Another bonding question

[Susie570]

What are the chances of being able to keep one of my buck's male kits as a companion for him? If I can't find a trusted vet to neuter him, we won't be able to keep momma rabbit (and I worry about that, because they are bonded). On the other hand, all of this baby bunny stuff makes me consider doing some breeding over time.

 

[Dood]

Zero

 

[katiebear]

I don't think bucks bond to well..I have mine separated... in their own cages...by a wire divider and most days they will sniff and greet each other...But some days they get up on their shelves and glare at each other..
In the past I have had bucks that spray each other I guess a real life p...ing contest :x
The only rabbits I have had get along in the same cage are mother daughter combos...but in my experience once separated they like their own space..
Good luck with the bonding experiment keep us up to date on how it is going...

 

[Celice]

nope.

your buck is an adult and will see the kit as a threat to his space when it get's older. The only time I've seen males get along is if they were litter-mates and stayed together then nurtured.

 

[CptJack]

Would this change with neutered rabbits? I mean I assume it COULD, but I trust you guys more than the house rabbit folks in most regards.

I have NO IDEA what gender baby I have coming home next month, but our guy now has been neutered for a good long while and the new baby will be at 4-6 months regardless of gender. I don't really plan to bond them or need to, but is the possibility there?

(That said, I hear you. This forum makes me want more rabbits and it makes me want to breed. Mostly the first but BABIES! I won't, but it makes me want to. I now want an angora (I spin, I could use the fiber) and a felmish and some NZRs and- Y'all are awful.)

 

[Zass]

I wouldn't ever BET on being able to bond un-neutered males. It can happen, but it's rare enough that one could never expect it.

From my understanding, bonding neutered males is already hard enough.

 

[Celice]

Would this change with neutered rabbits? I mean I assume it COULD, but I trust you guys more than the house rabbit folks in most regards.

I have NO IDEA what gender baby I have coming home next month, but our guy now has been neutered for a good long while and the new baby will be at 4-6 months regardless of gender. I don't really plan to bond them or need to, but is the possibility there?

(That said, I hear you. This forum makes me want more rabbits and it makes me want to breed. Mostly the first but BABIES! I won't, but it makes me want to. I now want an angora (I spin, I could use the fiber) and a felmish and some NZRs and- Y'all are awful.)

it could. depending on the rabbits personality.

If the new kit you are getting is young enough it might be okay. my bucks in the colony ignore the kits until they start taking interest in the girls if yours is neutered then he may not be aggressive enough to care but that's still a big if. Just make sure they met in a neutral zone.

angoras have a good personality, I've had lots of good luck bonding them same with my flemish. NZ are really picky mine can get aggressive so I'me weeding them out of my colony.

 

[CptJack]

it could. depending on the rabbits personality.

If the new kit you are getting is young enough it might be okay. my bucks in the colony ignore the kits until they start taking interest in the girls if yours is neutered then he may not be aggressive enough to care but that's still a big if. Just make sure they met in a neutral zone.

angoras have a good personality, I've had lots of good luck bonding them same with my flemish. NZ are really picky mine can get aggressive so I'me weeding them out of my colony.

Hm. I may have to actually look into the angoras, at least. I actually BUY the fiber now, to blend with various wools. I wouldn't get much off a single rabbit, but I don't use a ton of it anyway and it might be good motivation. Guess we'll see what hte future holds and keep it in the back of my mind if I ever run across them or Flemish. Thanks for that!

We'll see what happens when new bun gets here. I'll keep them separated and let them do any meeting on neutral territory. I kind of planned to move them to another room of the house, anyway. Right now rabbit stuff took over my guest room and I've got a great 'sun porch' that runs the length of my house that just needs some random stored crap cleared out to be perfect and empty for whatever I end up doing with the rabbits. Probably move the pet mice out there on a shelf, too, but that's a post for another forum.

 

[Susie570]

Thanks all I guess the only hope is to get him neutered and have a doe for his companion. I'm reluctant to try and get him neutered simply because the procedure seems to be uncommon around here and I'm afraid they will kill him. The only option seems to be forcing him to be a solitary rabbit, which is sad because he's such a sweet rabbit. He loves to snuggle and give kisses (we call him Scarlett Kissyface). I guess most unneutered bucks are solitary though.

 

[CptJack]

If you're keeping him as a pet, I'd advise at least talking to some vets and finding out how much experience they have with the procedure. Honestly, I expected it to be unheard of here, but my local vet does about a dozen a year - which isn't a lot, but since he's been doing that for years and has lots ONE rabbit in that time I felt pretty good with it. I also expected it to be crazily expensive, but it cost the same as neutering a cat, at < 100.00 (about 80.)

It stops spraying, and they don't have to deal with hormonal surges and desires. A single buck without exposure to females might be okay, but I'd DEFINITELY spay any doe you want to be a pet because their temperament can get pretty... interesting if they want to be bred and aren't.

I'm not an AR nut, just - you'll get a better and happier pet if you go ahead and alter, either way (if you can find someone to do it and it's not insanely expensive, though given that I live nowhere, I'm guessing you can with some leg work). Unless you, like you said, keep him as a single. Which is an option- they are certainly capable of bonding with you.

