Bonding a male/female under 12 weeks old

[Livbun84]

Hi there,
We have reserved a little doe to collect next week and she will be 9 weeks old. The more I have been reading I now feel that we should get her a companion but that particular breeder doesn’t have another bunny. I read that male/female pairings are the best and I have found a buck of the same age. Can I pair these two together? I read that bonding bunnies under 12 weeks is easier for them but what do I then do when it’s time to neuter or spay? Would I keep them in cages next to each other? They will be indoors x

[Doodler]

I am not sure why some people say that it’s easy for babies to bond. Although it is true that they will normally get along they cannot bond at that age. The other big issue with this is soon they will be fertile and you definitely don’t want your babies to have babies.

If you get both of them you would have to keep them separate until they are both altered, healed and hormones settled. You would then be looking at prebonding and then bonding. This means you have a long road ahead of you with two separate bunnies. Even if you were to get same sex bunnies if you look back on this website in the bonding section you will see multiple inquiries from people coming here for help because their baby bunnies that used to cuddle each other are now being aggressive and fighting. This is what happens when hormones become involved as the get older.

Yes you would be able to keep them in cages next to each other but you would want to make sure they are far enough apart that they can’t nip each other or try and breed through the bars. 

[DarthVadar]

Baby bunnies don’t bond. Many people mistake baby rabbits being baby rabbits for rabbits that are bonded, and can live fine together….until they reach bunny puberty, and go for each other’s jugulars. I’m not kidding; I had two babies that were “bonded” (they were my first buns, i knew nothing lol), and one literally ripped open the other’s neck.
Male/female pairings, provided both are fixed, are said to be the easiest. Female/female can work very well, too, as long as their personalities don’t conflict.

[LBJ10]

Gender means nothing when it comes to bonding. It all comes down to personality. Unfortunately, bunnies do not develop their personalities until they reach adulthood. I agree with the others. Baby bunnies love everybody. They can seem like they are bonded, but a true (i.e. lifelong) bond can only be established between adults that have compatible personalities. Sometimes people keep babies together and everything works out in the end. Often times, that isn’t what happens at all. Like the others have said, hormones can cause babies who “love” each other to suddenly fight. The change can literally happen overnight, with little to no warning. If they don’t fight, there is the risk of baby bunnies having baby bunnies… which isn’t good. So I would definitely advise against keeping a young male and female together because you don’t know when they will be capable of reproducing.

If you are set on getting two babies, it is best to keep them separate until they are old enough to be spayed and neutered. Then you can begin the bonding process. Ideally… it would be even better to get the female, let her grow up, have her spayed, etc. By that time, her personality will be known. And you could look for a friend for her (male or female) that will be a good match.

[Author]

Messages