Bonding Professor Bunnie and Sir Thumps a lot

[SirThumpsey]

I am planning on waiting a bit before I bond them since neither of them are fixed and are both old enough to reproduce. I love baby rabbits but I know it wouldn’t be a good idea to let them play at this point. I have put their cage next to eachother so that they can in a sense get to know one another. They have been licking and sniffing eachother but Sir Thumps a lot begs me to let him out to play with her. He won’t get his way this time. I’m currently saving up money to get them spayed/neutered and have been searching around for places that deal with “exotic” animals. (It’s so strange to me that rabbits are considered exotic..) Anyway, they are acting pretty friendly towards each other thus far but I’m a little worried that the dynamics of their relationship might change once they are fixed. Since they will no longer be interested in breeding, I worry that they will lose interest in eachother. I told my friends that they are getting married since they seem to love eachother. They are not having a honeymoon, I assure you all.

The only thing that bothers me is that someone told me that rabbits will either fight or breed. I think that was only if they were able to reproduce. Is this true or have you found that you can bond pairs successfully if neither of them are spayed/nuetered. I am not planning to do this but I want to know that if I get more rabbits in the future if it would be better to bond them before or after surgery.  Granted this would probably be based on gender combinations.

I will let you know how this goes and keep you updated. I’m anxious to get Bunnie spayed in hopes it will cut back on some of her agression. Then I won’t have to worry so much about an unplanned litter. I heard that if female aren’t spayed that it can cause health problems later but I have heard nothing about males having health problems if they aren’t neutered. Would it be best to get them both fixed or would it be okay if I just got Bunnie spayed for now?

 

Thanks for all of your help.

[Sarita]

Most altered pairs get along just fine. I’m honestly not sure (being that I’m not a rabbit) that it’s just a matter of breeding that makes them want to be together since even those that are altered are successfully bonded and appear to be just fine. I think it’s more of a companionship. I’ve successfully bonded several pairs too and I’ve not been successful at bonding some pairs too (so they are singles).

It is true about the fighting but that can happen and maybe does happen more with unaltered animals because they feel the need to breed. So I think that altering most likely stops that need to fight (obviously not all the time but much of the time).

I would definitely get both altered too.

[SirThumpsey]

Well I let Sir Thumps a lot out today to play with the dog in his room. He basically bolted to Bunnie’s cage and started sniffing her through the bars. I thought “Well this is good” And the she growled at him. Oi. I think it was more of a territory thing and not a “I hate you, Get away from my cade or I’ll bite your ear off” growl. Atleast that is my hope.

I have had a hard time actually getting Bunnie out of her cage. I’m not sure if this is due to her fear (which is probably likely) or if she’s just not ready. I don’t think she is fond of the dog. I feel like she is saying to me “Put that DOG in the other room…and then I’ll come out to play” Or perhaps I’m just a little crazy.

I like to make the rabbits “talk.” Guess perhaps I am a bit strange.

After they do get altered, they will probably try humping eachother just to assert dominance. I believe males are viable for 2 weeks but I’ll probably give him three just incase.

[SirThumpsey]

Oh boy!

He will go up to her cage and sniff her through the bars. It almost looks like he is grooming her head…Hard to tell. At first she always grunts/growls at him but then she gets used to it. Their cages are perpendicular but not touching and they always lay in opposite directions.

Is that a sign?

[SirThumpsey]

He will come and lay right next to her cage. She always growls at him.

I’m starting to wander if this isn’t such a good idea.

With her being pregnant and all, she has been much calmer. Except towards the other animals in the house.

[Beka27]

It’s going to be difficult to really predict what will happen until they are both altered and the hormones have had some time (1-2 months) to clear out of their system. Like Sarita said, the point of bonding rabbits is for the companionship. Think of a bonded pair as “best friends” rather than “husband/wife”.

Right now, Sir Thumps has one thing on his mind, he wants to mate with Bunnie. It doesn’t matter that she might already be pregnant, all he knows is that she is a girl and he is a boy and that is what bunnies do. If Bunnie is in fact pregnant (or having a false pregnancy where she does not know the difference), the only thing on her mind is protecting HER territory and the area where her babies will be. She doesn’t want anyone in her space, not Sir Thumps, not you. This is a natural behavior with pregnant females.

While there haven’t been any studies, that I am aware of, regarding long-term health problems in unneutered males, you still will want to have it done. It is important for the behavioral benefits (reduced or eliminated spraying, destructive behaviors, aggression, etc…) and he will not be able to successfully bond to Bunnie until both are altered.

I believe unneutered males do have a *slight* risk of testicular cancer, but it is not nearly as prevalent as in unspayed females.

[SirThumpsey]

He’s neutered now and doing just fine.

Is there any way to tell if she is just having a false pregnacy other than her not having any baby bunnies? I was expecting them Wednesday…but still no babies yet…This is foreign territory for me.

[Beka27]

I believe the only sign is that no babies come. They may still pull out fur. Usually, pregnant rabbits don’t gain a lot of weight. It’s not always noticeable that they are bigger until the last few days or last week. Rabbits are “induced ovulators”. This means that they don’t release an egg monthly like humans, but rather they release an egg when they are mated with. This is why a rabbit can become pregnant immediately after giving birth, if a male mounts her, it will trigger the egg to be released. I believe this is the same principle behind the false pregnancy. If she is humped, the eggs release and even if they are never fertilized, she can go thru the motions of being pregnant. This is the major reason why you do not want to keep a neutered male and unspayed female together. Gestation is not longer than 28-30 days. What date did you get her?

[SirThumpsey]

I’m going to post this on all of my recent posts about Bunnie.

She was pregnant and died during the birthing process. I came home and found her cage full of blood and little bun wriggling.

I am desperatly trying to save the lil’ bun. I’m probably going to keep it since it is the only thing left of her.

May she rest in peace.

[mrmac]

I am so sorry to hear that! How sad, it made me teary. I hope the baby is doing ok. Rest in peace and binky free Bunnie!

[Moonlight_Wolf]

I hope you are able to save the little bun!

[SirThumpsey]

Me too. I just ran (almost litterally) to get the kitten milk replacer. I hope I can.

[Author]

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