Separating Young bonded M/F bunnies? WWYD?

[Nutmeg]

So a little back story, we lost our beloved 8 year old bunny recently to brain cancer. It was the most horrible, heart wrenching loss and things at home have not been the same. I came home from work yesterday to – SURPRISE – 2 new Dwarf bunnies hoping around as gift from my hubby.  He was told they were 90% sure that the 8 week old was a male and the 12 week old is a female.

Because they lived in the same cage for a few weeks they are already quite bonded.  They sleep together in the single cage, eat together, groom each other.  Our last bunny was a rescue at 4.5 years old and was very calm and mellow – but OMG the energy of these two lol. 

Anyways – yesterday night after work I noticed the male was trying to mount the female (Sorry we are still deciding on names – I currently call the girl “Fluffy Butt” and the boy “Fluffer Nuts” LOL) And all I could think was… OMG! WHEN DO BABY BOY’s start having swimmers and when can she get pregnant? (So he’s about 2 months and she’s about 3 months) 
I’m getting mixed answers through searching. 

So I’m hoping I can ask you guys a few questions about separating a young bonded pair. 

1. I’m going to have to go buy a new cage to separate them – should I do that now? Or can I wait a bit? I know they are going to miss each other! It’s a long while before they will be spayed / Neutered.

2. If I have so separate them now will they lose their bond? (everything I read says yes )
I can keep the cages near each other if I buy a new one so they can smell eachother.

3. If I have to keep them in separate cages, when I let them out for play and exercise time, can they be out together if it’s 100% supervised? (making sure they don’t mate or fight) To try and keep their bond going? 

Thanks everyone. I am normally a research & “planner” before I make any big decisions, but I didn’t have the time to pre-plan for this one. We love them already and want this to go as well as possible!! 

[sarahthegemini]

They are not bonded. A bond between rabbits is after they have been spayed and neutered and their hormones have disipated. At best, they are friends now. But not bonded. So don’t worry about their bond breaking because it doesn’t currently exist.

If your male is already mounting your female, then he may be able to reproduce. And a 3 month old doe can get pregnant. So, you might have a pregnant girl :-/

They need complete physical separation. That means NO supervised play time. They cannot touch one another. They can still see and smell each other though so two enclosures in one room is fine. In fact, it’s better if they can still see and smell the other.

[Deleted User]

They aren’t really bonded anyways. Baby bunnies can get along with each other until hormones kick in, and when that happens it ends in pregnancy or violent fights. So yes, separate them immediately. If he has dropped and is humping, he can get her pregnant when she becomes fertile (some can be fertile as early as 3-4 months). Bonding occurs after both have been spayed and neutered. He can be neutered as early as 3 months, and girls are usually around 6 months. I can’t stress how important separating them immediately is. If you do not want to risk a potentially deadly fight (yes, bunnies can be extremely violent) and you don’t want to find yourself with a litter, then separating them now is so important. Just to clarify, they can’t even have supervised play time together. Separation 24/7. You can keep the cages near each other, but you need a buffer so they can’t touch each other. Bunnies can fight and mate through bars. There’s a lot to the bonding process and it can be exhausting and take a long time, but you can learn more about that closer to when they get fixed.

[Nutmeg]

Thanks Sara the Gemini and Asriel and Bombur.
Omg I had no idea. This is going to SUCK lol.

*** I have the cage inside a bunny “Playland” I had built for my last rabbit. Its a 6 foot by 10 foot area. So there is lots of room for the other cage… can they come out individually into the main “Play Area” for their individual play time? So they would end up smelling each other in those areas. ?!
They have already been playing in together currently.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Nutmeg on 2/15/2018 10:48 AM

Thanks Sara the Gemini and Asriel and Bombur.
Omg I had no idea. This is going to SUCK lol.

*** I have the cage inside a bunny “Playland” I had built for my last rabbit. Its a 6 foot by 10 foot area. So there is lots of room for the other cage… can they come out individually into the main “Play Area” for their individual play time? So they would end up smelling each other in those areas. ?!
They have already been playing in together currently.

It’s quite shocking isn’t it. I was also completely unaware of all that when I first got my two lol. 

Yes they can use the large play area at separate times, that’s not a problem Do be sure to keep one area of your home completely off limits to both though as when you bond, you need to do it in neutral territory (somewhere neither bun has been)

[Nutmeg]

Will that maybe help with the bonding process later? As they will be used to eachothers smells in the common play area? 

There is a little box in the main play area too that they both have been sort of using – still working on litter training – maybe leave that in there? 

[Sirius&Luna]

I agree with the others, baby bunnies don’t bond, but hopefully they’ll have a great bond in the future if you separate them now.

Leaving a shared litter box in the play area is a good idea – it’s great for them to continue to be used to the smell of each other, as it will make bonding easier when it can happen.

Also… We would LOVE photos!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Nutmeg on 2/15/2018 11:06 AM

Will that maybe help with the bonding process later? As they will be used to eachothers smells in the common play area? 

There is a little box in the main play area too that they both have been sort of using – still working on litter training – maybe leave that in there? 

Absolutely. I think keeping the  tray there will help. Have you heard about pre bonding? That’s where you swap items (litter trays, bowls, blankets etc) between them so they are accustomed to the other’s scent. You can start doing that as soon as you separate btw, you don’t need to wait for spaying/neutering before you start swapping So keeping the litter box there will help them get used to each other’s scent even more.

[Nutmeg]

Thanks so much!

Once they are bonded after – do they tend to sleep in one cage/area together?

