New Rabbit/Old Rabbit

So we brought home our new Orange VM Buck today. Hes adorable and such a cuddle bug. Unlike Marshmallow, our 7 month old red rex doe, he actually hangs out on the couch with us and isnt always running around eating carpet and pooping.

We put the two of them together briefly, under watchful eye of course, and they were fine one second, and as soon as I would look away Marshmallow would go after the new buck. I know she is being territorial because she is pooping EVERYWHERE! I have a couple questions which I hope will mellow Marshmallow out and bond the two.

1. We are going to put their cages one next to the other so they get used to each other and their scents. Is this correct?

2. Should we spay Marshmallow? Will she be less territorial and stop pooping everywhere? Will she accept the new buck easier? Will she be less energetic and more snuggly?

3. What other ideas will/could work to bond them together and chill Marshmallow out a bit?

4. If unspayed will Marshmallow ever relax or accept the new buck into her life?

I'm a tad confused. Is your intent to breed the rabbits or to have two pet house rabbits?

Does are very territorial. They accept a buck as a companion much better, in general, if they are on his turf. Placing their cages side by side may help... or it may not. It certainly won't hurt. Spaying may be the solution, but it is expensive and has its risks to the rabbit. I'd try getting them acquainted first and see how it goes.

Uh... you do realize that even under supervision, a buck can breed a doe in the length of time it takes to blink. There is no way you could get across a room fast enough to stop them, if she suddenly decided she likes him.

MaggieJ":32enq5c0 said:

I'm a tad confused. Is your intent to breed the rabbits or to have two pet house rabbits?

Does are very territorial. They accept a buck as a companion much better, in general, if they are on his turf. Placing their cages side by side may help... or it may not. It certainly won't hurt. Spaying may be the solution, but it is expensive and has its risks to the rabbit. I'd try getting them acquainted first and see how it goes.

Uh... you do realize that even under supervision, a buck can breed a doe in the length of time it takes to blink. There is no way you could get across a room fast enough to stop them, if she suddenly decided she likes him.

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He's 8 weeks do we have a month or so before that will take place. I think we have decided to have two house rabbits who are boyfriend/girlfriend

We will most likely spay and neuter but will of course try more bonding first.

Okay, at eight weeks he is likely not capable, but some are precocious... so keep an eye on him for descended testicles. From 12 weeks on, especially if you are feeding pellets, things could happen. Sorry I didn't remember the particulars from the other thread. (Pellet raised rabbits grow faster and mature sexually faster than naturally fed rabbits... At least this has been my experience.)

If you have a room where Marshmallow has not been allowed to hang out in, you could try putting the buck in there and once his scent is around the room, take Marshmallow to him there. She should perceive it as his territory and be more accepting of him... allowing them to bond. No guarantees... but perhaps worth a try.

You decided to skip the quarantine period? I would watch them both carefully for the next month, especially your new guy. He will be stressed from the move as it is, so will be the most likely to become ill.

The buck is a lop of some sort, correct? They are mellow rabbits. I don't think spaying Marshmallow would change her personality and make her calm like him. To make her more accepting of him, you might try keeping her confined to her cage for a few days so the buck can spread his scent around the house. When you do let her out, make sure he is already out and about. She might think that she has entered his territory that way.

Good luck! Can't wait to see pics of him. :camera:

Mamasheepdog has a point, breed does seem to have a lot of impact on temperament.

MamaSheepdog":35t6d4xh said:

You decided to skip the quarantine period? I would watch them both carefully for the next month, especially your new guy. He will be stressed from the move as it is, so will be the most likely to become ill.

The buck is a lop of some sort, correct? They are mellow rabbits. I don't think spaying Marshmallow would change her personality and make her calm like him. To make her more accepting of him, you might try keeping her confined to her cage for a few days so the buck can spread his scent around the house. When you do let her out, make sure he is already out and about. She might think that she has entered his territory that way.

Good luck! Can't wait to see pics of him. :camera:

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Marshmallow doesnt need to be completley calm, its just that now that this new bunny is around all she does is chew her cage like a mad woman and when she gets let out shes poops EVERYWHERE! Im hoping these territorial things will stop when she is spayed.

You decided to skip the quarantine period? I would watch them both carefully for the next month, especially your new guy.

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I am a big fan of quarantine, I've seen some good people lose good bunnies over bringing new stock to an existing rabbitry. All because of skipping a good sound quarantine practice. You have only two, but I hope all the issues get worked out with time, but if they get sick you'll have a bigger issue to deal with.

MaggieJ":1h5v6u2e said:

Uh... you do realize that even under supervision, a buck can breed a doe in the length of time it takes to blink. There is no way you could get across a room fast enough to stop them, if she suddenly decided she likes him.

Click to expand...

Yep, and by the time you hear something like this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Juqm94sUV_E

it's already too late to do anything about it.

When bonding rabbits, they should be introduced in a neutral room/place where they never been before and can't protect the territory.
They will appear more relaxed and try to meet each other in a friendly curious way. After that some chasing and biting might occur to establish an dominant rabbit. It may take a few hours for them to calm down and stop punishing the other bunny.
However, the other bunny might decide to fight back instead of running and hiding, if so, the bonding process will get more stressful for them and take a while longer. But you shouldn't worry about this since your buck is still very young and probably thinks he's still a baby and submit to the big lady Marshmallow.

I put 2 does together today, i skipped the neutral area part and put them in a cage together, the younger doe being 8 weeks, she was already living in that area so she was already settled. The new doe 14 weeks old and twice her size, i thought the little one would welcome a new girlfriend and show her some respect, she did with the bucks i put her with earlier. But no, she chased the bigger doe around in the cage and showed her who is boss. Does are more territorial than bucks and will often defend their turf when another enters it. Especially when a second doe comes along like in my situation. I was already aware of this since i skipped the most important part, which is the neutral area.
But i didn't mind them chasing a few times, since it started raining and the little one cuddled the bigger doe. And they have been eating hay together without chasing so they will be fine, i expect them to be girlfriend by the next few days.

I also bonded older doe's together, in cages and in a colony and that went well too.<br /><br />__________ Wed Jul 11, 2012 8:13 pm __________<br /><br />

Do quarantine for sure!

A strange way I found on the internet and has worked for me to bond rabbits:

Take them for the ride of their life. Quite literally. You place the rabbits inside a box (use a seat belt to help it from sliding around) and take them for a car ride . You stop,turn, back up, etc. for about a good 5-10 minutes. When you get home, place them in a clean cage.

It has worked with me to bond stubborn rabbits that otherwise, wanted to fight. On the internet is described that it's like they both went through a horrible situation and they are survivors. Only down side, they peed on each other, but they began to groom each other and what not once placed together. Never had another problem. I believe I used it on another pair or two, but it might be worth trying.