Hi Lisa,

They can’t get pregnant at this age….thankfully.. even at 12 weeks it is not entirely certain that they will be fertile, even if they do display mounting. For males it is usually five months before they are fertile, females four-five months although I would ever take the chance of leaving them together past 12 weeks. Mounting is a natural behaviour and will happen between young babies also. It isn’t just a sign of sexual interest, but also a dominance issue. Your buns are just beginning to sort out who is ‘top dog’. You can keep them together so long as the mounting doesn’t lead to squabbles.

If it makes you feel better you can split up the boys from the girls and keep them together that way, at least they will still have company!

I had my brother/sister lop pair together until about 10 weeks old, when his humping really started and I was advised on here to separate them…

I think that is ok, I know the rescue I work with have had litters as young as this doing the same thing and it never became an issue, it usually starts with bunnies who will turn out to be quite dominant! If you are seperating at eight weeks then that is great, at least they can have a little more time together to have fun!! 🙂

Obviously obsessive mounting can be an issue if the other bun starts to become stressed, won’t eat etc in which case you should seperate but I really think they are just discovering themselves at the moment.

I would stick with separation at 8 weeks, males can impregnate a female as soon as 10 weeks. Eight weeks is a standard as that is when the babies should be weaned from mum, plus it is convenient. Twelve weeks I feel would be pushing it and frankly I am a little surprised at your vet. You’ll want to look for descended testicles, but that can even be tricky as the males can suck them into their stomach and hide them (that’s when you know they’ve hit sexual maturity). Females should be spayed at 4 months old, and do not forget that the males can impregnate mum too. Lisa, I hope this helps.

Hi Lisa! : ) My goodness what time is it in Oz? Anyhoo, yes a lot of vets like to wait a bit longer to spay the female and a lot of times that means past 4 months because it is invasive and it is major surgery. They can be spayed that early, but it is not necessarily always done that early. It’s best to go with what the vet recommeds and is comfortable with. I think that the consensus is that it be done before one year of age.

As for separating mum from the girls. Well, with any kids, they will pester her and it is possible they will still bug mum and try to feed. Often as soon as the babies are weaned, they are separated between males and females and mum goes off on her own and is sceduled and sent in for a spay and recovers by herself. By that time the babies are socializing with each other, mum gets to to heal in peace and the babes just bug one another with their boundless energy and antics. = : )

Anyway, that’s my take on the subject.

Well if the vet got their sexes correct and the majority are boys then the separation won’t be too bad at all really – you can keep mom and Tiger Lilly together. The boys though might prove to be a problem once they reach sexual maturity if they start acting dominant towards each other – keeping them together could be tough although it can certainly be done as we have quite a few male sibling pairs together at the rescue and they are fine (but I’m sure that depends on the rabbit).

Are you speaking of altering when you are asking about the months? Males can and should be neutered as soon as their testicle drop at 3 1/2 to 4 months. I’ve heard different things on spaying the females at different ages – hormone wise it’s good to do it sooner but body maturing wise it’s better to wait if you can so they can develop more. House Rabbit Society says 4 months for females but that vets prefer to wait 6 months as the risk is higher for young rabbits.

Too cool! That sounds like a great plan and I am sure mum will appreciate the reprieve. You’re welcome Lisa! You’ve been such a wonderful mum, I can’t say that enough!

Awe shucks Lisa, I’m just glad we were here to help. : )