Forum

OUR FORUM IS UP BUT WE ARE STILL IN THE MIDDLE OF UPDATING AND FIXING THINGS.  SOME THINGS WILL LOOK WEIRD AND/OR NOT BE CORRECT. YOUR PATIENCE IS APPRECIATED.  We are not fully ready to answer questions in a timely manner as we are not officially open, but we will do our best. 

You may have received a 2-factor authentication (2FA) email from us on 4/21/2020. That was from us, but was premature as the login was not working at that time. 

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

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.

What are we about?  Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately!  Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES 

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.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BONDING Small little female with a pretty big male, need advices

Viewing 8 reply threads
  • Author
    Messages

    • Tev
      Participant
      5 posts Send Private Message

        Hi everyone !

        I’m coming for help to solve a kind of specific case :

        Little Leona, three months female, just arrived at my home, pretty suddenly as she was given to me after being saved from a accidental pregnancy. Fluff, a 3 years old male (neutered already) already lives in total freedom. 

        I first made them meet through bars in my hall (neutral room), and since it’s actually going very well I went on with direct bunny dates. But right now, I’m feeling uneasy with the humping part : Leona is still pretty small and Fluff is quite the big one. I’m afraid he might hurt her with his weight.

        For now, they only had 2 bunny dates in my bathroom, which went well, but with the humpings worrying me I prefered to stop the dates for the moment. Leona is now in her own park, with direct contact with Fluff through the bars. It’s actually getting really smoothly, they sniff each other, not a single sign of aggressivity (even during the dates), they even kind of cuddle through the bars sometimes. Leona is reaaally curious about him (she’s used to live with all her family, so this might be lonely for her), but Fluff kind of ignores her, except for some sniffing and slight cuddling.  She even managed to escape one time and went to Fluff’s space, and he didn’t act territorial at all, he let her wander without doing anything. He just naturally starts to hump her, and she lets him do without any fear (she even starts to groom him and gets flat next to him, showing total submission). I’m just scared that even with all her good will she still might get hurt by the weight of that big boss…

        Also, when humping, he’s kind of biting her… I read it was part of the process but should I still let him bite her like this ?

        So I’m wondering if I should wait for Leona to get a bit bigger before letting them meet directly again. (She’ll also get neutered when she hits six months but I was hoping to let them live together before that). The only problem with that is that Leona will then have to stay caged for a few more weeks/months and it’s a bit sad for her… She’s really energic and even if I made her a quite big park we can feel she wants to join Fluff and us on the other side of the fence.

        What do you guys think ?

        Here are some pictures of their first meeting, so you can see compare their size.

         

        Thanks a lot for your answers ! Sorry for the potential english mistakes, I’m French.


      • tobyluv
        Participant
        3310 posts Send Private Message

          Hi and welcome to Binky Bunny! It would be best to put the bunny dating on hold until Leona has been spayed and recuperated. Even though they are getting along now and could possibly bond, due to Leona being so young, the first step in bonding is for both rabbits to be spayed or neutered. Leona hasn’t reached puberty yet, with all the hormones that brings, but when that happens, things can definitely change. She could be more aggressive and that could lead to fighting, which could mean injuries. If you bonded them now, they would likely have to be separated in another month or two, whenever Leona went into puberty, so it seems best to wait on the bonding.

          They can be kept in rooms where they can see each other, but it’s better to keep them physically apart until after her spay. Make sure that Leona gets adequate out of cage time for exercise and play each day, when Fluff is in a different part of the house.

          Leona and Fluff sure are cuties!  And don’t worry about your English.  It looked perfect to me.


        • Tev
          Participant
          5 posts Send Private Message

            Hi ! thanks a lot for your answer !

            yes, I knew it was best for them to stay separated until she’s spayed… I can’t really put them in two different rooms, but I’m watching them really closely (I work partly at home so I spend most of the time with them).
            Since I got her so suddenly (she would have been killed if I hadn’t taken her right now…) I admit my organisation is a bit lacking. I was hoping to let them roam together even before the spaying, and am ready to separate them again if she starts being aggressive because of her puberty : I just want to reduce her cage-time to the minimum.
            I heard some people don’t have any problem with a spayed male and a still fertile female, so I wanted to give it a try, until she’s old enough to get neuterized. You really think it’s not a good idea ? I won’t let them together without any watching anyway, that’s for sure. If she could at least have some playtime with him when I’m there and stay in her park when I can’t watch over them, that would be perfect…

            Anyway she’s still too small comapred to him I fear, so for the next weeks/month Leona will stay in her park : I made it larger now, it’s something like 3×2 meters, she can run and hide and seem pretty happy with it (I’m currently in negociation with my landlord to let her get some space for playtime in the hall). We can just feel that the two want to be together, and whenever Fluff gets close to her park, she tries to escape and join him. They groom each other through the bars… It’s so cute and heartbreaking at the same time… ^^’

            I was also wondering if you had an international vet list that you could share ? I’m living in Belgium but the closest big city is Luxembourg (in Luxembourg, heh). Fluff was spayed in Paris, I don’t live there anymore, so I’m looking for someone to take care of Leona.

