Bonded, hormones, or curiosity?

[Julezypie]

 I have had Jack since he Fourth of July. He has been housed next to Fiona the whole time. They groom each other through the bars, cuddle each others stuffed animals, and lay next to each other through the bars. Since Jack wasn’t fixed, we have not let them out at the same time (except once, under supervision ) and keep them separated by a baby gate. Fiona gets the living room and kitchen and Jack gets the bedroom, hallway, and bedroom. The past couple of days, Jack has been wanting to explore the living room more, so we figured he wanted to be with us. However, once he’s in the living room for like 15 minutes, he wants to go back to the bedroom/hallway. 

Well, I have come to figure out that Fiona and Jack want to be with each other. Wherever Fiona is, Jack wants to be, and wherever Jack is, Fiona wants to be. So, my answer to this problem is to put them both back in their cages, where they immediately go to the separating wall, where they start to groom each other and flopp down next to each other.

 

my question: are they semi bonded, are their hormones (jack was neutered yesterday and Fiona is 12wks old) or just bunny curiosity? And what can I do to make them less stressed out until I can properly house jack and Fiona together? 

[hannaroo]

Bunnies can mate through bars so haven’t them separated by bars isn’t advisable. I would start pre bonding but keep them seperate for at least a month (males are fertile for up to a month after neutering)’ fionas hormones make kick in and she could become territorial towards Jack and a fight could really harm a potential bond so just be careful

[MoveDiagonally]

I agree with everything Hannaroo said. It literally take 2 seconds for them to make babies.

I do not think they are bonded at all and it’s likely bunny curiosity. As tempting as it is to put them together before they are both altered or start bonding early it’s really not a good idea. There are countless things that could go wrong and very few potential benefits. Fiona is always still pretty young and she may become more territorial as she gets older. This is a very common female bunny trait and while hormones amplify it they do not create it. Spaying can reduce territorial behavior but it generally is not a “cure” for it. This is another reason to be careful about having a shared wall. They can breed through it and they can fight through it.

Things you can do that may facilitate a good start for them in the future are switching around litter boxes and or habitats. You can get “bunny surrogates”, stuffed animals, and swap them. Stuff like that can familiarize them with each others scent.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Agree with the others. Wait until Fiona has been spayed and her hormones have sufficiently calmed down (usually about a month later) before attempting any interaction.

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