My husband seems to have thought we could just neuter him and not worry about spaying her…. time to start saving as that is looking to cost a good $500 easily for both.
His heart was in a great place though, and they will have an amazing home with us once we get this all worked out haha. They sure are cute! But I dont want them hurting each other or reproducing lol.

[Nutmeg]

Thanks Sirius&Luna! 
How do I post photos? I am new here hahaha

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Nutmeg on 2/15/2018 11:56 AM

Thanks so much!

Once they are bonded after – do they tend to sleep in one cage/area together?

My husband seems to have thought we could just neuter him and not worry about spaying her…. time to start saving as that is looking to cost a good $500 easily for both.
His heart was in a great place though, and they will have an amazing home with us once we get this all worked out haha. They sure are cute! But I dont want them hurting each other or reproducing lol.

Once bonded, they’ll likely spend quite a bit of time bun loafed or flopped together so in the same area yes It’ll be worth it once it’s all sorted, seeing two rabbits snuggle … 

[Sirius&Luna]

Spaying her is actually more important than neutering him, as female rabbits have very high incidences of uterine cancer if left unspayed

Photos actually are a bit of a hassle! You need to upload them from desktop in the main reply, not quick reply, then insert into post

[Deleted User]

That’s exactly what bonded bunnies are! They are life partners. They do practically everything together. So you can get rid of the separate cages when bonded Believe me, I know your struggle. Having separate everything is a hassle.

For posting photos, if you’re creating a new thread, there’s a button at the bottom that lets you insert a photo. After you’ve uploaded it, you need to click insert. If you do it here, just reply to the thread and go to the attachment button and you’ll see a photo attachment option, do the same process I already mention.

Can’t wait to see what cuties they are

[Nutmeg]

Oh, don’t worry – she will be getting spayed for that reason. Although Spaying just seems so much more “Scary” and risky to me.
It’s just an argument (aka, educating lol) with my husband for another day as he is getting upset that this isn’t all going as “Butterfly and Roses” as he was expecting it too…. He was so excited to surprise me and just didn’t realize everything involved as he thought you just had to do one of them. 

** My rescue bunny was not spayed and due to her age when I got her it was not recommended. She was one of the few that lived past 5 to 8 years old. 

[Nutmeg]

Ok, lets try this!!

This is them! 
The smaller on on the left is the boy  

[Nutmeg]

And this is the existing Bunny “Play Land” I built for our previous bunny that they are now in. 
Although after I get home from work there will now be another cage lol. 

[Sirius&Luna]

Oh they are gorgeous! Any names yet?

And that play area is amazing! Lucky bunnies

[sarahthegemini]

Such gorgeous bunnies!!  And that play area looks great! 

[Deleted User]

They’re so adorable! I love them

[Nutmeg]

Thanks! 
I’m still deciding… so right now I call the girl “Fluffy Butt” and the boy “Fluffer Nuts” 

[Nutmeg]

Thanks!! 
I’m trying to figure out what to do to make it a bit more secure! 
My previous adopted bunny could care less about trying to get out – but OMG these two could jump that in a single bound LOL
But I still want to keep it accessible to me – not just for cleaning, but I also just get right in there with them hahaha

[Sirius&Luna]

Haha my boy goes by fluffy butt too

[Nutmeg]

HAHAHHA Love it!

Well I have picked up another cage…. they are each in a different one right now while I make dinner and OH BOY they are NOT Happy!

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Nutmeg on 2/15/2018 6:50 PM

HAHAHHA Love it!

Well I have picked up another cage…. they are each in a different one right now while I make dinner and OH BOY they are NOT Happy!

Bless them. Hopefully as you’ve separated them before any nasty behaviour, it’ll be a nice easy bond later. Fingers crossed! 

[Nutmeg]

Thanks Sarahthegemini!! 
I hope so, as right now I feel like an evil bunny mommy as all they want is each other! When I let one out the other paws at the cage to come out too – so the one that’s out goes over and just hangs out by the cage with them but from the other side lol. 

I know its the right thing – I just still feel bad hahahaha. ** BUT ** you a right! this will hopefully make it easier later. 

Now on to the hard part of litter training them. I’ve never had to before as I was blessed that my original rescue rabbit already was. So far they are just making everything with “everything” – which makes sense lol

[Deleted User]

You can try to train them now. If they pee, wipe it up with a paper towel and put it in the litter box. Same thing with poop, sweep them and put them in the litter box. My boys have been awaiting bonding since July, and they are constantly territorial pooping when they have their roam time. In their cages they’re fine, except Bombur has incontinence a few times a day from EC. It will be much easier to train them when they are fixed.
I tried for months after their neuter to train Asriel, but he was stubborn. We used to have cages that had a drop floor, so if they peed it or pooped it would go in the drop pan. Asriel would always poop next to the litter box, no matter where it was. I got sick of cleaning the drop pan and got them a solid plastic bottom cage. Asriel quickly learned he would be sitting in his own poop and pee and started using the litter box XD

[Nutmeg]

I’m hoping now that they will each have their own cage and will only have a shared play area to use at separate times – so I’m sure they will be territorial pooping out there – that they will start keeping their own area cleaner haha

I’m also going to have to figure out their shared “Bunny Play Land” area for their separate play time…  as the outer permiter I made is only 2 feet high and the female (although she is a Dwarf) just jumped onto the TOP of the cage when she was out – which is over two feet high!! So they obviously will be able to clear the main area easy enough  lol

(This picture was taken before I bought the new cage to separate them)

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