New bun to introduce - Help!
Lisa Denkinger
Ari Novikoff wrote:
> There is a pet shelter in Winnipeg called Pet Pals that has recently
> received a doe that gave birth. The babies are just over 3 weeks old, and
> have been seperated from the mother for at least a week. They are all
> eating solid food and drinking (and doing other bunny things....) so it
> appears as though they are quite healthy.
>
> If we get a female companion for Ches, how old should the new bunny be
> before we let them run around together, and what is the best methood for
> introducing the new rabbit to our family?
I'd suggest you consider adopting the mother rabbit. Of course you'd
want to make sure she's spayed prior to introducing her to your male.
This way you can introduce the two several months earlier than waiting
until a baby is old enough to be spayed. I personally believe that this
surgery is a must if you want to have the best chance for sharing a long
& healthy life with your female bun. An added benefit is that the spay
will also usually make it easier for two rabbits to get along.
The other benefit of adopting "Mom" is that the babies will be much
easier to place than an adult. Since you know how wonderful rabbits are
I'm sure you can see how special she is, even if she isn't a tiny little
fuzz ball. You also get to skip the least pleasant period of a rabbit's
life, the evil adolescent period which often results in excess chewing
and other general difficult rowdiness.
If you really want a baby, I'd highly recommend that you wait on the
introduction until the rabbit is sexually mature(about 5 months) and
spayed before introducing the two. The reason for this is that
adolescent rabbits often develop a dislike for a rabbit that they got
along with just fine as babies. Siblings often need to be separated at
this point. This change of attitude can result in fighting and worse.
As for the introduction itself, you'll want to have another person with
you in case the two decide to fight. You'll also want to introduce them
in a neutral area. Many people have good success doing pairings while
riding in the car, since the vibration sort of encourages them to look
to eachother to feel safer.
For more detailed information on pairing and lots of other stuff, pick
up Marinell Harriman's House Rabbit Handbook, 3rd ed. It's available in
lots of book stores throughout the US, I'm not sure about Canada.
There's also information on finding the book and lots of other rabbit
info. at: http://www.rabbit.org The Official House Rabbit Society Home
Page.
Congratulations in advance and thanks for wanted to rescue a rabbit who
needs you,
--
Lisa Denkinger
Whadda Group Communications
http://www.whadda.com
Ari Novikoff
Marina and I are considering a friend for Cheswick.
Ches is a wonderful good-natured and playful neutured male rabbit about 1½
years old.
There is a pet shelter in Winnipeg called Pet Pals that has recently
received a doe that gave birth. The babies are just over 3 weeks old, and
have been seperated from the mother for at least a week. They are all
eating solid food and drinking (and doing other bunny things....) so it
appears as though they are quite healthy.
If we get a female companion for Ches, how old should the new bunny be
before we let them run around together, and what is the best methood for
introducing the new rabbit to our family?
Thanks!
Ari, Marina, and Cheswick the Wonder-Bunny
Troy Denkinger
In article <01bbe583$dc235480$5713c8cd@default>, "Ari Novikoff" <a_n...@mb.sympatico.ca> wrote:
>There is a pet shelter in Winnipeg called Pet Pals that has recently
>received a doe that gave birth. The babies are just over 3 weeks old, and
>have been seperated from the mother for at least a week. They are all
>eating solid food and drinking (and doing other bunny things....) so it
>appears as though they are quite healthy.
Wow, they were weaned early. Usually 6-8 weeks is recommended.
>If we get a female companion for Ches, how old should the new bunny be
>before we let them run around together, and what is the best methood for
>introducing the new rabbit to our family?
My suggestion is that you consider adopting the mother of the bunch. You
definitely want to introduce Cheswick to an adult, in my opinion. Only with
an adult are you going to have a real idea of what personality you're getting.
The problem is that once one of the babies reaches sexual maturity you'll
have to go through the pairing process again most likely because a dominance
war will break out.
I hope you'll consider it. The mother will probably be the hardest for the
shelter to adopt out.
Let us know what you decide and I and others will likely be happy to give some
strategies.
Good luck,
Troy Denkinger -- Whadda Group Communications <http://www.whadda.com>
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Lesley
In article <32ABBD...@whadda.com>, Lisa Denkinger <li...@whadda.com>
writes
Original posting snipped...
>For more detailed information on pairing and lots of other stuff, pick
>up Marinell Harriman's House Rabbit Handbook, 3rd ed. It's available in
>lots of book stores throughout the US, I'm not sure about Canada.
>
AND AT LAST, IN THE UK........ after a long wait......
My copy (priced at 8.95 UK pounds) took eleven and a half weeks but
its great, quite unique and very informative!
>There's also information on finding the book and lots of other rabbit
>info. at: http://www.rabbit.org The Official House Rabbit Society Home
>Page.
>
>Congratulations in advance and thanks for wanted to rescue a rabbit who
>needs you,
>
>--
>Lisa Denkinger
Lesley
Lisa Masterman
In article <32ABBD...@whadda.com>, Lisa Denkinger <li...@whadda.com> wrote:
>Ari Novikoff wrote:
>
>> There is a pet shelter in Winnipeg called Pet Pals that has recently
>> received a doe that gave birth. The babies are just over 3 weeks old, and
>> have been seperated from the mother for at least a week. They are all
>> eating solid food and drinking (and doing other bunny things....) so it
>> appears as though they are quite healthy.
>>
>> before we let them run around together, and what is the best methood for
>> introducing the new rabbit to our family?
>
As usual, I agree with the Denkingers. *smile* I was originally
thinking of pairing Eve (my adult doe) with a baby male that had just
been born from a rabbit in a shelter (who'd been too sickly to undergo
spaying surgery and litter abortion when she came into the shelter
pregnant), but as I learned more and more about bonding, I realized
that introduces all sorts of difficulties that the Denkingers
explained. Moreover...
>The other benefit of adopting "Mom" is that the babies will be much
>easier to place than an adult.
Eventually, I realized that the absolutely adorable little boys and
girls from that litter were going to get snarfed up without problem
(indeed, the three girls got a home together and the four boys were
adopted in pairs), while the adults were languishing there for months
and months with much less chance of getting taken home. I finally
selected a two year old male who not only made my life easier when it
came to the social dynamics of pairing him with Eve but, because of
his maturity, is MUCH easier to have around than she is, who just
passed a year and hasn't quite outgrown apartment destruction. Well,
I *hope* she'll outgrow it, anyway. Ben doesn't harm a thing aside
from cords, and those are easy to protect. He's in a stage of life
where he's much more laid back (though he still loves his evening
races and plenty of joyful binkies).
>Congratulations in advance and thanks for wanted to rescue a rabbit who
>needs you,
Ditto from this corner!
--lisa, mom of Eve and Ben
--
// Lisa Masterman http://www.eecis.udel.edu/~masterma //
// mast...@cis.udel.edu Associate, SFLAaE/BS //
// "You want this done faster, you do it yourself. You know how bad //
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