Bonding Question

I have a very social spayed doe.
Poor girl has resorted to awkwardly hanging out with cats. Out of her own volition, she'll seek them out.



I felt bad for her, so I bought her a concubine. An elderly ex-breeder, who (as of today) has lost his furry balls. While he was still intact, I introduced them experimentally, and it went well! He did occasionally try to mate with her, which triggered her fear response and led to chasing, but there was zero aggression.

My question is....how long do I wait? All the guides online say to wait 6 weeks after neutering before attempting to bond. 6 weeks seems long to me. Is that how long it takes for the hormones to drain out, and the mating urge to disappear?

Sperm can live in the vas deferens (tube from testicles to penis) for 4-6 weeks, so a male animal- or human, for that matter!- can still impregnate a female during that time.

He didn't fall off dramatically, did he? Because you probably have a pregnant rabbit if he did.

It is always advisable to quarantine new rabbits for 4-6 weeks anyway. The stress of a move can bring out latent illnesses and different rabbit herds have immunity to different things, so exposing them to each other while they are under a bit of stress is not a good idea.

"No bunnies here, just us cats."

:lol:

MamaSheepdog":s71uqpm2 said:

Sperm can live in the vas deferens (tube from testicles to penis) for 4-6 weeks, so a male animal- or human, for that matter!- can still impregnate a female during that time.

He didn't fall off dramatically, did he? Because you probably have a pregnant rabbit if he did.

It is always advisable to quarantine new rabbits for 4-6 weeks anyway. The stress of a move can bring out latent illnesses and different rabbit herds have immunity to different things, so exposing them to each other while they are under a bit of stress is not a good idea.

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Haha, no worries there: my doe is spayed. No reproductive organs left in her.

And yikes, I shouldn't have done the experimental introduction then. I've only had him for 2 weeks. Thanks for letting me know - I'm new to rabbits, so I'm always making mistakes and learning from them. Thankfully, he seems healthy thus far! Very active, good appetite, binkies galore.

We have all made mistakes, so you are not alone!

Don't worry too much- hopefully the bunnies will be just fine. :clover: Most of us here have a LOT of rabbits, so are pretty strict about quarantine.

It is bad enough to lose one or two rabbits if they get ill, but it can really be devastating not only emotionally but financially if a whole herd is compromised.

MamaSheepdog":ec9or3rh said:

Don't worry too much- hopefully the bunnies will be just fine. :clover: Most of us here have a LOT of rabbits, so are pretty strict about quarantine.

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Totally understandable.
So 4-6 weeks is recommended for quarantine - that means I have 2-4 weeks left until it's safe to introduce them, health-wise.

How about hormone-wise? He was neutered saturday. Does anyone know how long it takes for the mating urge to die down?

Romapacoff":3nnc7slj said:

MamaSheepdog":3nnc7slj said:

Don't worry too much- hopefully the bunnies will be just fine. :clover: Most of us here have a LOT of rabbits, so are pretty strict about quarantine.

Click to expand...

Totally understandable.
So 4-6 weeks is recommended for quarantine - that means I have 2-4 weeks left until it's safe to introduce them, health-wise.

How about hormone-wise? He was neutered saturday. Does anyone know how long it takes for the mating urge to die down?

Click to expand...

I believe the mating urge should start decreasing after that period of time as well, but I've heard that some bucks never lose the urge to try, and some even continue to engage in bucky behavior (like spraying :x ) but also remember that rabbits will hump each other for non-sexual reasons.

Susie570":2jmwwjvx said:

I believe the mating urge should start decreasing after that period of time as well, but I've heard that some bucks never lose the urge to try, and some even continue to engage in bucky behavior (like spraying :x ) but also remember that rabbits will hump each other for non-sexual reasons.

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Thankfully the little guy has shown no interest in spraying. And his stud-muffin behaviour has dramatically lessened! I have him in a pen, and my cats occasionally hop in to drink his water. Used to be he quite enjoyed their....ehmm, female prescence. Now, complete disinterest.

Oh my gawsh, your rabbits are so cute xD And the cats don't try to eat em? :shock: