PreBonding before Spay?

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This topic has 1sd reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 6 years, 12 months ago by Doodler.

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- 02/05/2019 at 8:42 AM
  kookiee
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  1 posts
  Hello,
  
  I lost my Male Rabbits Partner back in October. He is 4 years old, they had a good bond, but he was never one to groom her, very rarely at the most. He is also a very defensive rabbit. He nipped her incessantly when they were together and would lunge anytime she went near him while they were bonding. After they bonded they got on much better, and he loved the attention she gave him. But, it takes a long time for him to get used to rabbits moving that he doesn’t trust and they spent about 3 months in side by side areas of my room, then suddenly, they just clicked and were bonded.
  
  About 3/4 weeks ago i visited a rabbit rescue to try and find him a female companion. All the rabbits there were quite small except one beautiful large white female (he is 3.5/4kg so i wanted a larger female he couldn’t hurt with nipping), unfortunately she is not spayed, but i only found about after i have tried them together in a pen at the rescue (she had other people to deal with and forgot to mention it to me), and besides humping on both sides it was not too bad, except his lunging and nipping when she came near. So i decided to bring her back with me, as i saw no fighting then and there and his nipping/lunging is how he behaves with every bonding attempt i have done. He is also a very vocal rabbit and will let you know he is unhappy
  
  I was wondering if there was any prebonding i could do, while i wait for her spay in a week or so, as they are in separate rooms at the moment. Even though she is very sweet, i want her spayed before i try any face to face bonding after the initial meetup at the rescue.
- 02/05/2019 at 11:16 AM
  Doodler
  Participant
  337 posts
  Hi Kookiee! It doesn’t hurt to start prebonding now but it might not help much either. Part of prebonding is switching living areas or at least litter boxes and other items so they can get used to each other’s scents. Her scent will change after she is spayed and her hormones settle. I would have them in the same room so they can at least get used to having each other around. You’ll just want to keep in mind that the true prebonding won’t happen until after. I definitely agree that they shouldn’t have any face to face contact until she is healed, hormones are settled and prebonding is done.
  
  Good luck with the bond!
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