            Thank you very much for your time


          • Vienna Blue in France
            Participant
            5317 posts Send Private Message

              Hi and welcome to your and your fluff famille !
              I’m sorry I don’t know about bonding a unneutered female with neutered guy

              LOL negotiating with landlord to get hall space !! How could he refuse such a cute face? Just so long as there’s nothing to nibble !

              I don’t think there are vets lists but you should be able to find a ‘local’ rabbit club on the net and they would know the best rabbit vets if you asked.


            • tobyluv
              Participant
              3310 posts Send Private Message

                To find a vet, go here https://binkybunny.com/RESOURCES/tabid/67/Default.aspx, and scroll down to Vet Resource Links. Several of the links are for international listings of vets. You can also start a new thread with the title “Looking for a vet in Belgium” or something similar. There may be some other members here who live or have lived in your area, and would know of good vets for rabbits.

                As I said before, you can bond baby/very young bunnies to each other or to an older rabbit, but at some point, they will have to be separated, then properly bonded after everyone’s surgery and recuperation. I have never had very young rabbits together, then separated them, so I don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not. It just seems to me that it’s better to keep them separate until the real bonding can begin (after surgery and a few weeks of recuperation) but others here may have other ideas.


              • Tev
                Participant
                5 posts Send Private Message

                  Yes, sorry I actually noticed the list on the forum just after posting my message, my bad. I looked into it but as I feared there aren’t much vets in belgium that can handle rabbits. In France house rabbits are quite common now, it’s pretty easy to find a good vet, especially around Paris, but Belgium and Luxembourg are still a bit shy about them. 
                  I found a vet that manages rabbits in Luxembourg, I’ll go to him I suppose. But it will be luxembourg prices : almost 400 euros for a sterilisation, ouch !! x)

                  And yes my landlord is the nicest ever, but he legitimatly fears for his brand new walls (wood walls. With really nice and chewable ornaments). He already let me put her in the hall for one week during the quaranteen and the time she got used to the place, so it’s already kind of him. That’s pretty much one of the first reason why I’d prefer to let Leona have her playtime directly in my studio, with Fluff. ^^’

                  Tobyluv you are absolutely right. I’m trying to get a compromise, I know these are not the best conditions. For now I’ll follow your advice and see how things go on. I’ll keep you aware of any change. Thanks to both of you very much for your advices

                  Here’s another picture of the little lovely cutie <3 We can see better than on the other pictures how red she is.

                  If anyone has already been in this situation (baby female and adult neutered male), I’d be happy to hear about these experiences.

                   


                • Vienna Blue in France
                  Participant
                  5317 posts Send Private Message

                    175€ in my vets in Lille if you want a little road trip ….


                  • Tev
                    Participant
                    5 posts Send Private Message

                      Haha thanks, Lille is actually really far from where I live (Arlon, next to the Luxembourg border). Aaaaand I don’t have a car x) I think Luxembourg is the only option for me…


                    • Tev
                      Participant
                      5 posts Send Private Message

                        Hi again, there’s some worrying news :S
                        Leona was living in her park, but she nibbled quite hard on the wooden floor (a plank was slightly poping out). My landlord was comprehensive but doesn’t want her to stay in this room anymore, I have to put her directly in my studio. On Fluff’s territory.
                        I installed her park the farthest possible from his usual spot, he seems curious but not agressive. It’s been two days now and he doesn’t seem bothered by it, they even kind of appreciate the proximity : they “poke” and stare at each other through the bars, pretty much as it was when she was living in the other room.

                        I’m just worried about the future. I don’t Let Leona play in the studio for the moment, for playtime I carry her and her toys in the bathroom. The plan is of course not to let them be together before she gets spayed, but I worry that this situation might be harmful for them. Right now they really don’t seem stressed at all (they both eat/poop perfectly, lay peacefully on the floor like pancakes, play, jump, ask for petting, etc…), so my boyfriend is telling me to chill out, but I’m still aware this situation might be problematic.
                        When she was having some exercises with my boyfriend in the bathroom, I tried to let Fluff enter her park to sniff around, hoping it would help him getting used to sharing his territory.
                        FATAL ERROR as soon as I took 5 secs to send a sms to my bf (“Fluff’s OK he doesn’t look angry hoho”) he started to spray piss everywhere.

                        I quickly took out Fluff and cleaned everything. When back in the park Leona didn’t seem bothered, but I’m anxious.

                        What should I do ?
                        I’m thinking of trying to “neutralize” my studio by putting back Fluff in a closed park (snif…), and alternatively letting them play outside their specific spaces.
                        But I don’t think Fluff will appreciate being caged again in addition of sharing his territory, after three years of being the only one who gets the attention. (he’s showing very little signs of mild jealousy, asking much more for petting and always watching over us when we take care of the little one. We make sure to always feed/pet/etc him first though.)

                        I’m in a bit of a corner there, I don’t know what’s best to do… :S
                        Thanks a lot for your advices !

                    Viewing 8 reply threads
                    • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.

                    Forum BONDING Small little female with a pretty big male, need advices