Rabbit Bonding Question

Muddy Paws · July 2008

I've been searching on the net. and have asked quite a few people about this same question... But I wanna ask the wonderful people of VP what they had thought about this. Please... Only people who know rabbits, and have owned previous rabbits, etc. should reply to this post. I've got a 3 yr. old Netherland Dwarf female. I have no clue if she's spayed or not, and had just gotten another "female" Red Satin who is 5 wks. old, yesterday. My question is... When should I start to bond them? I'd like them to be cage mates someday, and would like to know if I should start right away with getting them familiar with eachother or? The Red Satin, as many people might've already seen is TINY. She/he is probably about a pound or so, and very fragile. While the Netherland is about 3-5lbs. The Netherland has/is known to bite (pretty aggressively mind you), and we've been putting the Netherland and Satin side-by-side in a puppypen outside, but the Netherland doesnt really seem interested in the Satin when we do so. We've also put them in the same area of the puppypen, and the Netherland like "hangs onto" the Satin... Basically going on-top of her. So any suggestions or comments or advice would be greatly appreciated.

SunnyDaysDontLie · July 2008

Well, what I would do is put them in separate cages, but put the cages right next to eachother. Leave them there for a few weeks, three or gour at the most, and then move them into the same cage.

MuckyDuckBrendon · July 2008

Unspayed rabbits can be pretty aggressive.. sometimes without vetinary treatment it is impossible to put an unspayed rabbit with another she doesnt know ... my advice is to *as sunny said* Keep them in hutched side-by-side and then in a few weeks put them together ... (dont put them too close cuz the nethie may bite her) if this doesnt work take her to the vet and ask for - i dont know what theyre called ... mood pills or somthing , they help relax rabbits.. whatever you do.. DO NOT remove her teeth.. that is how they eat.. it is possible they can never be together though.. Also: Get this rabbit love them

<a href="https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/Natural+Treats+%2526+Herbs.7/Papaya+Tablets+:+500.138.html" target="_blank" class="bb-url">https://www.thehayexperts.co.uk/Natural ... 0.138.html</a> they arnt accually tablets- theyre treats

*they stink though* My baby: <img src="http://file040a.bebo.com/12/large/2008/06/10/14/323753229a7987148644l.jpg"; alt="http://file040a.bebo.com/12/large/2008/06/10/14/323753229a7987148644l.jpg"; class="bb-image" />

Muddy Paws · July 2008

Lionhead? I've had two rabbits in the past... A Mini Rex male, and a Polish Dwarf male... I know A LOT about rabbits... And I dont know who or why you would remove their teeth... Not sure why that was even said.

The advice that was given has been what I was told by others, and for the entire day yesterday, they were in cages side-by-side. Then today were put on the couch for almost 3 hrs. and we didnt have any problems. You can really tell that my Netherland (the older one) is "superior/dominant" over my Satin. And they both were cleaning eachother, and the little one ended up falling asleep right next to the Netherland. So I think it's going pretty smoothingly, considering the Netherland's "bonding" period with us (her human family) hasnt gone as-well (she's bitten myself and my husband a few times), but with some work... and TONS of patience, she's really coming around. She hasnt "whined" as-much as the first few days we had her, and isnt scurring as-much as she had. A few people that breed Netherlands have also said that they're a very timid/shy breed as is. So I think the progress we've made is awesome... It's just the biting and "charging" we've got to work on now...

MuckyDuckBrendon · July 2008

Muddy Paws wrote:

Lionhead? I've had two rabbits in the past... A Mini Rex male, and a Polish Dwarf male... I know A LOT about rabbits... And I dont know who or why you would remove their teeth... Not sure why that was even said. The advice that was given has been what I was told by others, and for the entire day yesterday, they were in cages side-by-side. Then today were put on the couch for almost 3 hrs. and we didnt have any problems. You can really tell that my Netherland (the older one) is "superior/dominant" over my Satin. And they both were cleaning eachother, and the little one ended up falling asleep right next to the Netherland. So I think it's going pretty smoothingly, considering the Netherland's "bonding" period with us (her human family) hasnt gone as-well (she's bitten myself and my husband a few times), but with some work... and TONS of patience, she's really coming around. She hasnt "whined" as-much as the first few days we had her, and isnt scurring as-much as she had. A few people that breed Netherlands have also said that they're a very timid/shy breed as is. So I think the progress we've made is awesome... It's just the biting and "charging" we've got to work on now...

yep, nd hes loverly, Sound like you made good progress

i wish you the best of luck

Muddy Paws · July 2008

Thankies

We're not sure if we'll show Samantha (the Netherland Dwarf), but Anabelle (the Red Satin) will be shown at local fairs and shows. Her mother is a 3-Time Champion at a local fair where I had gotten her a few days ago. So we'll see how that goes.

Howdy, Stranger!

Rabbit Bonding Question

Comments