# Bonding unspayed bunnies?



## RattiesSix (Jan 21, 2009)

Can two unspayed females be bonded?

And how would you do that?


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## paul2641 (Jan 21, 2009)

Just give a read through this thread it will help you understand that you shouldn't bond unspayed females because once the hormones kick in they could kill each other.

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=42943&forum_id=48


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## Leaf (Jan 21, 2009)

Long term, successfully? In many, many cases - no.


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## RattiesSix (Jan 21, 2009)

I have no problems getting them spayed. 

I have an unspayed Holland Lop, and a friend needs to rehome his Lop who is also unspayed. 

If it was ok, we were going to try to bond them without spaying, and if that didn't work, I'm going to get them spayed. 

The rabbit I have I just recently got, and don't want her to be alone, but need to find a vet I'm comfortable taking her to to get spayed.

How much, generally, does a spay cost?


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## RattiesSix (Jan 21, 2009)

Also, they are both adults, if that makes any difference.

One is approx. 4 years old. The other is over a year.


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## naturestee (Jan 21, 2009)

How old are they? If they're younger than 6 months, definitely no. They often become much more aggressive when they reach puberty. Rabbits look gentle but they can seriously injure or even kill each other.

Older rabbits long term? Sometimes. I adopted a 1.5 year old pair of sisters. They chased and humped and nipped a little and weren't snuggly at all. They were better after their spay but they didn't really "bond" until an accident caused them to be separated for medical reasons and rebonded later. I've also seen a number of unspayed girl pairs come in through the local shelter. It can work but they do get snippy.

Also I highly recommend spaying rabbits. It makes them less cage aggressive, easier to litter train, and eliminates uterine cancer which is rather common. A lot of the rabbits that come in to my shelter for "aggression" really just need a spay and a bigger cage.


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## naturestee (Jan 21, 2009)

Please spay them before trying to bond them. If they fight during bonding- much more likely if unspayed- they will remember that and it might ruin any chances of bonding them.

Depending on the area you live in, a rabbit spay could be from $70-300. I pay about $120 plus optional bloodwork (really recommend it for adults getting spayed) and laser incision (not available everywhere). I live in a medium sized city in Wisconsin, just for reference. Big city vets cost more.

What is your general location? We have a list of rabbit-savvy vets that we know here:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_forum.php?id=9


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## RattiesSix (Jan 21, 2009)

Around Dayton, Ohio.


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## naturestee (Jan 21, 2009)

Sweet, that's easy. There's one listed in Dayton right at the top of Ohio's thread:

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=11625&forum_id=9

Do check to make sure that vet is still there. You can also contact the Columbus House Rabbit Society to ask if they have any other recommendations for your area too. If cost is an issue, don't be afraid to shop around a little. Sometimes it pays to drive a little out of your way as long as the vet is good.

http://www.columbusrabbit.org/
:biggrin2:


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## pixelle (Jan 23, 2009)

we live in NYC and the ASPCA will speuter a bun for $50. The city pound also has low cost options. You should call around. I would spay them and keep them separate until they've healed.


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## Zee (Jan 23, 2009)

Hello There

I would have your females spayed, just to be on the safe side.

Bonding without spaying does work in some cases but not all. 

I have been very lucky. I have had success in bonding unspayed females.

Please read the thread that naturestee has put up for you.
She is very experienced with rabbits.

btw

Welcome to the Forum

Zee


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## RattiesSix (Jan 23, 2009)

We've found that the Humane Society spays their buns in a mobile unit, for 50 dollars apiece. With three days of pain meds after.

So we're probably going to go that route. 

I'm really nervous for them, though. 

I've lost a rat in the past to a spay gone wrong, hence my hesitation to do this to her. But she's alsob at high risk for cancer, since she's older and a past breeder.


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## naturestee (Jan 23, 2009)

Talk to the vet about their success rate with rabbit spays. It's very rare to loose a rabbit to anesthesia if the vet is experienced with them and most will have success rates of 99% or so. Usually it's caused by undiagnosed problems with the heart, liver, or kidneys. You can have avet check for this beforehand, and many will do bloodwork for just liver and kidney values which costs less than a full blood panel. I really recommend this for an older bun because sometimes you never know.

