Flemish Giant and Netherland Dwarf? *Update*

[Tate]

 Quick, dumb question that I’ll probably add to later on:

I have a 3 year old 2.5 lb netherland dwarf… I am considering adopting a 5.8 lb 8 week old flemish… However I’m cooncerned that a flemish is too big for my little guy! Thoughts? What if they are bonded but end up having a small fight or something? The flemmie is an unplanned addition, by the way.. Thanks! 

[peppypoo]

Size shouldn’t really be a problem when bonding bunnies…we have members around with the silliest looking pairs! I think as long as you keep a close eye on the bonding process (as should be the case anyways) things should be fine.

[mia]

Depends on their personality. My Netherland could injure lots of larger buns before they injured her but I have another small bun that would easily get injured.

[jerseygirl]

Exciting!! Love it when people get new buns.

I reckon ND’s can hold their own too. Lol
If bonding while the flemmie is young, the size difference shouldn’t be as marked. You might actually have to protect the bigger one somewhat. A smaller bun can easily get under and bite where it hurts!
Hopefully they’ll move past the normal bonding antics quickly.

Providing space and small hidey spots for Velveteen to run too might give him sense of security.

Flemmies are generally thought of as laid back, so long term I don’t think you should have issues. Hopefully not.

A maybe silly question but what colour is the Flemish?

Pictures will be required if you go ahead with adoption! (pls & ty)

[Lexy]

My girl bunny Pickle (very small dwarf) is less than half the size of her male friend (minilop), and they get along like a house on fire. She’s the dominant one too, but it’s not that obvious.

[Valkyrie]

My friend had a netherland dwarf and flemish giant bonded pair for years. They were the cutest thing and loved eachother to pieces.

[Tate]

Thanks!!
Here is the run down: I work at a vet clinic and one of my coworker’s husband’s coworkers bought a flemmie last week. They had her for 2 days and then their poorly cared for dog bit the poor rabbit in the face… They did not seek any medical treatment and were planning on just killing her themselves, but my coworker’s husband took her from them and brought her to me at the clinic, where she is now. Her eye is what’s affected most and unfortunately there is an infection of some sort. Even more unfortunate is that the vet that does exotics at my work is on vacation until Monday. We’re hoping that antibiotics and pain meds will help and the eye (it’s her third eyelid that’s been torn) will heal on its own. She may need to have the eye removed, but I’m hoping not!
So, she’s 8 weeks old and won’t come home with me until the infection has cleared up. I’m a little concerned about introducing Velvateen and her, as she’s had such a rough start to her life and she is feisty! Fingers crossed that this stress won’t follow her around.
She is really pretty- fawn colored! I will try to get a picture today of her to post! She’s 5.8 lbs already!!! Velvateen is 2.4…. Hehe! I am super excited and hope it works out. I think that V will do well with a big female, but who knows- he is a spoiled little brat.

[Tate]

 Sooooo… she came home with me last night. At first I was planning on keeping her at the vet for a few weeks, but decided that for her sake, she needed to be in an actual home. It’s noisy at work and the cage she was in was small. Plus, it’s a 7 doctor practice, so the bigger cages are almost always taken. 4 doctors there have seen her and said she should be fine to come home and the liklehood of her passing anything on to Velvateen was very low. She’s currently in a big dog crate and is *so* happy. She’s stretched out on her belly most of the time (we call it “beach babin'”). And we named her Lucy. 

She and V have met! Unfortunately, my apartment is small- a studio. V has been free roam since we moved here in December, so there aren’t really any neutral spaces. I feel bad that she’s thrown in to the middle of his territory, but this is what it has to be right now. She does seem very comfortable. Last night, V was very curious but dug at her head, like he does to me when I’m in his space (otherwise known as my bed… ). She did it back to him and he hasn’t done it to her since. Lol. I am preparing myself for this not to work out, mostly because I know the circumstances of the introduction was less than ideal. But I’m still hopeful! They are mostly indifferent to each other, although V goes over and visits every few minutes and then runs away. Other than digging at her head, the worst he’s doing is pooping and peeing around her cage (although less today than yesterday) and sitting with his back turned towards her. 

As for her- she has a tear in the third eyelid as well as a corneal ulcer. She’s on oflaxacin drops 5x a day, baytril injectable 1x a day, and buprenex 2x a day. She does fine with injections, not squirmy at all! Fingers crossed she heals and doesn’t need an enucleation. 

For now, I’m committed to seeing her through her injury and would like to have her spayed and do a real introduction between her and V. If it doesn’t work out, I will have to find her a new home, but that’s ok. She deserves the best home ever after what she has been through! 

Sorry about the messy cage…. But I think you all know how that goes. She’s happily eating her pumpkin right now. 

[Tate]

Oh and for anyone noticing the size of the cage, it is completely temporary. I have 2 xpens in my closet, but would like to make sure her litter habits are pretty good before I trust her on carpet. And the cage isn’t that small– the last person that had it fit their full grown mastiff in it She’s a big baby!

[Valkyrie]

She is so precious!!!!!!! Poor girl…please give her an extra treat from me.

[flemish giant]

Is she that orange in person? She looks like a pumpkin.

[MoveDiagonally]

What a pretty bunny!

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Lucy!
Pretty, pretty bunny you’ve got there Tate. Great to hear she’s settling well so far.
As soon as i read “pumpkin” I thought what a totally apt nickname that would be for her. Haha

Btw, reason I asked about colour earlier was I though maybe a darker coloured rabbit might throw Velvateen a bit. Like seeing outline of an unknowm larger animal. .Depending on how they see each other. I guess they recognize another rabbit pretty easy though.
So he has the whole place but I’m betting he wants to be in that one space he can’t get right? The dog crate. Lol. Rabbits are funny.

I am preparing myself for this not to work out, mostly because I know the circumstances of the introduction was less than ideal. But I’m still hopeful!

Some bondings happen without following traditional bonding “rules”. Several months ago I had a friends rabbits with me recovering from there desexings. My friend wanted to the boy to be a companion to her girlbun. After a few days in pens side by side, I opened the pens up. The boy went into her territory and she surprisingly reacted well. Eventually, she went into his area too. I joint their pens that night and they’ve been bonded ever since. Granted, my place was somewhat neutral to them but their individual pens had their own things. They just weren’t territorial toward each other.

I don’t see anything wrong in letting them interact and seeing what happens. If it turns sour, then try again down the track with more directed bonding techniques.

[Tate]

She does look very pumpkiny! And she loves pumpkin, so that will probably be a nickname that sticks.
Jersey- V’s doing pretty well! He’s very interested when I open her door to feed her and give her meds, but other than that, he seems to observe from a distance. Haha! I think he’s a little freaked out by how big she is. At first he was being a brat and picking on her, but now that she’s getting saucy with him, he doesn’t provoke her. Haha!
I am hoping that I get to keep her. I think it could be a good match! But she still has a few months before she can be spayed until we truly know.

[tobyluv]

Lucy is beautiful! I hope that her eye heals quickly and completely and that she and Velvateen will become close companions. Thank you for rescuing her.

[Author]

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