Getting doe’s for both of my bucks

[sophia.o_c]

Hello all,

Recently,my bucks (both neutered)both broke out to a fight with eachother and both of them were wounded.They are both 5/6 months old as they are litter mates.One of my bunny got a wound bite on his neck and another one got a wound on his nose! So,I’ve already feel at lost of words to bond those two bucks together,,and so I was thinking of getting two does for both of them. So,if I did so will the doe and buck both bond? But I’ll have to wait to bond both of them i think,, because the females that I’m getting is still a baby and by the time I take the doe+s,both of my bucks will be 1 years old.So should I wait for the female rabbits to get spayed them bond them or how? I feel really pathetic and sad for both of my bucks because they were the best of friends and they suddenly just turned into small little devils towards each other and I’m scared that both of them might get lonely/depressed due to the fact that I only spend half of my days with them because I have school and stuff and they will alone.Is it okay if I adopt two female rabbits and bond them with my bucks?

[DanaNM]

I’m really sorry that your boy’s bond broke. 🙁 That is really sad and stressful. Unfortunately this is really common when bunnies are litter mates and are not neutered before their hormones really kick into gear. Babies don’t form true bonds, so when they hit puberty there can be problems. Before you rush to bond them with other bunnies, just know that it could be possible to re-bond them if you gave them a long cooling off period. The chances of success with this are lower when there has been a bad injury in the fight, but it might be worth trying if you have the time and space.

Even if you just have them as neighbors, they will still take comfort in each other’s presence, so you might just have them live side by side for a while and see how they are doing.

If you go through the proper bonding process, most bunny pairings do work out, and male-female pairings are the most common (and see to be the most successful), but other pairings can work too. Whether you decide to try your boys with male or female bunnies, it’s important that they are neutered or spayed first in order to have the best chances of success.

The thing that jumps out to me about your post is that you are busy with school and other activities. I have 2 pairs myself, and they take up a lot of time. I love them, but I do have to make sure I am able to spend time with each pair, and cleaning and chores are definitely more work! Also the process of bonding two separate pairs at the same time could be overwhelming. I started with one pair and then ended up getting a second down the road. Since you aren’t as familiar with the bonding process I think it could be very stressful to get both new bunnies at once and then have to have four separate enclosures and do dating with 2 separate pairs. I’ve had fast/easy bonds take about 2 weeks (after several weeks of pre-bonding), and longer ones take 4 months.

Here are some resources on the bonding process. There are a lot of conflicting opinions on the internet, but I think that these steps are the most human and good for beginner bonders:

https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/

The Art of Bunny Dating: Tips for Bonding Bunnies

 

 

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[sophia.o_c]

Okay so I think I’ll try bonding them next year probably? Both of them fought real bad when I tried the bonding stages in a neutral place and both of them are still on each other’s back,,,so I kinda lost hope to bond both of them together because one of my bunny used to be submissive then when those hormones kicked in,he started getting more dominant,Also I got both of them neutered last 3rd October and so far,they are still fighting whenever they get the chance to even see each other.So that’s why I was thinking on getting females for both of them and I even discussed with my mom and she also agreed.Ah and don’t worry! What I meant by half of my day ,didn’t really mean I rarely spend time with them..it’s just that I’m scared they’ll feel jealous? As my time had to be divided 50/50 with spending together with one of my bunny then the other…Thats why I was thinking on getting them female rabbits haha,,,but for now thank you for your advice! I’ll try to follow the link that you put over there! THANK SO SO MUCH!!

[DanaNM]

I understand! I don’t mean to discourage too much about bonding them to different bunnies, just want to make sure you are prepared! It would also probably be way easier logistically to focus on one bond at a time if you chose to go that route.

When your current buns are side by side (but separated by a barrier), how to they behave towards each other?

Also, when was the fight? Their neuter wasn’t too long ago, so they may even have some hormones still settling a bit. Just curious about the timeline for everything. Usually it’s recommended to separate for 4-6 weeks if fighting was bad (preferably out of sight and smell of each other), and then try pre-bonding and reintroductions.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[sophia.o_c]

The fight just took place last three weeks and then last week,,so far they only had some wounds which thankfully isn’t that bad but the fight was bad because when the first fight encountered,they were both on each other’s neck and the fight looks like a bunny tornado!,,also whenever they are side by side,both of my bunnies will first sniff each other..after that my bunny,grey bowed his head which I think means that he is the dominant one,,and my other bunny,Dash only looked at him and do nothing? Does that make sense? Haha also after that,they continued to sniff eachother then all of the sudden Dash jumped.And a few hours after that,they bit each other’s nose! Luckily the bite wasn’t that bad/worse as there wasn’t any blood.Also do I really have to separate them to the extend of not smelling each other?So far I’ve only tried to change their litter box with one another…also when you said that it’s possible to rebond them..wow that made my day! It’s just really sad to see both of them fighting! Also I think in my case it means I’ve probably rushed in bonding them,,I’m really sorry and really thankful to you…still I’ll try rebonding them next year which means that I’ll let them be separated for 1 month,,and hopefully they’ll come to agree with eachother and leave with peace 🙂 I’ll try to update some more later! AGAIN THANK YOU ( ◜‿◝ )♡

 

[DanaNM]

Ah, so yes it has only been a very short time!

