Rabbit Bonding Queries.

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 5sd replies, 4 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 2 months ago by LizziAnn.

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- 06/03/2014 at 6:20 AM
  LizziAnn
  Participant
  84 posts
  My little girl rabbit loves my male but he is not as interested in her. She will snuggle up to him and follow him around- so cute. He on the other hand is very rough with her, for example, he will nudge into her while he grooms himself and disturbs her sleep, he will jump over her and into her when sharing the litter trey and will nip her when they are out of their cage for a run.
  It is so strange because she still loves him even though he has this I-don’t-care-for-you attitude. They do seem to live peacefully however which is why I have kept them together. Also, I have seen him groom her only once.
  
  (they are the ones on my profile pic- one brown one white ^.^)
  
  Some background on my bunnies:
  Neji: Male ,3 yr old lop mix, nuetered. He was my first rabbit and has been on his own since aquiring him three years ago at about 4 months old.
  Luna: Female, 12 week old Netherland Dwarf. Bought her home when she was 8 weeks old and kept her completley seperateted from Neji while she adjust to us and her new surroundings.
  I took Neji to the vet for a check up a few days before bringing Luna home and spoke to him about my plans for getting him a new sister. He suggested that because she will be used to other rabbits I did not have to wait to get her spayed before doing the bonding (although, I will of course be having this done when she is big enough).
  Bonding went well, Neji was of course the dominent one and even though it only took about 8 – 10 bonding sessions before moving them in together it felt like a slow process.
  
  Anyway back to my question; Will he ever show signs of affection towards her? At the moment it feels like a grumpy older brother and annoying little sister relationship rather than a totally-in-love rabbit hubby-wife one. Also, should I be seperating them at night? Idon’t know…hmmm.
  
  Thank you to any replies.
- 06/03/2014 at 9:59 AM
  LongEaredLions
  Participant
  4482 posts
  He is going after her because she is not spayed, and although her hormones aren’t causing problems now, they will in the future. It is always best to have both bunnies fixed before attempting bonding. I think he will be more affectionate once she is spayed and rebonded.
- 06/03/2014 at 10:40 AM
  LizziAnn
  Participant
  84 posts
  Wow, I didn’t know that he would know about her being intact- that’s really interesting.
  I was quite surprised when the vet said I could go ahead with the bonding without the opp as it does go against everything I have read up on about bonding. However, I trust my vet which is why I took his suggestion/advice.
  I know that at some point the hormones could unsettle the relationship but I have had my fingers crossed that they wouldn’t kick in until after her spay haha.
  
  You said ‘rebonded’ are you suggesting I should split them up now? I thought that might be upsetting for the both of them, which is why I thought putting them in their own cages at night time- to avoid unsupervised fights- if you know what I mean.
  What do you think?
  
  Thank you so much to your reply
- 06/03/2014 at 12:01 PM
  Sarita
  Participant
  18851 posts
  I don’t know too many vets who actually know about bonding rabbits :~) I think that your vet probably felt it was okay as there would be no unwanted pregnancy so in that respect, your vet is correct.
  
  But I will say that if they are bonded now during the day, I wouldn’t separate them at night. There is definitely a possibility that Luna’s hormones could eventually cause some problems.
  
  As for the affection, what looks like affection to a human is not necessarily the same for a rabbit. Some rabbits happily co-exist and are bonded without what we humans call love and affection :~) Rabbit dynamics aren’t the same as human dynamics.
- 06/03/2014 at 1:07 PM
  MoveDiagonally
  Participant
  2361 posts
  Even a great vet might not know much about bonding rabbits. My vet is one of the best in my state but she’s never bonded rabbits.
  
  Bonding really can’t take place until all bunny’s involved are spayed/neutered. Your female is still young and there is a good chance that her feelings and behavior towards him will change as she gets older. Baby bunnies usually like everyone. I think you should house them separately until she’s spayed. Allowing supervised play time, as long as they’re getting along, should be fine but I wouldn’t leave them alone together.
- 06/03/2014 at 2:25 PM
  LizziAnn
  Participant
  84 posts
  Really helpful responses guys, thank you!
  I will def be taking this all on board and will just have to monitor their behaviour for now. I am a Uni student and have finished for the year so I have the entire summer to do this.
  I know what you mean about the vet, he has owned rabbits all his life and had a lot of tips about bonding but I don’t know for sure if he has actually done it hehe.
  ／(^ x ^=)＼
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