New bunny in tobys territory?

[Toby Da Bunny]

Hi all, so I got a new little holland lop boy. If you know Toby you might remember she is a girl. Since I will be moving out soon, I wanted to get her a friend and i had to do it before she is spayed because that’s not until August and I needed more time to bond them before I move out. I spoke to the vet about it before I made this decision and she said it was totally fine. And she said a male would be a better bond because toby has a very territorial personality. Ollie is 5.5 weeks old and super happy, he hasn’t stopped binkying around and hopping and zooming! I introduced Toby and Ollie yesterday when I brought him home through the cage. I decided to let Toby out for a few minutes and see how they react.

Toby was putting her head on top of Ollie and also her body. What does this mean? My guess is it’s a territorial instinct? She kept sniffing his butt too. Anyways, they’re in separate rooms in the house now. Just wanted to explain and ask exactly what this meant?

[Daisy]

Note that an unspayed female and an unneutered male make babies after…10 weeks (I’m not too sure what the critical age is, someone fill me in). Make sure you seperate them after that age until atleast one of them is neutered to prevent baby Tobies and Ollies!

I think Toby was showing her dominance. My dominant female will also lay on top of her submissive friend sometimes, it’s never the other way around. How old is Toby?

[tobyluv]

You really can’t bond them at this time. A permanent bond only happens after both rabbits have been spayed and neutered, then have gone through the bonding process, starting a month or so after their surgeries. They may get along right now, since Ollie is so young, but that is not going to last. His hormones will be kicking in soon, and everything will change. Are you sure that Ollie is only 5.5 weeks old? That’s too young to be away from his mother.

The best thing to do would be to keep them separated now, not even let out to play together, and then you can try bonding them in a few months, after Ollie has had his neuter surgery.

[Toby Da Bunny]

Posted By tobyluv on 6/09/2018 12:30 PM
You really can’t bond them at this time. A permanent bond only happens after both rabbits have been spayed and neutered, then have gone through the bonding process, starting a month or so after their surgeries. They may get along right now, since Ollie is so young, but that is not going to last. His hormones will be kicking in soon, and everything will change. Are you sure that Ollie is only 5.5 weeks old? That’s too young to be away from his mother.

The best thing to do would be to keep them separated now, not even let out to play together, and then you can try bonding them in a few months, after Ollie has had his neuter surgery.

Hi! Yes he is only 5.5 weeks old and has already been weaned from his mommy.

[Toby Da Bunny]

Posted By Daisy on 6/09/2018 12:09 PM
Note that an unspayed female and an unneutered male make babies after…10 weeks (I’m not too sure what the critical age is, someone fill me in). Make sure you seperate them after that age until atleast one of them is neutered to prevent baby Tobies and Ollies!

I think Toby was showing her dominance. My dominant female will also lay on top of her submissive friend sometimes, it’s never the other way around. How old is Toby?

Thanks! Yes I’m definitely keeping them sep until Toby is spayed in 2 months. She’s 4 months right now

[sarahthegemini]

Your vet advised that you ‘bond’ an unneutered male and an unspayed female? What the…?

[Deleted User]

Why would you get another extremely young baby?!?! Everyone told you the last time it was horribly dangerous and you did it again?! We had also mentioned not to put two unaltered rabbits together if you got another one.

[Toby Da Bunny]

Because I wanted a Holland lop and they didn’t have any at the local shelter. Also the baby was already weaned and kept away from the mother before I got him. I already explained why I got the 2 bunnies unaltered. Ollie will be fine. It’s not the end of the world

[Deleted User]

Coccida is deadly and can affect babies not properly weaned. You couldn’t wait for a properly weaned Holland lop? It was that drastically important when you have to wait at least another 5 months to bond. I’m sorry but that’s irresponsible on your part and on the person who sold it to you. Just because he’s weaned at 5 weeks does not mean he was ready. As mentioned to you over and over again a bunny shouldn’t leave mom before 8 weeks. They’re like any other animal.

[Sirius&Luna]

I don’t know why you ask for advice when you ignore everything everyone tells you, then you come back to tell everyone that you ignored their advice.

I would really advise finding a new vet that specialises in rabbits, because no rabbit savvy vet would ever recommend putting an unspayed female with an unneutered male.

Again, you have got a bunny that is too young to be separated from their mother, but this time you don’t have the excuse of not knowing it was wrong.

[Toby Da Bunny]

Everyone remotely in my area sells rabbits at 5 – 6 weeks. I had no choice. The bunny was weaned off already and he is perfectly happy. And the bunnies obviously aren’t together. They are in seperate cages in seperate rooms of the house. My vet is the only exotic vet that could actually help within a 50 mile radius. I’m doing my best. You guys need to stop getting so easily worked up over nothing. The rabbits will be fine.

[Wick & Fable]

I’m glad you will keep the rabbits separate from now on until they are both fixed, because this is the safest way to begin proper bonding. If you have not already, I advise having your exotic vet see the Holland lop as well. There’s no guarantee the rabbit’s growth and development will match Toby’s, as every rabbit is different.

