Bonding Peter & Max

[Catie]

To better understand my situation, here’s a touch of optional backstory. Warning, this is fairly depressing stuff. 

[Warning, contains depressing backstory]

I picked up my first rabbit, Peter, quite unexpectedly. After a bit of reading I found that rabbits like company of their own kind, so I took home a rabbit that had been dropped of at my store. The rabbit had been found abandoned on the side of a road by two girls, and they didn’t know what else to do with ‘him’. Ended up it was a girl. Peter, only being about 5 months old, had not been fixed yet, so they would remain seperated until he had been fixed. For the two weeks I had her, I would let them interact through her cage bars every few days and they seemed to hit it off great so I scheduled his neutering for the following Monday. Saddly, that weekend, she passed away after a sudden and severe onset of wry neck. Peter was devastated, even leaping over his cage bars in an attempt to reach her as she passed. 

[End of depressing backstory]

Peter has been fixed for two weeks now, and I decided to start looking for a new partner for him. Partly to distract him from the loss of Muffin (aforementioned girl) and partly to get it out of the way before my fiance and I move out. (he will get a little less attention without my stay-home mother to well…mother him.)

I mentioned this to a co-worker the other day and it seems that her young son has a dwarf rex (about 2-3 years old, not neutered) that he has been…neglecting since he discovered the world of sports. A couple days later, I take home Max, a snuggly little lap warmer. Peter…does not like him. 

I’ve got them both in severate rooms, and have been trying out the method of using stuffed animals that smell like the other rabbit (they ignore them completely) and just tried the ‘stress bonding’ method via the bathtub and my mp3 player. Seems they don’t like music very much… They tried to fight straight off, so I kept them at seperate sides and stood over them the whole time. Oddly, it is Peter who is the agressor. I figured the older male would be more trouble. They tried to bite eachother a couple more times, but I always seperated them before they could harm eachother. After a while, they just sat down and groomed themselves, or tried to hop out of the slippery tub. Whenever they grew aggitated, or nervous, I would start petting them until they quieted down. All in all, I think it went…ok, but I feel horrible. I had to seperate them several times and was just a bundle of nerves that they would hurt eachother. 

I ended the 40 minute session with the boys ignoring eachother, and I took them back to their respective cages, loved them up a bit and gave them each a large leaf of romain lettuce. 

I must say, this was really stressful for me! Is bonding males normally this nerve-wracking?

[Sarita]

I would get the other rabbit neutered as well – both need to be altered.

[MoveDiagonally]

I’m sorry for your loss!

I agree with Sarita, before bonding can progress they need to both be altered. There’s not much benefit to doing the bonding sessions until your new boy is neutered.

It takes about a month for hormones to calm down/level out after a nueter. 

[tanlover14]

I completely agree with the others – it’s not only necessary but can be dangerous to attempt to bond bunnies that have not been altered. The hormones can really set the unaltered bunny off and you could have a very bad fight on your hands. Keep separated, neuter, and THEN attempt bonding sessions again.

Their first time interactions WERE quite normal. So after the neuter I would definitely continue with the bonding!

[Catie]

 So having them both fixed will be safer. That certainly makes sense. I’m very new to the keeping of rabbits and admit that I don’t know nearly enough, so I definitely appreciate this feedback. Is it safer, or easier to bond a girl to a boy? My only goal in getting a second rabbit is for Peter’s benefit, so whatever is better for him trumps what I want. 

I’ll talk to my finace in the mean time about fixing Max, but I was worried about becoming so invested into a rabbit that I wasn’t sure Peter would like. Is it better to go through with it, assume that I know best and hope that the two grow to like eachother, or try to start off with someone else who is already fixed? 

Thanks again from everyone who has responded! 

[tanlover14]

It’s really up to you in the long run. I have four bonded bunnies – a girl and three boys. I personally think my girl was the hardest of all of them to bond (to every other rabbit). A lot of people have said that girls and boys are easier to bond but I personally think that’s completely incorrect. My boys were by far the easiest. It’s all about personality rather than gender. Bonding is stressful no matter which genders are doing the bonding so be prepared for that! Also, it WILL be harder for you because the other rabbit isn’t altered. And going any farther with bonding is COMPLETELY pointless until the other is neutered. Once neutered they can come back from the procedure smelling different so even if you began to establish a bond between them it could be completely broken when you bring the bunny back from his neuter.

Personally, I think you should get him neutered and continue. Bunny bonding is ALWAYS difficult (only a few rabbits really get a long instantly or even in a short period such as a few days or week). If you’re willing to put in the time and effort though, I’d be happy to give you lots of bonding tips and you can start a specific bonding thread after the other is neutered. We have had a lot of people bonding lately so I’m sure you’ll get some very good tips and help you along the way!!

Feel free to ask any other questions if you need too!

[Beka27]

I would most definitely neuter Max! You have him, you might as well make the commitment and give him the best possible life, REGARDLESS of whether or not the two of them ever bond! It isn’t fair to take in a second rabbit and then dump them somewhere if your first doesn’t get along with him. This is another reason why there are crowded rabbit shelters all over…

Get him neutered and allow him to heal for one full month. By this point, Peter will have been healed for nearly two months. THEN, you can start bonding…

The added bonus of waiting a month is allowing YOU time to get to know Max as an individual and bond with him, he is not just a mate for Peter!

[Author]

Messages