Male - Male bonding?

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This topic has 3sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 5 months ago by LBJ10.

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- 07/03/2014 at 10:13 PM
  Noniel
  Participant
  4 posts
  So… I have a little male Holland lop who is currently about 5 months old… I have him scheduled for a neuter on August 12th; the vet won’t neuter until 6 months old minimum, so this was as soon as we could fit him in!!
  
  I’m wanting to get him a friend… regardless of whether the friend is male or female, he/she will be fixed!
  
  I have heard that females can be a bit more temperamental, even after being spayed, though I’m sure every baby is different!
  
  What I’m wondering is if male-male bonding is really that much more difficult than female-male? I will make the second bun an appointment to be fixed at 6 months old as soon as I pick out the right bun! I have my eye on one who is a male… but I don’t want to take anything on that I can’t handle! The bun I have my eye on will be 8 weeks on Sunday (so 13 weeks when Storm goes to get neutered!) so he is younger.
  
  Storm is incredibly laid back. He was the runt of his litter and so he doesn’t display any signs of aggression. From what I was told, he was picked on by his former cage mate… but I believe he was a male as well and neither were neutered… that’s obviously a recipe for disaster!!
  
  The description of the boy of interest’s personality I received was as such, “He is very laid back and cuddly he likes to be held he doesn’t kick or squirm. He’s the only one in his litter and loves to be talked to. I play music for them all day so they are used to noise and enjoy it. He would make an excellent pet for small children his temperament is awesome very much like his fathers.”
  
  I guess I’m curious if there will be a huge issue with fighting for dominance so long as both boys are neutered as soon as they hit 6 months… I know they can hit maturity as early as 4 months… but my vet isn’t comfortable neutering younger than 6 months! I am asking around to see if I can find a vet who will do it at 5 months… but I think 4 is unheard of! If this will be a huge problem, I will keep looking for a girl… I’m not in a huge rush (since Storm can’t even be neutered for a month and then I have to let his hormones die down!), but I do want to keep my eyes open! I’ve been checking with rescues, but it seems most shelters in the area would rather euth on intake… which makes bunny dating kind of difficult!
  
  Thanks for your input!
- 07/03/2014 at 10:23 PM
  MoveDiagonally
  Participant
  2361 posts
  I don’t think gender really plays a part in bonding and that it’s more about personality. You can try to find a bunny you think will be compatible but there’s no real way to predict how well they will get along (bunny dates really help). Do any of the shelters allow fostering? Maybe you could “foster to adopt” and attempt to bond your boy with a new bunny (after everyone is altered of course) before committing to being a forever home.
- 07/03/2014 at 10:46 PM
  Noniel
  Participant
  4 posts
  Thanks for your reply!
  
  That was my general thought… that it was mostly personalities that had to click… I have just seen so many people say “male-female is easier” and that “male-male is most difficult,” so I wanted some input!!
  
  Unfortunately… there aren’t any shelters within 2 hours with buns right now! I foster for my local shelter and I am familiar with ‘foster to adopt!’ I put a word in to try and help with any bunnies that may come through… but I spoke with a small animal rescue that said most of the time the shelter doesn’t even alert them… they put them right to sleep! The one shelter that does intake and adopt out buns doesn’t currently have any, either! They said they don’t take them in all that often…seems most people would rather put them on craigslist!
  
  I can and will continue to keep an eye out at the shelter! It would be a two hour drive to adopt this baby… I really do like him but I just wish there was some way to know that Storm agrees! They have a 7 week age difference, which I guess is better than some…though it will require quite a bit longer with two cages than if I could find one around 6 months to adopt!
- 07/03/2014 at 11:50 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  17028 posts
  My boys absolutely adore each other. I don’t think male-male bonding is any different than other pairings.
  
  I do like the idea of letting your current bun pick a friend, if at all possible. Getting two different buns without knowing if they are potentially compatible is always going to involve some level of risk (of ending up with two buns who simply cannot get along). Then again, I ended up with Wooly unexpectedly. Wooly and Leopold took to each other almost immediately after the bonding process began. Of course, Leopold wanted to hump Wooly every which way to assert his dominance, but it was pretty short lived. Within a few days they were inseparable.
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