Unaltered Male

[alyssac]

Hi everyone,  I’m new here and some of the search functions for the forums are a bit wonky. I apologize if this was already addressed elsewhere, but I’m going to ask anyway. Haha. After a lot of research both pre and post bun adoption, I have yet to find an answer to my question. I adopted an unaltered Dutch boy this past October and despite all of the warnings about unaltered rabbits and their awful behavior, he’s been nothing but a joy. He’s well behaved–no extreme digging, no chewing, great litterbox habits, and very very very minimal spraying. I’ve been holding off on getting him neutered because his behavior hasn’t been an issue and he seems perfectly fine. No indication of raging hormones, and the people I adopted him from say he’s about 3 years old.  I have been thinking about saving up the money to get him neutered in the future, as I think that I might like to get a bunny friend for him. Despite his good behavior now, I’m sure that adding an altered bun into the picture might cause behavior problems that I would rather not deal with. I have no intention of getting another rabbit until my first boy is fixed, but has it ever been done? Can a bonding ever occur between one altered bun and one unaltered bun?

 

Thanks in advance.

[Hedi]

Im sure you can bond one fixed and the other not but the biggest issue is once you bond a pair of rabbits and then take your boy to be fixed the girl could become unbonded from your baby boy because of being forced to be apart for surgery. The funny smells from the MD office, the surgery and then the forced separation will just cause anxiety for both buns. It is just really better to wait the month to 2 months after your boy is neutered and then take him on bunny dates so he can pick out his own friend.

Besides all of this..even boy bunnies get cancer in sex organs so it is much better to get him fixed asap. The longer you wait the higher the chances of cancer. Since he isnt a baby anymore hopefully he will be the same as he is now post surgery. Dont be like me and wait. I was so scared fo surgery I waited until my baby girl was over 4yrs old and she was starting to have problems that was leading toward cancer. I feel horrible because she ended up suffering for my ignorance.

PLUS..no spraying post surgery. My one boy was nasty horrible spraying and after surgery doesn’t/can’t (not sure which) spray anymore.

[xParadise]

I think it’s very rare, but personally, I have done it with no problem. My first rabbit was a female, and I never had her spayed- terrible, I know. But at the time I didn’t even know rabbits could be fixed! I was only 12 when I got her, and she was a petstore bunny, a “ohhh look how cute” impulse buy. A few years later I acquired a second male bunny (from an aquaintance who no longer wanted to care for him) who was fixed. I attempted to bond them, and it turned out great. He mostly ignored her, but she was desperate for his attention. She groomed him immediately and he tolerated her. Never a single fight- not even nipping. But that’s basically how the relationship went- she fawned over him and groomed him 24/7, and he tolerated it, but showed no affection back.
This is not a common situation, it just worked out for me. It really depends on the rabbit. For an un-altered female she was extremely good, never showed any agression. In fact, she was the friendliest, most easy-going rabbit I’ve ever come across and REALLY liked to groom her humans.
So yes, I supposed it is possible. It’s rare, but it can happen.

[Beka27]

another member just recently bonded her male and female. the female had just been spayed, the male had been done for awhile. her male still sprays, despite being neutered. what can happen sometimes is that once spraying becomes a habit pre-neuter, not even altering will stop it completely. fortunately, this is rare… but be aware that it can still happen. the member i mentioned, her male has been spraying her female. i think if you tried to bond him still unneutered, you might see an increase in his spraying, including spraying ON the other bunny.

here is that thread in case you are interested… https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/forumid/11/postid/91894/view/topic/Default.aspx

 

edited:  welcome here by the way!

[KytKattin]

I think everyone has pretty much covered things here, so I’ll just welcome you!

Oh, though when you do get another bun, if you have a bun rescue nearby it would be best if you took your boy to date a few other rabbits. Not only will it make the process easier, but if it’s a rabbit he chooses/likes then he’ll be less likely to spray for territorial reasons.

[jerseygirl]

On that note^^ just be aware most rescues do not accept unneutered or unspayed rabbits to do bunny dating. I think… 
Welcome here also!

[alyssac]

Thank you all so much. You’ve all been so helpful and informative. I think that I will just have to find a vet in my area that is familiar with rabbits. I was at the New Jersey House Rabbit website and they have a reduced spay/neuter rate with some of the vets in the state. Unfortunately all of the vets listed are an hour away from me. I guess I will just have to shop around in my area. If any of you are in the Bergen County area and have a vet that you absolutely love, let me know. I’d be happy for the input.

Thanks again.

[jerseygirl]

Could you ring some of the ones listed in Bergen County on NJHRS website and ask them to recommend a rabbit savvy vet around where you live?
They may have colleagues who would be suitable.

I can see your dutch boy in the avatar pic now, what a beauty! Is he a grey & white dutch (my favourite!) or is that black & white?

[alyssac]

Oh, yes. He is gray and white. He’s very handsome. Haha. Thank you.

[Beka27]

oh yes! we just had someone recently who used the NJ reduced rate neuter/spay program. she was very pleased with it. in my opinion, one hour is not too far to drive to get the sruurgery done, esp since you can get a great price with an experienced vet. many vets use dissolvable stitches also, so there is no need to return for a follow-up appt. what others have done is make a day out of it. find out what the approx. end time of surgery should be and you could have lunch in that city, browse stores, or see a movie, rather than driving home and then driving back out…. so i’d suggest you call places locallly first to get estimates (ask questions to make sure they are experienced), and then find out the reduced cost thru the program so you have all of your options.

and Jerseygirl is correct, your bun would need to be neutered in order to visit at shelters and “bunny date”.

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

^^ And if they aren’t dissolving stitches, you could get them taken out at a closer vet

[wendyzski]

Have to ask – where in Bergen County?

I grew up in Allendale!

[alyssac]

Haha, that’s up the highway from me. I’m living in Bergenfield.

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