About bonding…..??

[Isabelle88]

I plan to move my two girls in together once they are fixed and the waiting period is over, i know about that and I have read great bonding stories here and other sites. My question, when i bought my bunnies I always got them in pairs, for a few nights three also slept together, they were babies so no toruble, is it because they become sexual that once they are older its harder to bond?

I thought once they got fixed they could move right in, now I know better but I am curious as to why.

 

and this might sound crazy and or stupid but is there any way a rabbit could remember another rabbit even though months have passed? Some of mine used to be so close before I had to seperate them. i seperated them because I knew it was time not because of fighting.

[Deleted User]

I do believe a rabbit will remember another for a long time. After all, this is why they can bear a grudge after a fight for so long. Even sheep have been tested at an English university for their memory and apparently the can remember 50 other sheep by their faces for 2 years. I think it is much better that you didn’t wait until a fight happened but separated them as a precaution.

The biggest obstacle in bonding is territorialism. — Rabbits obviously enjoy living in multiples but with maturity they vecome protective of their space. If your rabbits used to be close before being split up, once the hormones are checked, and you introduce in neutral space, you should be off to a good start.

[Isabelle88]

That sounds great but with Briskey and Julie they are about a month and a half apart, the bunnies they were bonded with were males

Twiggy and Julie used to live together as babies and he was so in love with her, at the time I thought Twiggy was a girl but me and the vet were wrong, I had planned to leave them together when i thought they were both girls but Julie would hump Twiggy so bad he’d be scared and would stay in a corner and only eat when she was asleep, so I separated them, thankfully Twiggy didnt get her preg, we found out two weeks later he was a boy when we saw he had balls. But Julie was the aggressor in the relationship and I would hate for her to pick on Briskey, If I cant get them bonded I will try putting Briskey back with Spot once he’s fixed, they were the closest pair i have seen.

I really hate sexual maturity, it really changes them.

[Deleted User]

Whatever the scenario before neutering (I use this term for ‘spaying’ as well), don’t worry about it. Start from square one after they are all healed from the surgeries and the hormones have settled. Begin with the two that you thought got along (Briskey and Spot). Then introduce Twiggy, since she appears more submissive, to Spot or Briskey, individually. This way you can get a first impression of their after-neuter personalities, as well as avoid ‘group fights’. Once you can trust these three, you could try bonding one at a time with Julie. The idea here is that Julie may be the harder bunny to bond because she has already displayed dominant traits. (these traits may change after neuter).

[MarkBun]

Posted By Petzy on 07/03/2009 08:22 PM
Whatever the scenario before neutering (I use this term for ‘spaying’ as well),

 

FYI, the new PC catch all is “Altering” because ‘fixing’ makes it sound like they’re broke and they’re not.

[Deleted User]

Here’s a chance to talk semantics ! I really prefer ‘neuter’ because it is the closest to ‘desexing’ in my mind, which is another choice. According to thefreedictionary.com these, as well as ‘fixing’ and ‘altering’ all mean essentially the same thing. (The removal of the reproductive organs of an animal.) Spaying is actually the most exclusive term in as much as it can only refer to the castration of a female.
–A ‘fixed’ boxing match wasn’t broken, either, right?

But, in the veterinary field, you’re right, the term most widely accepted is usually ‘altered’.

[RabbitPam]

I first heard “Speutering” here, and it’s become my favorite term. I could never remember which gender got spayed and which neutered, so it covers all bases.

Since many have reported that a variety of things can cause a bond to break, ie. a different smell from the vet’s office when a bunny returns home, I agree with Petzy’s approach to start new after the surgeries. They may or may not remember each other, but also what may be going on is that natural reaction, so mysterious, of “Hi, I like you. Want to be friends or mates?” Most bunnies are neutral at first, but love at first sight can happen on occasion.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

Yea when I first saw Speutering on here I thought it was a typo! I mostly use neutering and spaying separately.

[Author]

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