Bonding

[RaybundReddington]

Hi there, 

We are in the process of trying to bond our male and female rabbit. The female is nearly a year old, and the male is about 6 months. Female is spayed and male is not yet neutered. We have had the male rabbit since he was a baby, sectioned off in a large area by some chicken wire. They can touch each-other/lick each-other through the wire. 

They constantly lie next to each-other through the wire, and the big one often puts her head to him requesting licks. The female appears to be absolutely smitten with him, and never wants to leave his side. I put the male next to her today and patted them both at the same time side by side. She seemed very content and kept nudging her head under his. This is where problems arise. He is very stubborn and won’t groom her, so I lifted her head on top of his, and she groomed him for a considerably long time (without any help from banana etc) However as soon as he moves or gets up to run away her mood completely changes and she tries to run after him and attack him when he does this. 

I can tell that she loves him, but how can I get her to stop being so mean to him? It’s almost like she goes to attack him and then realises she actually likes him and softens down again. 

I’m very scared of her hurting him because she’s a fair bit bigger than her. Any help would be greatly appreciated! 

[Sirius&Luna]

You can’t bond them while the male isn’t neutered. Neutered bunnies will act hormonal around unneutered buns.

I suggest stopping all face to face bonding until a month after he’s been neutered.

[Dface]

Is there a reason your boy hasnt been fixed?
Like s&l said, bonding when only one is fixed is far more difficult, and can lead to more headaches than its worth.

His hormones will effect her, and he will also likely be a bit of a pain as he’ll constantly have the urge to mate with her, which will make sorting out hierarchy a nightmare

[Asriel and Bombur]

Agree with the above. But also for future reference, there’s no need to force grooms early into sessions. That is best saved for towards the end of bonding when they need an extra push. In the beginning it should be all them and their own interactions with each other.

[Author]

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