# Temporary Separation of Bonded Bunnies - How to Make Easier



## MysticLady (Nov 26, 2013)

Hi everyone,

I recently became the proud 'parent' of two young dwarf bunnies, a Netherlands dwarf named Holly and a Hotot dwarf named Clover. The store I got them from advertised them both as female and aged 6-8 weeks. My husband and I had them sexed shortly after and confirmed they were both female. However, we were advised to bring them back for re-sexing after another month.

In the intervening time, the two bonded very well (they already got along at the pet store) and shared a living space. They have a 18-square-foot cube-and-coroplast enclosure that opens onto a 14-square-foot play area.

We took them back after a month and discovered Clover is actually a boy. Not wanting to have more baby bunnies than our original two, we just had Clover neutered today. He is recovering well, bright-eyed, and eating. The problem is that we now have to separate him from Holly for the next 4-6 weeks. We have put one bunny in the enclosure and one in the play area (obviously with food, water, toys, and litter in each space). It's clear they both miss each other, even though they are close by.

First, is there any way to make this easier on them? We obviously don't want them getting too close, but we don't want them to be lonely, unbond, or become territorial when they're reintroduced.

Second, we were thinking that we'd swap spaces every other day so that each bunny would get to be in the play area or enclosure as time passed. Would this be advisable?

Thanks for your help!


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Nov 27, 2013)

How old are they? She will need to be spayed in a little while, so it might be best to keep them separated until she is done. This means you only have to rebond them once. Once she is healed, they should be good to go back together fairly quickly. If you get her done sooner, hormones should not be much of an issue. 

Swapping cages and even bedding items can be good to help them stay familiar with each others smell.


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## Watermelons (Nov 27, 2013)

If your vet is confident, why not get the female done now so they can be closer (even just a single barrier between) and not apart as long. I only kept my 2 apart for the weekend when they were done at 3mts (Dog crate divided by nic grids), then they shared a cage with no free time until their 2 week mark.


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## MysticLady (Nov 27, 2013)

Hi there - thanks for your replies!

Both bunnies are three months old. I was planning on having Holly spayed, but I'd read that one should wait until the bunny is at least four months (ideally six months) of age.

Is there a reason I'd have to split them apart again if we wait to spay Holly? By that point there shouldn't be any chance of baby bunnies since Clover is neutered, unless it has to do with Holly having space to heal.

As an update, two very grumpy bunnies at being apart today!


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Nov 27, 2013)

As far as reproduction goes, once a female is spayed there is no chance of breeding even if she is with an intact buck. Bucks can still be swimmers, so it takes them a little while for them to be fully sterile. 

A spay is more invasive than a neuter, so healing does take longer. At a mini um, she should be separated until she is eating and pooping normally. She will need to be confined for about 10-14 days to heal. This can mean she would need to be separated from the male just to be safe. If the cage has levels, she would need to not have access to them or other things to jump up on. 

Assuming she is able to get spayed at 4 months, that is still in the time where they would need to be separated anyway.


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## Watermelons (Nov 27, 2013)

It just gives them a bit of time apart to heal and ensure each individual is eating/pooping/peeing . And again I only separated my guys for the weekend. Sometimes their fine to remain together through out.
http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l88/Lolaandthecrowd/Bunnys/Bunnyspostspeuter013.jpg
I wanted to ensure they were done together to avoid the chance of the bond breaking, which I have seen a fair few times on here during this. 
And especially with a healthy male and female whos just had surgery, likely he may cause a bit of trouble for her, at least when hes fresh from surgery, hes not USUALLY as much of a pesto her.
The age they get done at is more up to the vet, and the vets confidence level in doing the procedure on smaller animals. It does not affect their ability to grow at all.


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## MysticLady (Nov 27, 2013)

Watermelons, those are such cute bunnies!

Thanks to both you and Korr_and_Sophie for the thoughtful responses. I've contacted my vet about the possibility of spaying Holly and shortening up that wait time before she and Clover can get reacquainted. I guess now it's just a matter of waiting to see what the doc has to say.

Cheers!


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## MysticLady (Dec 19, 2013)

Hi all,

Just wanted to give you an update on how everything is going for Holly and Clover. Frustratingly, not well.

My vet declined to spay Holly until she reaches six months, as (like predicted) she is too young. As a result, we've separated her and Clover. We've tried giving them a little bit of freedom/time together in the evenings under strict supervision to avoid baby bunnies. Babies is the LAST thing on their minds. Their bond is definitely a thing of the past - their aggression towards each other escalated quickly and now it's like they can't stand the sight of each other. Any time together almost immediately escalates into full-on fighting.

They are also frustrated and bored, given that their space is halved and they don't have a friend any more, and have taken to destructive behaviors to express it (FAR more chewing, digging, etc.). We're only three of the six weeks along and we have two miserable bunnies, along with two miserable humans living here. The two miserable humans have discussed punting the miserable bunnies.

Wisdom would be appreciated.


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## zombiesue (Dec 19, 2013)

LOL, I'm sorry. I think that it's probably good that they're fighting instead of procreating, though. I really wouldn't put them together for any reason if I were you.

I know it sucks, but you can make it. Three more weeks. -rubs your shoulders-


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## Imbrium (Dec 21, 2013)

Ugh, no fun at all!


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## MysticLady (Jan 14, 2014)

Well, the six weeks is up, and my bunnies hate each others' guts.

We've tried reintroducing them to each other in a neutral setting. Tonight was their ninth meeting (ten minute intervals, under strict supervision). It ended with Clover's teeth around Holly's throat. That's about par for the course.

I've done some reading up on rebonding rabbits and the prognosis does not seem good, since they display no non-agressive behavior whatsoever. Each session is tenuously managing strings of full-on beatings on each other. When they are in their separate areas, they snap and box at each other through the bars.

I don't even know what I'm asking for at this point, since the solutions to my original problem provided no help at keeping their bond even remotely intact. I guess, how long do I keep up the charade of getting them to 'make nice' with each other before calling it quits and turning them over to the Humane Society? If they won't live with each other they won't live under this roof. I also don't know how much value even attempting to rebond them has if all it's going to result in is injuries.

Is there any hope for them?


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## JBun (Jan 15, 2014)

Did you get her spayed yet?


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## missyscove (Jan 15, 2014)

When taking on more than one rabbit it's essential to consider the possibility that they may have to be housed separately for the rest of their lives. Adopting any animal is a lifetime commitment and for rabbits that can easily mean 10+ years. I wouldn't attempt to bond a hormonal unspayed female; she's likely going through that rough "teenager" stage where she's hit puberty. Personally I wouldn't attempt to re-bond them until she's spayed and completely healed from that surgery. If they can tolerate being housed next to eachother I might do that as it can help get them used to eachothers presence, but if not I'd just keep them completely separate until after she's been spayed.


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