on the internet, about ideal pairs.
I now know unneutered female bunnies can turn aggressive when they reach puberty but what if i neuter both bunnies just before puberty then this can reduce the aggressive behaviour.
Getting bunnies at 8 weeks old should know the sex then, breeders should know what they are doing. I also will be taking them to the VET for a healthcheck pretty much next day after i got them

Sorry to say, I would suggest the book you have might be fairly unreliable, and I would be concerned about other facts within it, as it’s widely known that 2 females are the worst pairing. There’s lots of information here on rabbits https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/
 
I had a look at rescue centres online, there is pretty much limited choice and the rabbits are mostly full grown adults. Also some don't state the breed.

A lot of the rescues don’t necessarily have chance to update their websites frequently as they are usually run by volunteers who also have jobs, so it’s well worth getting in touch with your nearest rescues and see if they have any bunnies suitable for you. They often have young rabbits/babies in due to unexpected litters, since rabbits are difficult to sex at a young age.
There are sadly thousands of rabbits in rescue, so no limits on choice. You can find your nearest rescues on here http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/
 
I had a look at rescue centres online, there is pretty much limited choice and the rabbits are mostly full grown adults. Also some don't state the breed.

If you are anywhere near SW London there are LOTS of Baby Bunnies available at Animal Rescue and Care. The babies are not on the Recue's website yet but you can see them on ARC's Facebook page

https://www.facebook.com/ARC.Twicke...jGq3V6WFJKjN26QRcPFynuwkIyzuU&fref=nf&__xts__

It is very important that fem ale Rabbits are spayed when they are old enough

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/medical/neutering/

I'd advise you to have a thorough read of all the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund's website, from which the above link was taken, as it is full of the most accurate and up-to-date information about Pet Rabbits :)
 
A lot of the rescues don’t necessarily have chance to update their websites frequently as they are usually run by volunteers who also have jobs, so it’s well worth getting in touch with your nearest rescues and see if they have any bunnies suitable for you.
Thank you. Good idea.
 
It is an old book. It's possible some of the info is not relevant today.

Yes also a word for spaying, female rabbits NEED to be spayed for their own health. By the age of 5, a female rabbit has an 80% of developing uterine cancer which is fatal in most cases. Another reason I’d strongly recommend getting rabbits from a rescue as they will already be spayed/neutered and it will likely be cheaper than getting the bunny spayed yourself as vets offer discounted/reduced rates for rescues on most procedures.
 
Thank you all for your replies.
It is very exciting to get brand new bunnies. The rabbit book i have might be dated, but it says 2 female rabbits are the best.
I originally thought getting 2 female bunnies will be fine don't need to get spayed. And then seems to be a lot of contradicting information on the internet, about ideal pairs.
I now know unneutered female bunnies can turn aggressive when they reach puberty but what if i neuter both bunnies just before puberty then this can reduce the aggressive behaviour.
Getting bunnies at 8 weeks old should know the sex then, breeders should know what they are doing. I also will be taking them to the VET for a healthcheck pretty much next day after i got them

You've already recieved loads of great info but I should add that most vets will not neuter before puberty in rabbits. They have puberty at a young age and neutering before the hormones surge can result in growth defects, bone density issues etc.
Mine were neutered young (14 weeks, 16 weeks) but only because we could show they had already hit puberty level due to behaviours and issues we had. The one neutered at 16 weeks doesn't appear to have grown correctly though.

I have two females and it took me 3 and half months to bond them. Thankfully their relationship hasn't broken down as can happen in some female relationships but it has taken me some effort at tough times to adjust the bond.



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