Hi all. After lurking for ages i seem to be getting addicted to posting now :-)
I'm thinking of getting my rabbit castrated, so was wandering what prices other people had paid for this? He currently lives with a guinea pig but i also have 2 female rabbits (sisters that live together, quite happily though i watch out for any bullying fighting as know this can be a problem) which i think he might prefer for company but would rather not have the resulting thousand babies! Would it be an easy process to introduce them? In the summer they have runs side by side so are in close contact, not so much in the winter as i bring them off the lawn. I plan to construct a tunnel between the 2 runs so they each have their own area and can still be isolated, but can mingle if they want, but not sure how realistic this is. I don't think he gets the social interaction with the guinea pig that the 2 girls get, they're all lion head rabbits and i've noticed that he needs far more frequent brushing than the girls, i assume because they're grooming each other while this doesn't happen with him. The other thing is he is 2 years old, the girls are 1 year olds, could it be too late to introduce them?? I'm also planning to get the girls spayed, would introduction be better after having them all done?? Any advice greatfully received!

Cost about £40 to have my bunny done - way way less than I expected ....
I would have the girls spayed whatever just for the health benefits to them ... introductions can go either way .... some are really simple and some groups just will never work - good luck :)

When I kept rabbits I tried to keep them all in pairs nine times out of ten the females use to choose which male they could put up with I usually introduced them by giving them the run of the yard so they weren't enclosed together and leaving both hutches open I never had a problem with them getting on.

I would be wary of letting him live with the guinea pig.  I know some people do this successfully but there is often a bit difference in size and rabbits can fight dirty :)  My friends little girl's guinea pig, which lived with a very small rabbit, ended up with a broken leg that had to be amputated!

Thanks for all the advice, keep it coming please :-)
Isabel, the rabbit and guinea pig have lived together for 2 years with no problems (touch wood) so far, when out in the run in the summer the guinea follows the rabbit everywhere and they tend to snuggle up together, Rara (named by 2 year old daughter!) is a very easy going rabbit really!

people castrate rabbits

I have a castrated male and spayed famail living together.
Happy and Ivan came as a bonded pair.
Happy unfortunatly died, so ended up with ivan as a house rabbit.
Got Lexi and let them run around my dinin room together as soon as I bought lexi home. left them for a few hours, under supervision. then put the together in the crate. and left them supervised for 4 hours before i went to bed. Came down next day and there was no problem at all. and hasnt been since over a year later :D :D
I got Lexi spayed as she was quite a feisty Doe and once spayed she calmed down no end!!!!
So my advice would be, get him castrated and introduce them.
BUT beware, females can live as a bonded entire pair for ages and then fall out with each other for no reason :(
So best get them all done!!!!
And best get does done before introducing as you have to keep them apart after op. and might unsettle them all to remove one for op.
Hope that all makes sense!!!
Lea :)

Yes, and spay them. It makes them easier house pets. Just like they spay jill ferrets and vasectomise hobs.

Oh yes, thats the other thing, Lexi is better litter trained since being spayed!!!!
Lea :)

That was my reaction too. 

You've been lucky. Rabbits can inflict nasty - even terminal - injuries on guinea pigs without being aggressive, simply because they're so much bigger. It's never advised to keep the two species together.

I had a rabbit and guinea pig living together whe i was 18. Max the guinea ended up having a huge chunk out of his ear because of Lilly the rabbit, but they carried on living together until lilly got myxi and died and Max died a week later i presume of a broken heart.
knowing what i know now i would never put a guinea in with a rabbit.
is there anyway of introducing a new guinea to the guinea and puttig the rabbit with the rabbit?????
Lea :)

Well I have to admit I've had rabbits and cavies together since 1978 and still do. :) Not once a problem. It's just a question of being sensible as regards both temperament and size. After all, far from all rabbits are much bigger than cavies. I've got a Lionhead rabbit and a Rex cavy living together now and they're not much different size wise at all.

Thanks all for the advice. I think i'm leaning towards getting them all done before i start an introduction, might make things easier if the hormones are out of the equation :-D I felt it was catch 22 when i originally got rara, was told 2 boys couldn't live together cos they'd fight, male and female were out cos he'd try to diddle her to death (unsure of earliest age you can spay/castrate rabbits) and then i heard that you shouldn't really keep guinea's and rabbits together. When i was a child this always seemed to be the done thing, we had rabbits living with guinea's for years with no problem, though we did tend to have dwarf rabbits. The petshop i got ra from even recommended having a guinea with him, even though i said i'd heard there could be problems. When i got the pair i did watch them closely, i had a spare hutch in case of any problems and as i said they've lived together very happily for 2 years. Anybody know whether its too late to introduce the guinea to another guinea, as with Lea's suggestion??

I payed £36 for my sexy beast to be castrated last August. The vets didn't want to do it because of his amazing temprement. I was fed up of the humping, so the plums had to go.

BUT, he ended up costing me nearly £200 more. What I didn't know is they are little so in so's and are renowned for having problems. He removed his catheter (sp?), he bled a lot - making one of his plums look huge. Then he had a reaction to the drugs (one made him REALLY hungry so he ate like an elephant, the other drug slowed his gut right down. The result was he got heavily constipated. He did try to pick out his stitches, then decided against it when I put his elizabethan collar on ... LOLOLOLOLOL I've never seen a bunny sulk so much!!!!

It was well worth it though, he is the most layed back, mellow bun now. Plus he doesn't smell anymore.

When I kept male rabbits they never smelled?  though with the does in th4e other pens you needed to watch you didn't get sprayed.  Always kept the boys in the bottom pens after a face full one or twice.

Must just have been mine then .. he had a noticeable musky odour. It made his poos smell a lot, now he just smells like hay and his poos don't really smell of anything.
Come to think of it, his urine was a lot stronger smelling too.