Putting them together??

[Nibbles_NZ]

So Bell is fully descended now. He is not at all acting differently…just as sweet and can be. Baxter is healed from his neuter and mellow as can be now. He doesn’t hump at all anymore. Thank Goodness! Every time I let Baxter out he goes right over to Bells pen and they sniff and love on eachother for quite some time. I am going to bunny proof my kitchen (since there is no carpet in there lol) and I am going to let them run around in there during the day. They will still be in thier pens off and on so they won’t be free roam just yet. Anyway, can I let them play together without Bell being neutered? He isn’t agressive at all and I can walk right into his pen and he is very happy to see me there. In fact, my little girl found a way into his pen and he loved on her too. I fixed that so she couldn’t do it anymore I am just really scared that they will fight. Baxter is quite a bit bigger than Bell. If I did this, it wouldn’t be for a long period of time and it would be completely supervised. 

[BinkyBunny]

Though there have been a couple of other members that a bonded pair of one altered/one not (normally the male is altered because he can be so humpy otherwise), I will always recommend that you wait only because I am afraid if I say…sure, try it and the something happens, then it would be very difficult for future bondings.  I would continue to let them get  used to each other thru the pens until she is spayed.

When is she getting spayed?

[Beka27]

BB: Bell (formerly Bella) is an unneutered male. Baxter is neutered.

I have also heard of people successfully letting their males (one neutered, one very young and unneutered) together. Sometimes they are friendly up until the neuter. Other times, they get along for a little while until the unneutered one’s hormones kick in and then they become aggressive. It really is a 50/50 chance.

If you’re going to do it, never leave them unsupervised, even for a minute. You never know when Bell is going to try to hump Baxter, causing Baxter to lash out. One or both can get very hurt, very quickly. And remember, a bad experience can hinder bonding later on.

[Karla]

Well, with my own experience, I would say: NO! Don’t let them together until Bell is neutered and it has been 5 weeks or so. Not even supervised.

It seems that they get on so well right now, so it would be such a shame to ruin it, and you end up having to spend the next couple of months doing bonding sessions in order to make up for some small tiffs due to hormones.

But well, every bunny relationship is different, and yours might just be able to deal with Bells hormones. But I introduced Freddie way too early after his neuter, and it wasn’t the fact that he was humping (he didn’t), that got him and Karl into fights. It was the fact that he insisted to sniff Karl between his leg. This made Karl so angry, and they were actually getting on really well up until then. And now I have two males that have a rather tense relationship and I have to spend time bonding them. If they had not meet before 5-6 weeks after the neuter, I think they would have bonded instantly, because there was in fact grooming between them on their first encounter.

I know some people say unneutered males will fight to the death or even castrate each other. I’m not sure about that, but even small tiffs are horrible if you want them to live together in your household. So be patient.

[Beka27]

Thank you for sharing your story Karla. That’s a good point!

Like I said, it really is 50/50. For every story like Karla’s, there’s a story where a member puts together 2 males (one or both unneutered) and they never fight, go thru the neuter together, and everything is fine. Like so many things with bunnies, it’s just a crap-shoot. Who knows how your situation is going to turn out? Generally, we recommend that all bunnies be altered first. There’s less chance of things turning badly that way.

When is Bell getting neutered? If he’s descended, he’s ready.

[Nibbles_NZ]

Thank you all so much for the info. I will definetly wait. I wouldn’t want anything bad to happen or ruin thier future friendship. I will continue to do what I’ve been doing.

[Author]

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