Were any of the injuries bad enough to need medical attention? Have you had them both looked over for injuries you might not have noticed?

And yes, when a rabbit bows his head to request grooming, that is usually a dominant gesture. And then failing to groom usually means the other bun is not ready or willing to be submissive. But there can be a ton of back and forth, and often by the end of the bonding process it’s hard to tell who is dominant and who is submissive, so I usually try not to worry too much about it. They will come to some sort of agreement eventually. I’m half convinced my bunnies ALL think they are dominant.  🙂

So just to be clear, for now, they should not have any interactions. If you can separate them from view of each other (even with a blanket hung up on a pen wall), that’s great. Out of smelling range is even better, but I know that can be hard to do. Don’t do any litter box swapping or anything for now. Keep them totally separated for at least 4 weeks, but 6-8 might be better.

Then, you should do a period called “pre-bonding”, where they live side by side and you swap who is on what side every day or two. Be very sure that they cannot get to each other during this time (bunnies are really good at jumping over pen walls during this phase!). Also make sure they can’t nip noses through the fence, so either use a fine mesh along the barrier, or use a double wall with a 6 inch buffer. I like to do pre-bonding for at least a few weeks. Basically you want to see how they behave when you swap sides. Do they run around and seem on high alert, do they run the fence or grunt at each other, etc. Good signs are relaxing near each other, grooming themselves at the same time, eating at the same time.

Once you feel they are doing really well during pre-bonding, you can do actual dates in a very neutral space. The harder the bond, the more important the bonding space is. In your case, I would aim for a somewhat large area (like 2 x-pens or a small room), in a very neutral place (such as a room they have never been in, out of smelling range of their home areas). I used to live in a very small apartment and used my friend’s garage for bonding and it worked great. Start with short sessions, prevent fighting, aim to end on a good note. I find it’s very helpful to set very short time goals for early sessions when I think there might be fighting involved. So you could plan for 2 or 3 minutes. Even if they ignore each other, that’s fine! Then repeat, and slowly increase the time goals. When they come nose to nose, pet them both A LOT and swap scents. This will help them think they are being groomed and will start to rebuild some trust and positive association between them.

Ok I’ll stop there so as not to overwhelm you!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[sophia.o_c]

thank you so so much and haha don’t worry! You’re not overwhelming me at all,,it’s just that both of my parents saw that they were fighting and they told me that males shouldn’t live together and that kinda dropped my expectations on bonding them,, but I guess that’s the typical mindset that people have.i mean when I went to the pet store,the staff over there didn’t believe me when I said that my bunnies were both litter trained and half roamed free! It’s so sad to see people having that type of image whenever they hear rabbits like they’d expect rabbits to live in small cages and always poop/pee everywhere 🙁 anyways I’m a bit expectant and hope that my bunnies will rebond with each other..also whenever they are side by side,only my bunny dash gets wounded?he always gets a bite on his nose?  I mean I’m pretty sure Grey is dominant because ever since they were small,it was always Dash whom was submissive…but for now I’ll follow your advice..Again THANK YOU SO SO MUCH ༎ຶ‿༎ຶ♡

[DanaNM]

You’re welcome!  Keep us posted on how it goes!

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[sophia.o_c]

Ah also they both don’t seem to miss each other at all I think?😭… I just spend time with both of them and it’s been weeks now and both of them seem fine…I mean my bunny,Dash( a mix angora) was really clingy and spoiled towards me and will always follow me whenever I go nowadays but Grey (chinchilla) seemed quiet for some reason like he prefers to sleep and flop whenever I pet him…it’s probably stressing both of them I think..since a lot has happened over the week haha also can you explain briefly on how you bond your buns? I want to learn beforehand properly..I mean I’ve read all the articles but I’m still lacking!( ◜‿◝ )♡

 

[DanaNM]

I’m glad they are both doing well. Since they weren’t truly bonded they are probably happy to have some alone time. 🙂

I recommend reading over this info as a starting point:

https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/

And then happy to try to answer any questions that come up. 🙂

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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