I know it's scary, but vets are much better with rabbits than they were just 10 years ago. So sometimes when you read books or articles that say rabbits don't do well with surgery, it's outdated information. And with all the rabbits owned by forum members, I remember less than a handful of them dying during spay/neuter in all my years here and it was always due to some unusual internal problem. The shelter I volunteer at spays/neuters every rabbit and has only had one problem in the last few years. And that was a bad response to an injection, not the anesthesia and the rabbit lived.


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## RattiesSix (Jan 23, 2009)

Thank you for the assurance. 

I've never had to have a rabbit spayed before. I've actually never owned a female rabbit before. They were always my mothers rabbits when I was younger, and they were usually male. 

The more I read on the site, and the more I've talked to the Humane Society, the better I feel about it. 

So in approx. a month, my female is going to be spayed by the Humane Society's mobile unit. :]


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## PixieStixxxx (Jan 23, 2009)

Just ensure that the Humane Society mobile unit vet is rabbit savvy - and as mentioned earlier, please ask what their success rate is.

I had Savannah spayed with a laser at a very good vet - it was $160. When Spank was neutered by an apparent rabbit savvy vet through the shelter, he came home very sick and I learned that it was from a possible contaminated neuter tool. Labrador was neutered there too, and Precious was spayed there as well - she came back sick too. Precious went with another female who died two days after. They were all fixed before I officially adopted them, and so I had no say in where they could get fixed. Even though my SPCA trusted this vet, and he was known to be rabbit savvy, he just didn't care and treated shelter bunnies differently than client bunnies.


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## naturestee (Jan 23, 2009)

That's awful! I may not like my shelter vet (and I can outdiagnose him for just about any rabbit problem), but at least there's no problem with the surgeries. I know the vet tech. Although he has changed to using staples for spays now, poor bunners.


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## PixieStixxxx (Jan 24, 2009)

I just looked on the British Columbia list of rabbit savvy vets on RO and found the vet that I am not impressed with listed on there.

I've heard greats things about him from his _clients _but not from shelters.


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## RattiesSix (Jan 24, 2009)

I did check in with the shelter about the mobile unit's success rate. 



They've never lost a rabbit save for one, and they spay and nueter a lot. The one who did pass was a complication due to an allergic reaction to the anesthesia, not the nueter itself.


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## PixieStixxxx (Jan 25, 2009)

That's great! Good luck on spaying your buns! Savannah gave me the stink eye for a day.


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## bunnylover66 (Jan 25, 2009)

yes it is OK. if one of your bunnies is picky about its space it might not be a good idea. if your bunnies are nice they will proboley get along:rabbithop


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## TreasuredFriend (Jan 25, 2009)

Had three females come of age around 4 months, and they all got separated due to fighting. Same with our rescued street babies, two litters. All needed to get separated due to hormone mounting, and aggression outbursts. 

Remove the hormones and you don't have to contend with Moodiness or temperamental "drive"-factors. Remove the hormonal urchins for long-term health!

Back in the fifties/sixties (before you all were born). 

Easter time, ugh. The man down the street gave us a little rabbit to add to the cage of the bigger rabbit. My sister came outside (to view the two in the hutch Grandpa had made, located alongside the garage) and discovered the elder rabbit had chewed the younger rabbit's neck apart. I recall the bloody vision I saw when we rushed outside to see what happened to the new white cute bunny we added to the existing rabbit's cage.
What's equally worse is the man down the street raised rabbits for slaughter, and perhaps he was completely clueless as well. 
*** It is a scene forever emblazoned on my mind. ***
My dad took out his rifle to end the little one's suffering. 

Good thing vets and people have made milestone leaps in Education and humane welfare, including compassion in understanding rabbits, hormones, and what is for their welfare and safety.


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## RattiesSix (Jan 26, 2009)

If the bunnies are older, do the hormones affect them in the same way? 

Like, my bun is 4, and the new bun is approx. 1 or so. Theyve already passed the hormonal stage, right? I understand that they may still fight, and I AM going to get them spayed, but I am curious. Is it harder or easier to bond older buns?


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## PixieStixxxx (Jan 27, 2009)

Not always! When Royce first came, he was 2 years old and apparently "pass" his hormonal stage. No more humping, spraying, and hyperness. And he was good like that for another 8 months. 

Until he discovered that there was another bunny on of the other side of the living room. Then he started grunting, humping, flinging his poos and trying whatever it took to escape and go see the other rabbit. He was going crazy, and his hormones were off the charts. When he got neutered later that month, he was still hormone driven for another 2 months, and then he calmed down.


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