Need advice ASAP please

[SamC]

Ok, here’s the story:

Healy and I have been visiting my parents for the week. We are headed home on Friday(7/8). I have been considering getting him a girlfriend for a while and I’ve started looking online etc. Today I visited the local SPCA and there were SIX bunnies there. So sad! But anyway, at least two were females, some were not sexed. This is a great shelter that I’ve adopted/fostered from before, they neuter buns before adoption as well. 

My master plan would ideally be that I would take Healy to the shelter tomorrow (7/7) and let him meet some of the ladies lol. Then we could go from there if he gets along with one. She would need to be spayed and I can pick her up and keep her in a separate cage for a month or so. 

The problem: I don’t think that all of the rabbits are currently spayed. Healy is neutered and I’ve seen him interact with a spayed female bun once before. He was very calm and somewhat uninterested, but I’m worried about what could happen during his meetings. I’ve never introduced rabbits on my own before and I’m not sure what I should do and what I should avoid. 

Any tips would be wonderful! I’m feeling very nervous/excited about this. The urgency behind this is that I’m going home Friday morning and I don’t know when I’ll be around this shelter again. (plus I really fell in love with this one lionhead girl and I want to be the lucky one to take her home if Healy approves)

Thanks for your help!

[brittbritt]

I was fortunate to be able to take Gabby to meet her husbun and let her pick one out. The lady at the shelter has rabbits of her own and loves the shelter bunnies very much. She had a tall rabbit pen in a circle and we put my rabbit cage I brought Gabby in at the opening of the pen. We opened her door and Thumper jumped right in her cage to meet her. Gabby was very submissive and let Thumper hump her and lay beside her too.

We were both shocked she was happy with the first boy she met. They were both fixed already so I don’t know how it will go if the females are not spayed when he meets them.

[Elrohwen]

I would put them in a pen together and see what happens. Humping is fine as long as the humpee is ok with it, but make sure nobody humps the head – injuries can happen that way.

Good signs would be ignoring each other, eating hay near each other, sitting together, or grooming. Chasing isn’t a great sign, but it happens and it doesn’t mean they won’t bond. You want to avoid any fighting – rabbits remember those they’ve fought with and it could make bonding very difficult.

Since the females are unspayed, there’s a higher chance that they will be aggressive and territorial, so just be prepared for that and ready to remove the rabbits from the situation. When I was bonding I kept heavy gloves on and a plastic dustpan to separate them if necessary.

[SamC]

Thank you both for your help. Healy’s meet and greet went very well. He met two very sweet young ladies and was a total gentleman. First he met Bijou, a ~2yr old white w/spots lionhead mix. They practically ignored each other and hopped around munching on carrots. She would occasionally go up for a sniff and Healy would jump and move away (he’s normally a pretty jumpy guy anyway). Bijou was very sweet and easy to pick up and handle which is a major selling point for me.

The next bachelorette was Sweetness. She was an itty bitty black and white dutch. One of the spca’s vet tech’s helped me sex her (we also sexed the rest of the ‘unknown’ bunnies for good measure). The vet tech was afraid of Sweetness as she was known for boxing at staff and volunteers who tried to pick her up. I showed them my technique for handling such a bun and it went off without a hitch. Sweetness ended up being true to her name and she was super adorable, but she exhibited a few signs of dominance over Healy and she was fairly difficult for me to hold.

I ended up choosing Bijou (who will be getting a new name when I come up with one). Healy was virtually no help in choosing, he was so indifferent to the whole process and was more interested in climbing up into my lap during his meetings. He was at least a little stressed, because normally he isn’t the cuddly type.

Bijou will be getting spayed either tomorrow or Monday and then if all goes well I pick her up on Tuesday! As far as I could tell, she is not litter box trained. Her file said that she was surrendered by her owners who had gotten her from a friend. Then her new owners didn’t want her anymore when they said they “didn’t have the time to care for her”. So sad! Well I have plenty of time and love for her, and hopefully with time so will Healy.

I absolutely HATED leaving poor Sweetness and they other buns at the shelter. If anyone in NJ is looking for a really nice bun check out the Monmouth County SPCA! They were very helpful, the spay/neuter is included, and the adoption fee is a donation of your choice.

[Tate]

I’M FROM MONMOUTH COUNTY! I don’t live there now, but I just had to share. My parents went to Monmouth College (I think it’s now a university?) Small world!

[TaraMichele]

I live in Ocean county! and work occassionally in monmouth county! do you stil live in NJ?

[SamC]

Tate & TaraMichele,
That’s so funny! Yes, it’s Monmouth University now. My family is still in Monmouth, but I’m living in Delaware now for school/work.

[Elrohwen]

Congrats on the new bun! I can’t wait for pictures and to hear her new name (funny, my parents’ had a dog named Bijou who died when I was a baby, so I always think of him when I hear the name).

When we took Otto to meet girlfriends, he was exactly the same – he’d start eating hay the second we put him in the pen and would completely ignore every bunny. I could pretty much pick whichever bun I wanted, which was nice.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

Congrats!! That was fast It is soooo funny how even the most aloof of bunnies suddenly ‘loves their momma’ and wants cuddles when scared “Eeeepp-strange surroundings…Momma i forgot ! I love cuddling! Hold me!’ heheheh

I can’t wait to see pictures {{Easy Spay Vibes}} Keep us posted

[MimzMum]

lol…That WAS fast and wow, sounds like a match! I think of the little french white hamster in Hamtaro when I think of the name Bijou. That may be who she was named for.
I’m also looking forward to when you can post piccies. She sounds lovely!

[cactuspancake]

omg sounds like a dream come true! Congrats!

[BinkyBunny]

Congratulations! Bijou sounds adorable and looks like they did very well together so far! Just be sure that when you do bring her home that they meet again in a neutral territory. As even calm bunnies can get territorial within an area they are familiar with. Plus, you’ll need to give her time to heal just in case a scuffle breaks out.

Keep us updated!

[SamC]

Thanks everyone! I’ll definitely post pictures when I bring her home. And I’ll need to start a bonding thread eventually as well.

I have her cage all set up. I was wondering if it is a bad idea to have it in the same room with Healy? Healy usually has full access to my floor of the house (I have roommates downstairs), I can put Bijou’s cage in my bedroom and keep the door closed if there is any sign of aggression (or litter box forgetting) by Healy. Is there some other reason that her cage should be out of sight for now? And is it ok to let Bijou explore “Healy’s room” while he’s locked in his cage? Or should she stay away from his territory for now?
Thanks for your input

[Author]

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