Question:

Hi BudgetBunny,

I have a bunny query that I’m hoping you can help me with!

I’ve got a 9 month old neutered buck and a 12 week old doe kit. Over the past few weeks I have been bonding them and it has been going very well. They are now at a stage where I can leave them for several hours at a time together. They play together, eat together and groom one another. The buck has become the more dominant bunny however I have read that this bond can be broken when the kit reaches sexual maturity around the age of 6 months.

How can I keep their bond in tact when my doe is too young to spay?

G.

Answer:

Hi G,

I went through this same situation with Honey and Rocky. Most likely as they were introduced at such a young age and have bonded well you won’t see any issues post spay, however it has been known to happen. All I suggest is letting them stay together as much as possible until you see a bit of dominance behaviour. When Honey reached about 5 months of age her and Rocky began trying to mount one another constantly and fighting to be top bunny. At this point it is good to separate your rabbits but keep them in the same area so they can see and smell one another. You can also switch their bedding so they always have each other’s scent in their cages with them. As soon as your female reaches 6 months old, have her spayed. You need to wait around 6-8 weeks post-surgery before reintroducing them again as this gives her hormones time to calm down. In the meantime continue to swap out bedding as she may smell a little different to your male having had surgery. When reintroducing start at the very beginning on neutral ground and watch for any aggressive behaviour. Slowly work your way up to housing them together if everything goes well. When Rocky and Honey were reintroduced it was like they had found their long lost love and have continued to be inseparable ever since! Hopefully this is the same situation for your doe and buck!

Good Luck!