Finding a companion for my young male

[luvmycritters]

I have a 9-week-old male.  He will be neutered as soon as he is mature enough.

My question is:  I would like to find another young bun (same age) as a companion for him.  If I get one now, won’t the bonding be easier, or not???  And, if we find a friend for him now, are things going to change between them when I take them to get spayed/neutered???  Or should I wait until after he is neutered to find a friend?

I would appreciate any opinions/ideas/thoughts!!!

Thanks,

Terry

[osprey]

I have had some experience with baby boys in the last few months, so I can tell you that at about 12 weeks he will start getting aggressive because of hormones.  He will likely fight and/or mount any other bunnies he comes into contact with.  Trying to start a bond when they behave like this is tricky.  You could try housing them separately until they get fixed, or maybe wait and bond once he’s been neutered.

[Gravehearted]

I would agree with Osprey! I would definitely recommend neutering your bun before trying to introduce him to another bunny. bonding neutered buns is much easier. bunnies that aren’t neutered or spayed tend to be much more territorial, plus bonding is usually easiest in boy to girl bonds. About a month after he’s neutered his hormones will be calming down and it’s a great time to take him to your local rabbit rescue to pick his friend.

[Lionbunny]

Terry-

I have been debating aboutt his same issue myself for a couple of weeks. My bunny seems really happy in her new pen I built her, but I know it must get boring when I’m not home and she doesn’t have anyone to play or cuddle with.  I’ve finally concluded that it makes more sense to wait until after the surgery and healing are over with. Then gender of her companion won’t be an issue, and I won’t have to rebond them after the surgery and healing period. Of course, that could change on a whim knowing me!

 

[MooBunnay]

Hello!

First I want to say that its great you are getting a bunny buddy! Bunnies definitely love to have a friend – I have 7 bunnies myself, and even though they do not all live in the same pen, when I put all of their ex-pens in the same area, they all seemed a lot happier, I think because they like knowing there are other bunnies around. Naturally I believe they live in herds, so that there are always some alert bunnies around to THUMP and alert everyone else if there is danger. My bunnies are not to well coordinated in that sense, they tend to all flop over and sleep at the same time and leave the herd unattended…

Waiting until after they are both spayed and neutered is a good idea for all the reasons mentioned above. In addition – if you bond them and THEN take them into surgery, you do have the complication of one possibly getting pregnant before they are both spayed and neutered. Also, you risk upsetting the bond if you separate them for spay neuter, and depending on the circumstances you might also have to keep them separated for the recovery period, and this might undo all the work you did for bonding them. So I do second (or third!) the recommendation to wait until after surgery!

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