hippy chick Posted July 21, 2010 Share Posted July 21, 2010 I have a two year old bunny who is in love with my dog. Every time the dog goes outside the rabbit pesters him. He even mounts him He sneaks into the conservatory to sleep in the dog basket with him. The rabbit misses the dog when he isn't there, he just sits in Sam's basket outside of the conservatory and waits for him coming home. Do you think I should get the bunny a girlfriend, and how difficult is it to introduce them? Thanks Jilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted July 22, 2010 Author Share Posted July 22, 2010 The video is a bit bad, it was filmed on my old mobile phone. The garden isn't usually a bombsite like that It was filmed last year when we had just got the chickens and they were living in the old garden shed whilst i was having my WIR built http://s1041.photobucket.com/albums/b415/hippy-chick/animals/?action=view¤t=DognRabbit.mp4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
victoriabunny Posted July 23, 2010 Share Posted July 23, 2010 I would definitely get him a girlfriend. Rabbits are very social animals and need bunny company - he will be over the moon. The good news is it's much easier to introduce a girl to an established boy than the other way round. Is he neutered? If not, get this done first and you will then need to wait at least a month as there could still be viable sperm hanging round his tubes for up to this time. Once that time has passed, he's ready for a girlfriend. Introduce them first on neutral territory - somewhere he's never been (a room in the house, or failing that the bathtub can be ideal!) Just put them together and leave them to it, watching them all the time. A few scuffles at first is to be expected - unless it turns into real biting, let them get on with it. They will need to establish who is the dominant one (chances are it will be the new girl). If one of them mounts the other, that's a sign that he/she is dominant. Don't worry about this, it's normal behaviour. One of them has to be, and the sooner they work it out, the happier they will be. When they lie down next to each other or lick each other, they have bonded and you can safely leave them together all the time. If this doesn't happen in their first meeting, house them separately for the time being and keep doing daily supervised introductions. Eventually they will get on, promise. When your girl is 6 months old, get her spayed even though your boy will have been done - it will stop her from getting stroppy and hormonal (bunnies get very bad PMS!) and also eliminate the risk of uterine cancer, which is sadly extremely common in rabbits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted July 24, 2010 Share Posted July 24, 2010 That is so funny - you can tell which one is the dominant one!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted August 6, 2010 Author Share Posted August 6, 2010 I have decided to get the bunny castrated. He has started getting much more aggressive with the chickens. A few days ago he chased and attacked Helga my chicken. He pulled loads of feathers out and now she has developed a limp. So thats it he needs to get the snip. I'm really anxious about it. I really think he needs to be done and then at least we can get him a girlfriend. The problem is i'm scared to get him done. Someone told me that it can be risky in a 3 year old bunny. Someone please tell me its a safe procedure Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 Nothing can be 100% guaranteed, but my Pebbles has just had a tumour removed a couple of weeks ago and was spayed at the same time. He had no problems (apart from a small hernia from tumour removal). Pebbles is going in again on Monday - along with Poppy who is being spayed. I have had loads of rabbits spayed and castrated over the years - and the only problem has been them getting stitches out . I would ask for him to be glued instead of stitched. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 A tumour I hope he's ok now How much does it usually cost to have a small boy done Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 At my vets I think it is about £45-50 for boys - mine came free with Pebbles tumour op - which cost over £300! I'm expecting to pay about £60 to have Poppy spayed on Monday. Pebbles is doing fine - though he now has an attitude that wasn't there before the op!! He now has so much energy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted August 7, 2010 Author Share Posted August 7, 2010 £300 bloody hell But its worth it if he's better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted August 7, 2010 Share Posted August 7, 2010 Over £100 when Chloe got her stitches out after her spaying! That was because of an emergency vet trip to have her stapled up again - only for her to remove them within 20 minutes! Boy castration is much simpler - they just have two small holes at the base of the testes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted August 10, 2010 Author Share Posted August 10, 2010 He is definitely going to get done later on in the week. He has just attacked one of my chickens. I have never known such an aggressive rabbit. All my other bunnies used to live with chickens and the ducks and they never got into fights. If having him castrated doesn't sort it then I will have to have him re homed. Although it will break my heart to do so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted August 11, 2010 Share Posted August 11, 2010 neutering may help him calm down a bit! What I also notice with un-neutered males is that they really smell - and neutering makes them smell so much better!! Poppy and pebbles went in for their ops on Monday, and I persuaded vets to use glue instead of external stitching. So far so good, poppy was very subdued yesterday but now both are as perky as ever. To be on the safe side I will continue with bed rest until tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted August 11, 2010 Author Share Posted August 11, 2010 I'm so glad the opps went well. Trouble is you need a never ending money pot when you have pets Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildeWoman Posted August 16, 2010 Share Posted August 16, 2010 My boy Charlie is about three now and so we had him castrated about six months ago without a problem - about £45.00. He was pretty laid back anyway, but is soooo laid back now!! Flash, my female was a b***ch before she was neutured - quite common I am led to believe. Vet told me that they should all be 'done' anyway as it makes them more pleasant and prevents associated cancers which are very common, especially in females. Get him SNIPPED - should happen to all blokes!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FruitandNutCake Posted August 19, 2010 Share Posted August 19, 2010 Hope all went well. I guess you have probably had him done by now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hippy chick Posted August 19, 2010 Author Share Posted August 19, 2010 Thanks for asking, but we havn't had him done yet. I'm waiting for the sick chuck to get better so that i can have the dog cage back. I'm going to keep him in it for the first few days after his opp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MedusA Posted September 17, 2010 Share Posted September 17, 2010 My bunny, aged 5, is an entire male. He is lovely with my OH, DD and myself, but when DD's boyfriend was living with us for a while, he was vicious towards him and chased him up the hall biting at his ankles. Within 2 weeks of boyfriend moving out, he was back to his previous affectionate self. He has a ball which is his "special friend" but otherwise is no bother. That said, if he ever needed surgery for something else (fingers crossed he doesn't) we would get him snipped so we could get him a girlfriend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
