Advice on baby siblings – “bonded”??

[bastion]

Hello all! I’ve told my story a couple times now but I’ll briefly reiterate it here before I ask my main question. In December, we rescued a lost/escaped rabbit who, it turned out, was pregnant with a litter of eight kits! The babies are all, wonderfully, happy and healthy, and now at nine weeks have been weaned from mom (save for the two who will be living with her forever). Mom and the remaining siblings are happy to have the new space!

So, we are going to be looking for a home for the two bunnies who we do not keep with us, and we did have one person already interested in adopting – however, she already has one wonderful male lop, and was hoping for a female she could spay and eventually bond with him.

On top of that, we were strongly considering one “pair” who seem to like each other, but now we are starting to feel close with another baby from another “pairing”!

My excess quotes here are because my understanding is that babies do not really bond, but they do seem to already have preferences to certain other siblings of theirs. I was wondering if anyone knows whether or not such preferences would make bonding easier post-spay/neuter, or if it really doesn’t come into play at all and doesn’t really matter if they get mixed and matched prior to reaching maturity? Thanks in advance!

[Wick & Fable]

It is safest to assume it really doesn’t come into play — puberty can really change some rabbits, while others just go with the flow and seem “the same”. The most informed guesses about bonding compatibility only comes after rabbits are at least 1mo post-spay/-neuter, which is when they are no longer hormonal.

Yes, a baby bond is not a true bond. Baby bonds are unstable and are expected to dissolve. It is more common for a baby bond to dissolve than actually survive through puberty and the spay/neuters.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[DanaNM]

I agree with Wick that it probably doesn’t really matter. 🙂

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[bastion]

Thank you both! I’ll keep this in mind. 🙂

[Author]

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