In regards to the young age, it’s always best to have a trustworthy vet help you, should you have a rabbit of young age, similar to what you did with Toby. While your experience with a young rabbit has been relatively smooth, remember that as forum browsers, many of BB users have read stories of young rabbits suffering due to early weaning, so while you have your experience your basing your judgements off of as well as those on your geographical area, other BB users are thinking of the number of unfortunate experiences they have come across in their own areas and online here on BB. It’s good to have people highlight all possible outcomes, and it’s responsible to keep all of those possibilities in mind, whether or not you think they are likely.

It’s very easy to get heated when it comes to the treatment of domestic animals, so when you see a lot of users echo the same opinion or recommendation, it means it may be something worth noting. I myself am guilty of getting quite aggressive about certain topics, but the aggression usually comes from a place of good intent.

If this topic continues, let’s be diligent in keeping it about the best ways to educate based on what events have already occurred, rather than advising on past events (i.e. purchasing a young rabbit).

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.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Toby Da Bunny on 6/10/2018 12:37 PM

Everyone remotely in my area sells rabbits at 5 – 6 weeks. I had no choice. The bunny was weaned off already and he is perfectly happy. And the bunnies obviously aren’t together. They are in seperate cages in seperate rooms of the house. My vet is the only exotic vet that could actually help within a 50 mile radius. I’m doing my best. You guys need to stop getting so easily worked up over nothing. The rabbits will be fine.

Firstly, nobody is ‘getting worked up over nothing’ You have chosen to get a rabbit that is far too young because you didn’t want to wait. Rabbits being taken away from their mum at such a young age is incredibly dangerous. 

Secondly, it isn’t obvious that the rabbits aren’t together seeing as you spoke about bonding them and said one rabbit was laying on top of the other 

Thirdly, your vet is not a rabbit savvy vet if they advised putting an unneutered and unspayed rabbit together. You need to find a suitable vet even if it means travelling further than 50 miles. Not every vet is qualified to treat rabbits and it seems your vet isn’t knowledgeable about rabbits. I certainly wouldn’t trust them to treat my rabbits should they have issues. You have to travel to find a better vet. It is what it is 

[Toby Da Bunny]

The vet did not advise me to keep the bunnies together. She told me to have them seperated until Toby is spayed and went over the process of bonding with me. I also explained why I couldn’t wait. Of course I am not going to keep them together in the same room or cage until they are ready

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Toby Da Bunny on 6/10/2018 3:21 PM
The vet did not advise me to keep the bunnies together. She told me to have them seperated until Toby is spayed and went over the process of bonding with me. I also explained why I couldn’t wait. Of course I am not going to keep them together in the same room or cage until they are ready

Well then your first post was misleading

Anyway…I’m glad you’re keeping them separate.

[Deleted User]

You have to wait until both bunnies are fixed. Not just Toby. That means you have until September/October to wait

[kurottabun]

Do note that Ollie may also be a girl since it’s so hard to sex baby bunnies. If I remember correctly, Toby was mistaken for being a boy as well until she was older and you found out it’s a she.

Like A&B said, Ollie will also need to be neutered before bonding – if he is intact he may very well try to hump Toby later on and this may result in fights. If however Ollie also turns out to be female, then she definitely needs to be spayed first too as females are notoriously territorial so she won’t be able to share a space with Toby until then.

Which month exactly are you moving out? I’m a little confused because you mentioned that you “wanted to get her a friend and i had to do it before she is spayed because that’s not until August and I needed more time to bond them before I move out”.

[Deleted User]

None of this post makes any sense.

You want to bond them before August, yet neither are fixed yet. It literally makes absolutely no difference for you to have two unaltered rabbits that can’t bond until after they are both spayed/neutered. Honestly, you’ve just caused yourself more trouble to have to keep them separated through a move and all, because there is absolutely no way you are going to have two young rabbits neutered and bonded by August.

Very poor decision making. You COULD and SHOULD have waited.

[Toby Da Bunny]

Ok the vet told me to go ahead and get the rabbit so now I’m just confused. Stop grilling me!!

[BB Administrator]

This thread is now permanently locked. We have determined that no benefit may come from further engagement in this thread.

 Advice has been given and the OP stated that the bunnies will be separated until after the bunny is fixed in 2 months from now.    

TobyDaBunny – Please feel free to start a new post if you want to get advice and tips that can be done prior to bonding while you are keeping your bunnies separated.  Be sure to give as much info as you can to be clear so as to avoid misunderstandings like what may have happened in this thread. 

Also you may discover some challenging behaviors with both of your bunnies, even while separated, especially when your new bunny reaches sexual maturity . Their scent can be strong and cause marking and strong behaviors.  And if you need help with that, don’t hesitate to post. Have a look around these links first so you can get some basics as well.  

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/10/PID/940/Default.aspx

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

https://rabbit.org/the-most-important-word-in-bonding-is-patience/

https://rabbit.org/tag/bonding/

All members: Moving forward in future posts – Please follow the forum rules regarding forum etiquette.   The baby bunny is now already part of the Toby’s household.   Further criticism of this in future posts to verbally punish or berate the OP will be unproductive and may hinder helpful information. 

Helloworld!!

[Author]

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