Help with introducing bunnies!?

[DuckLover179]

I know that sometimes rabbits can't be friends, but I believe mine can. Here's a short story to get you caught up. Last year I was looking for a male bunny, to neuter, and put in with my female. While I was at the pet store this boy came up to me with a male Dutch bunny, and said that his sister found him in the park, and they can't keep him because his dad is allergic. Well after examining, holding, etc. The rabbit, I decided that he is domestic, and his old owners dumped him. I took him in, and he is the sweetest, funniest thing! My female is very aggressive, and was fighting, and honking while introduction. We did another introduction today, and she was nice, happy, totally not herself. He was mating her, and doing his dominance thing, and after a while of that he started honking, get frustrated, and biting her fur out. He was only pulling her fur out because he was trying to climb up on her. After a while I had to pull him off, because she was hiding from him. They have potential to get along. I just need to know what to do to get him to stop, or is this natural? He is neutered, and she is spayed.

Thanks!

 

[dutchhollow]

Unless raised together (and most of the time when they reach maturity they still need separate cages) rabbits need to be in their own cage. They can and will do a lot of harm and can even kill each other.

 

[MrsFordTN]

How long ago was he neutered? The hair pulling thing is a male rabbit telling the female to get with the program and lift for mating, but since they are fixed, she will not do this. If he was recently neutered, give it time for the hormones to cycle out, then try again, but it sounds pretty normal when doing an intro between male and female. Move them to an area where there are things to do (toys, treats, hides, etc.) minus hump each other and give it time. Only leave them together when you can watch them. After a while, they will get over the honeymoon stage and be just like an old married couple. I mean, some rabbits want to be alone, but in general bonding can happen!

 

[SurprisingWoman]

http://www.rabbit.org/behavior/index.html

look at the socialization section

 

[Akane]

Left together long enough even unneutered bucks eventually chill out. How long that takes depends on the buck. My chocolate mini rex buck knew his job and would mate a doe a dozen times in 10mins and then keep it up for hours after that. I put him down in the colony and he kept after the does for a whole day before he started letting himself get distracted. Aside from when putting him in the colony I never left him unsupervised in a cage with a doe or for longer than it took to mate a few times because he was so annoying to the does. On the other hand my blue mini rex buck will only attempt to mate a few times and then is happy grooming the doe and eating hay so I occasionally left him and a laid back doe together for a few weeks in a 3x6' cage. The problem is some does are not willing to wait until the buck calms down. Especially the more annoying bucks. Breeders have come back to find their bucks castrated or killed by the doe. After having done it leaving an unneutered buck with a doe even in a large enough area to prevent fights really does not seem fair to the doe to me. The doe starts to get in a very bad mood, grunt a lot, dislike being touched, are less active, etc.... They are just too annoyed by the buck and their life is not a happy one.

Now if your buck is neutered you may just have to wait longer until all the hormones are out of his system before trying introductions.

 

[DuckLover179]

How long would you suggest waiting??? He has been neutered for about 6 or 7 months now...