pairing two rabbits

Question
is it possible to pair a netherland dwarf male aged 2yrs he has been nutered with a 3mnth dwarf lop male who has not yet been nutered,i shall be having him donr when old enough,or is this impossible and should never even tryed.

Answer
Hi Gaynor,

you should not pair an altered rabbit with an unaltered one, especially if both are the same sex.

It is difficult for two males to be bonded, but if they both appear to have good temperaments and appear open to the other rabbit, it is possible.  Know that they would be more prone to fighting.

Something to consider instead of bonding to the point they live in the same cage, is bonding them well enough to possibly have partial playtime together in a common area neither owns and neither cage is located in, then separate them for the rest of the play/exercise time.  After that is done, they go back to their separate cages.  They will have a good friendship this way yet have their own space and be less likely to have a serious fight and injuries.

First you'd have to wait for your 3 month old rabbit to hit sexual maturity, then have him neutered by a good rabbit vet, and then wait 4-5 weeks for his hormone levels to stabilize at their new lower levels.  Then and only then would I beign the process of bonding them in a neutral area for short periods of time, and then gradually lengthening the time.

I would suggest going to the house rabbit society web site (www.rabbit.org) and reading the following articles:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/multiple.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/bonding-tips.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/4-4/tough-bonding.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/expect.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/rabbits-in-the-plural.html

Lee