Hello All!
This page has been very helpful over the last few months! So helpful that I haven’t needed to create an account to ask anything because I was able to find the answers in other threads. However, I am in need of some expert advice now (;
We adopted our first rabbit at 5 weeks old. She’s now 12 weeks old and I’m beginning to see a new sign of what I believe to be puberty related (BO smelling territorial poops). So far she has been very well tempered and adds so much joy to our lives! She’s a mix between a standard rex and a New Zealand white. She will be spayed in October. After doing much research and leaning a lot about rabbit behavior, diets, health & costs of care we have decided to add another addition to our family! Although, I have gotten mixed feelings from others whom I consider very knowledgeable.
We don’t want Millie (12 week female) to be lonely, that was the first reason why we decided to get her a companion. I thought I had done enough research but, I just recently learned about “bunny dating“. We have already decided to adopt an 8 week old male lionhead. He is 5 weeks old right now and was surrendered to a shelter in our area. We are waiting until he’s 8 weeks old in order to prepare our home and because school is about to start back (mom of 3) so things are about to get hectic again! Millie will be 15 weeks old when we bring him home. Because we haven’t gotten him yet I could back out and take Millie bunny dating after she is spayed in October. But I made the mistake of getting attached to him already and my kids love him as well. It would be heartbreaking to back out on this beautiful baby.
From my understanding, it is sometimes easier to bond male and female pairs then same sex pairs. That gives me hope (: He will also be old enough by the end of October to be neutered. We are waiting until October because they will both be old enough by then for surgery, we will be driving 4 hours away to an experienced clinic so that they are in the best hands, and because it is the most cost efficient for our family.
My main question is should we attempt pre-bonding (cages near each other but not too close in the same room, switching bowls/litter boxes, switching stuffed animals) or should we keep them completely separated (different rooms) until they are both spayed/neutered and after waiting the 4 to 6 weeks before attempting to pre-bond/bond? The territorial poop began about two weeks ago when we moved Millie’s cage into another room (my daughter’s room) and she has made body odor smelling poops every day since then. So I’m worried about putting the new rabbit in our daughter’s room because Millie’s already territorial but that is the ideal place for both of their cages to be and that is where I want them to be in the long run. Millie only produces territorial poop in her cage other than the one time on me on the couch. She is litter box trained but does leave territorial poops in various spots of her cage (blanket, corners) as well as in her litter box. She is allowed to roam the house but prefers to stay in my daughter’s room. We think it might be because the bedrooms are carpeted but the hallways and living room have wood flooring. She could just be nervous about exploring (not 100% sure lol).
As I previously stated, I have received varying degrees of advice. One person told me that Mille will not get lonely, she doesn’t need a companion, because she is a female chances of her ever bonding are slim to none, and because she is a larger breed it is unwise to try to bond her with a small lionhead. Someone else told me that because they are fairly young rabbits and a male and female pair it could work. I have a great deal of respect and admiration for this page and the members of it. Therefore, I head y’all’s advice the most. So sorry for the long post! I am still learning and just wanted to give all info possible lol I open to any and all degrees of advice (:
Thank you!!