Or breed, just have an outlet for the kits. One of the benefits of rabbits - if you can bring yourself to do it, they're great food for all sorts of things, including people.

 

[Zass]

I'd DEFINITELY spay any doe you want to be a pet because their temperament can get pretty... interesting if they want to be bred and aren't.

This REALLY depends on the lines. My house doe has never had a temperamental day in her life.
I'm culling hard for it in the meat herd, because I have nice tempered lines that never get moody crossed to moodier ones. The nice tempered line has the stronger mothering traits. The moody line just has a fur type and texture I like.

Basically, what I'm saying is that rabbit breeders CAN produce animals that are less likely to get "hormonal" without surgical alteration being necessary if they make it a goal, and it doesn't have to sacrifice mothering. Moody or mean does can be good mothers(or horrible ones), but they certainly aren't always "better mothers" than the more even-tempered does.

Finding a breeder that makes temperament a priority can be a bit of a challenge though, and it's pretty hit-or-miss when you bring home a pet bun.

 

[Susie570]

I would have a very difficult time eating any critter than I raised. Give me a plate of cooked bunny and I'm sure I would gobble it right up, but actually killing one to eat? :/ One should not be able to eat critters that they have formed an emotional attachment to. Otherwise, what's to keep us from eating our kids? Speaking of which, mine has been particularly snotty lately.... hmmm

 

[Zass]

I would have a very difficult time eating any critter than I raised. Give me a plate of cooked bunny and I'm sure I would gobble it right up, but actually killing one to eat? :/ One should not be able to eat critters that they have formed an emotional attachment to. Otherwise, what's to keep us from eating our kids? Speaking of which, mine has been particularly snotty lately.... hmmm

I raise meat rabbits because then, I know they are carefully handled and cared for during the duration of their lifespan.

Being handed a plate of cooked meat...I would not be so certain of that. I feel responsible for every animal that is killed for my consumption. Whether I see it happen or not.
I've discovered that I'm more comfortable seeing it happen, so that I know it was done correctly and with care.

I bond with all the animals here that desire to form bonds, because I feel it raises their quality of life.

And, I have no desire whatsoever to eat my children...:roll:
Actually, providing quality food for my children, husband, and other carnivorous pets has a lot to do with why I started raising animals for meat. If I was only responsible for myself, I might be a vegetarian.

 

[CptJack]

Well, if you don't have a plan for any kits, then I'd take breeding out of the equation. Everyone's got their own lines, and mine are somewhere in the middle, but I've spent long enough with dogs and cats to appreciate that the fact that they're multipurpose animals both because I like rabbit and fur and because the pet over population problem with cats and dogs, with billions of animals a year winding up euthanized in shelters and their bodies in the trash, doesn't have to happen with rabbits and isn't anywhere near as endemic. Not that I'm suggesting eating cats and dogs or that abuse, neglect, and surrendering rabbits to shelters doesn't happen, but they have useful purpose beyond pets and I consider that good for the species as a whole.

Though I couldn't send my pet rabbit to 'freezer camp' I CAN and have raised animals as livestock before, given them good care and refrained from emotionally bonding so I could eat them. I also raise mice and feed my snakes. Now, granted, I don't really bond with the babies in that case, but I'm sure as heck attached to my breeders! But... I also love my snakes AND I know the conditions of those big rodent mills and feel like my snakes get healthier food and the mice have better lives this way.

Also Zass, you're very right. I had a house rabbit doe years ago (a minirex) who was sweet as could be her whole life. A couple of them getting hormonal at me and I switched over with a preference for bucks - or altered females, really. I think it's a hard thing for breeders to breed for and really know, sometimes, even if they want to breed for temperament otherwise. Since they're, well, breeding their animals. Seeing how a line reacts to not being bred for a while might be kind of hard for them to work out, depending on how they run things.

 

[Zass]

If you bred production style, as early as possible and kept them pregnant or nursing you might never see them unbred.

Rabbits do tend to reach breeding age before they are customarily bred though, giving even production breeders a window of observation.

Mellow animals in general are my own personal preference. Others don't mind so much, and even like the spunky type.
That is completely their prerogative and there isn't anything at all wrong with it!!!
I was just putting forward that selectively breeding less moody lines is possible, with work. You would be surprised how many people are not aware of that, and just think of all female rabbits as temperamental creatures. :lol:


Bonding rabbits is tricky business. Even people with spayed and neutered animals sometimes struggle with it. It's because the rabbits have to like each other. Sorta like...picking up two random people and trying to get them to live together peacefully in a small apartment...

 

[Susie570]

The doe we have is a real sweetheart. She's a little persnickity in that she will nibble on your shoe (or sometimes pant leg) when she want attention and you aren't giving it to her, but otherwise she's a doll. We've had her about 3 months (I guess it took her 2 months to get pregnant). She's JUST started giving kisses sometimes, but she will come 'running' across the floor when you call her name and she'll follow you around like a little puppy. I guess we just lucked out with two sweet rabbits. I'm handling the little kits more every day and they seem mellow for the most part, will just snuggle down into your hand and chill (they're 10 days old today). They squirm when you put them on their back, but otherwise very good babies. The only time I've seen our buck get temperamental (so far), is when I put him away in his cage before he's ready. Then he'll 'sulk' and stomp his foot. lol