Neutered and unspayed pairing

[Nh2205]

So, I have a very friendly Rabbit named Gizmo(male) and because I’m going to be working a new job m be home.less I’ve gotten him a friend, ghostt(female)
Gizmo is due to be neutered on Monday, and ghost is not spayed, so they are in separate cages next to each other n can see each other. They’ve not really done anything but look at each other so no hostility. Anyway, I won’t be able to Spay ghost for another month. My question is if gizmo is neutered but she is not spayed, can I start to introduce them without fighting or do I HAVE to have had her spayed too?.
On top of this any advice on introducing them and bonding them safely would be appreciated. They will remain in separate cages till they’re friends but the goal is to have them living in the same cage.

[Mikey]

She HAS to be spayed too. And, you have to wait atleast two months after she is spayed to bond them as rabbits can be hormonally for several months after being spayed/neutered.

[jerseygirl]

The males are actually still fertile for a period after being neutered definitely don’t put them together. Lots of accidental litters have been the result of a newly desexed male being in with an intact female.

That aside, the hormones of both buns will really interfere with acheiving a true bond. They could be really lovvey or they could show aggression. You wont know if that is affects of hormones or not. Your boy may have in an increase in hormonal type behaviours for a week or two after the op – that is not unusual. So that along with the girls hormomes just doesn’t give a good foundation for a long lasting bond.

When it come time to introduce them, set up an area away from their cages. Use a pen or small room both haven’t been in before. Lots of people start out in the bathroom. Unbonded rabbits will often interact well when their is a barrier between them (like you have seen) and it is nice company for them to have another rabbit next to them. But it can be very different once that barrier is gone. So it is a good idea to start in a neutral area where neither will feel like they have to defend their territory. Having said that, I have had some successful bonds when the rabbits met in non-neutral space but these were older rabbits that I had a fair idea of how they would interact. There is some more bonding info under the BUNNY INFO tab at the top of the page.

[tobyluv]

They definitely both have to be spayed and neutered with at least a month passing since their surgeries before you can start bonding, and you will have to keep them completely separated until it is time for bonding. When they are taking turns out of their cage for play and exercise, they may start getting aggressive through the cage bars, so you may have to put an extra barrier around the one who is caged at the time. They can fight and bite through cage bars.

Besides the bonding article found here, https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx, there is another good article on the HRS site, http://rabbit.org/faq-bonding-multiple-rabbits/.

I have had good luck using an x-pen for bonding. Even if it’s in a room that’s not neutral, you can make the pen neutral on its own. Place a sheet or large towels on the floor to mask any scents in carpets. You can even drape towels or sheets on the side of the pen to hide the view of a room, although I’ve never done that. My husband and I get in the pen with the bunnies, to stop any fighting (which we’ve never had) or any excessive humping. Some scuffling and humping can be normal. Start with a few minutes and increase the time each day.

[Nh2205]

I’ll definitely wait till they’re both done then. Another question though, gizmo has been everywhere in my flat.. bathroom included but not very often, would it be okay still having them in there to bond? To be fair even unneutered he’s never been territorial, never sprayed urine or anything like that. Ghost has never been anywhere besides the living room and hallway

[jerseygirl]

Well, the good thing about bathrooms or laundry rooms are they are easy spaced to “neutralise”. Just washing the floor to remove scent is enough.
Another way to create neutral space with a pen like Tobyluv described in the above post.

Ive used a huge cardboard box to begin bonding work before.
Another place is the boot (trunk) of the car, or backseat even. A station wagon car would be ideal.

[Author]

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