Help Bonding!

Hello,

I have a 10-month-old Lionhead who has been neutered for approximately 4 weeks. I have recently brought home a 12-week old male mini lop. Bonding is going geat (as far as I'm aware). They are housed in an unused garage, the lion head has free roam and the baby is in a pen. They can both see and smell each other.

I place them in the bathtub for bonding dates. They both seem relaxed, they both sit and eat together and even lay next to each other. My lion head seems to be making a point of flopping all over the place and asking the baby for a groom. Up to yet, the grooming hasn't happened from the baby. I would say they are both relaxed in this environment and have been for 3 days.

I made the decision to make their area slightly bigger, moving them from the bathtub (as all seemed well) into the bathroom itself. Whenever I change the environment, every time the baby moves, my lion head mounts him. This does not happen in the bathtub. leo (the baby) is able to hop and explore the bathtub without being mounted, however this is not the case in the bathroom. As soon as he moves, my lion head is straight over. He does seem to get bored after a while and ignore the baby, however always goes back to his methods after awhile.

Do my bunnies need longer in the bathtub? Or do I let them get acquainted in the bigger space in their own way? Any help and tips would be appreciated.

Thankyou

Hi. You will need to wait until the baby has been neutered before any chance of a successful bonding. The baby will feel under a lot of pressure being mounted by your older Rabbit and the stress will affect his health. Some Vets will neuter Bucks at 12 weeks if they are of a good weight so please keep the Rabbits separate until after the baby has been neutered. There is still no guarantee that they will bond successfully after he has been neutered.

Thank you, I will be phoning the vets when they open at 2 pm.
Why would the baby being neutered stop the already neutered male from mounting?
They are completely fine in the bathtub, this is so confusing!

I think (correct me if I'm wrong anyone!) It's that your new buns hormones will be kicking in any time soon, and that can affect any bond and could cause them to start fighting. You can keep them next to each other again until the post-neuter hormones have calmed down after 6ish weeks and and start the "proper" bonding. Hopefully it will go well!

leoandharley said:

Thank you, I will be phoning the vets when they open at 2 pm.
Why would the baby being neutered stop the already neutered male from mounting?
They are completely fine in the bathtub, this is so confusing!

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I didn't say neutering the baby would stop the neutered male from mounting. He still might do it after neutering as he will be the dominant Rabbit. Being mounted will be very stressful for a baby Rabbit.

tonibun said:

Being mounted will be very stressful for a baby Rabbit.

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As will putting both Rabbits in a bath tub

Both Rabbits need to be neutered before any introductions take place. As there can be hormone surges for 6-8 weeks AFTER neutering it is suggested it is better to wait for this amount of time before introducing them. I have never had any problems bonding sooner though.

Another thing to be certain of is the gender of your baby Rabbit. Pet Shops and Breeders are known to mis-sex the Baby Rabbits they sell.