Taming a rabbit's raging hormones

Q: We have an unspayed female mini lop. We used to have a male neutered dwarf rabbit. About a year ago, the dwarf died. We think the lop is lonely. Our local pet shop tells us we cannot get another rabbit, since they will fight. Can we get another bun?

A: Before you do anything, spay your bunny.

"Rabbits are highly territorial," says Mary Cotter, chapter manager of NYC Rabbit Rescue and Rehab. No matter what the combination — two males, two females, or one of each — "when they’re put together, their hormones will make them want to either fight or breed."

Once your resident bunny is spayed, and has had a couple of weeks to recover, you can go about adding a new rabbit to the household. Spayed and neutered rabbits can live as bonded pairs "provided they are carefully introduced under controlled conditions that will prevent them from hurting one another," Cottar says.

Cottar notes that members of your local House Rabbit Society can help supervise introductions. For do-it-yourselfers, the first step is to house the rabbits side by side in wire exercise pens with 3 inches between the sides. (Use a soda bottle or some other barrier to keep the rabbits from pushing the walls closer.) Remove the bunnies to a different room for individual exercise.

After several weeks, you can try putting them together in a small confined space of about 3 feet by 10 feet, like a blocked-off hallway.

"I recommend you wear protective gear on your hands, so you can plunge them into the fray if there is any sign of aggression," says Cottar.

At first, the bunnies may just stay on opposite ends of the space. Don’t mistake this subtle sizing-up for disinterest, Cottar warns. "If they are aware the other bunny is there, that is an interaction."

Set an egg timer, and separate the bunnies after three minutes — no longer. "This is the place where people will fail," Cottar says. "They’ll say, ‘Oh, they were doing so well’ " — until a fight breaks out.

Repeat two to three times a day for two to four weeks, and very gradually you will see them maintaining less distance, until their bonding is complete.

Reference: www.kitsapsun.com

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