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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Keeping older rabbit calm until he can be bonded to his new bunny girlfriend

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    • redbunbun
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      202 posts Send Private Message

        Sorry for the really bad title, I had some difficulties coming up with something informative yet short enough… Sorry in advance for the long post, I’m looking for some advice on how to deal with my rabbits’ living situation until they can be bonded!

        We weren’t originally going to get our current rabbit (New Zealand Red male named Tossu, 8 months old) a mate, because my boyfriend felt that one rabbit was enough. I was a bit sad about that, since I want to provide my bunny with the best possible home and I feel like being part of a bonded pair is part of that, but because my boyfriend and I live together I respected his wishes on the subject. However, when I was hopefully browsing through sales ads for bunny babies a few weeks back (“just for fun!”) I came across an extremely cute French lop girl, and showed her to my boyfriend… his immediate response was “let’s get that one”. We’d talked about it quite a bit over the past few months, but this bunny just struck a chord with my boyfriend. A French lop was the breed I’d been considering anyway, since before we got Tossu, and the breeder was a reputable one I’d originally already spoken with about her rabbits before I’d settled on getting a New Zealand Red instead. So the decision was made very quickly… a little bit more quickly than I’d usually care to purchase an animal, but this just seemed (and still does!) very right in many ways!

        I immediately scheduled a castration date for Tossu, and the operation was this Friday (it’s Sunday evening here in Finland as I type this, so a little over 48h after the surgery). It went well, he’s been himself since six hours after the operation, eating and pooping and drinking properly and everything. He’s doing great, it’s as if he was never anesthesized or anything… I’m so relieved, since I was a bit worried about any complications! They could still be on the way, of course, but so far everything looks great.

        Anyway, after all this exposition: I went and picked up our new 10-week-old Lop girl today. Tossu and the new girl, Sukka (“sock” in Finnish… “Tossu” is Finnish for “slipper” ), are obviously being kept in separate enclosures. Tossu has his x-pen, which I’ve made even more secure before picking up the new bunny (just in case), and Sukka is being kept in a Great Dane-sized dog carrier that I’d bought as an easily portable cage in case I ever needed to take Tossu on a trip with me. They’re on opposite ends of our apartment’s kitchen/living room (we have a two-room apartment, with a bedroom, bathroom and combined kitchen/living room, so there’s not a ton of extra room for giant rabbit cages anywhere other than where I have them situated now), but they can obviously smell each other, and when Tossu gets his free-roam time he can go right up to Sukka’s cage (and vice versa, once Sukka is settled in enough to roam).

        So my issue here is: how do I keep Tossu, who has only just recently been neutered and still has his hormones going for another few weeks at least, calm enough to not give himself a conniption until his hormone levels recede a bit? So far, he’s not doing too bad. He’s been outside of Sukka’s cage a bit, since I had to let him have some freedom time after he’d been cooped up all day, and that went quite well. Sukka didn’t really care to engage with Tossu at all, she stayed in her small hutch in the middle of her cage and he just thumped his foot a bit and left some poops near her cage to mark his territory. Nothing dramatic at all. Tossu is back in his pen now, and while he’s laying down every now and then, eating, etc, he has been shaking the bars of his enclosure more than usual, trying to get out.

        I don’t want Tossu’s (and, of course, Sukka’s!) freedom time to be shortened because they need to be let out one by one, so I have a 90cm puppy fence that I’ve ordered and should be arriving tomorrow. I plan to separate the kitchen (where Sukka’s cage is) from the living room (where Tossu’s cage is) with the puppy fence, so that both rabbits can be out at the same time and not be able to be in direct contact. We don’t want any accidental babies, so this will be the only way the rabbits will be let out of their respective enclosures for the next four weeks, at least. I’ll also supervise their freedom 100% of the time, so that neither of them has a chance to get over the fence or make babies through the fence (I’d assume that would require enough set-up for me to actually have time to notice if that was about to happen…).

        IN SHORT: My issue here is that I’m afraid what’s remaining of Tossu’s male hormones will cause him unnecessary stress until his castration “fully kicks in”. Sukka is probably young enough to not really be affected yet, but she will also be sterilized as soon as our very rabbit-savvy vet deems it possible (and I will probably not try to bond them until she has been sterilized + healed). Their cages are about three meters apart, and I’ve covered both with towels to cut off any possible visual contact, but Tossu is still obviously going to smell Sukka all the time. Are there any warning signs that I should be watching out for that Tossu could be dangerously stressed out over Sukka? Is there something else you guys can think of that I could do to help Tossu forget Sukka exists? Does this over all sound like I’ve made a huge mistake, despite trying to think everything through as well as possible? I’m not really able to keep the rabbits in separate rooms, though if worst comes to worst I will have to find a way to put one of them in the bedroom without it completely destroying any chances my boyfriend and I have of a decent night’s sleep.

        Wow, what an essay. I hope at least some of what I’ve said made sense, and if any of you have experienced a similar situation, I’d really appreciate words of advice and experience on what you did in this case! I just want what’s best for both of my bunnies.


      • LBJ10
        Moderator
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          Sounds like you need to calm yourself down and take a step back. It might not be as bad as you think. Different bunnies react differently. They may be very curious about each other or they may completely ignore each other. You won’t know until you actually see what happens. Things to watch out for would be fighting (which can occur through a fence) and obsessive behaviors (one bunny simply cannot be bothered to do anything else except trying to get close to the other). I don’t know how territorial Tossu is, but being the resident bunny he might feel the need to mark so keep that in mind.

          Anyway, whether or not you decide to let the see/smell each other during this “pre-bonding” stage is up to you. Some people find that it helps with bonding later on. But there have also been cases where it has hindered the bonding process. Like I said before, it all depends on the bunnies and their personalities. I would, however, wait until Tossu is healed before letting him see Sukka through a barrier. The reason is that you don’t know how he will react and you wouldn’t want him to accidentally open the incision sites.


        • redbunbun
          Participant
          202 posts Send Private Message

            Haha, keeping calm in the face of – gasp! – bunny issues is definitely not my strong suit. I was afraid it would shine through in my post, and apparently did so. Heh. I worry too much, but it’s just that I want my bunnies to be happy and healthy, and I’m so very afraid something bad will happen to them!

            I’ll keep Sukka’s cage completely covered whenever Tossu is out, so he won’t be able to see her. That’s probably the best I can do without restricting Tossu’s free time (the vet said it was fine for him to be out and about normally, and it’s been a few days since his operation), until I get the big puppy fence in. Here’s hoping everything turns out okay… and that I can keep myself calm. 

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        Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A Keeping older rabbit calm until he can be bonded to his new bunny girlfriend