Baby Bunnies Chasing?

[PoorLittleButtercup]

Hello! I’m new here! *waves*

I have 2 baby bunnies, one 5 weeks old (Buttercup) and one almost 10 weeks old (Willow). They are both female and both living in the same cage–for now. I know that I will need to separate them eventually, but I am not sure exactly when to do this? I will be getting them both spayed when they are old enough, and *hopefully* will be able to bond them to live together. If not, I have a back up plan and have plenty of space for both of them to live separately. 

My question is:  Willow, my 9.5 week old bunny, occasionally chases Buttercup, around the cage and up the ladder to the second level At first I thought she didn’t want Buttercup upstairs, but she has since been totally fine with her being upstairs and doesn’t chase her. She chases her maybe once or twice a day and its very short lived- maybe once or twice around the cage. It usually happens when she has a ton of energy and wants to be let out to hop around. I haven’t noticed any other kind of aggression and they seem to get along great- sleep together, groom each other, eat together, etc.  

Are they just playing? Or is this a sign that she is going through puberty and I should separate them??  

Please help! 

Thanks! 

[Asriel and Bombur]

Please separate them immediately. That poor little 5 week old shouldn’t even be away from mom, let alone being chased by an older bun. She could literally die from fear of that chasing, which isn’t an exaggeration.

I’m not trying to sound mean, I’m just so concerned for that poor baby girl. 

[PoorLittleButtercup]

Thanks for the info! Will the 5 week old bunny be ok by herself? The lady I got them from said to keep them together so that the younger one would be ok away from her mom. Now Im not sure what to think! I have had several bunnies in the past but they have all been adults when I got them.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Did she give you kitten milk replacement for the baby bun? It’s irresponsible of that person to say that. Because it’s not her mom, the older girl can and clearly is bullying her. A bunny that’s not her mom won’t take the place of her mom.

[PoorLittleButtercup]

No, she did not. I did buy some Bene-Bac and put it in her food, but no milk. I believe she was weaned at 4 weeks. I did seperate them, but I guess im just worried about her being all alone. She seems to be doing fine- she is a very outgoing little bunny and not much seems to scare her. Hopefully her personality will help her adjust ?

[Asriel and Bombur]

Weaning at 4 weeks is too young. The gut hasn’t really had time to truly develop with the mothers milk. Bunnies properly weaned are at 6 weeks. So make sure you don’t feed any veggies until 3 months, and fruit at 6 months. Definitely watch out for coccida, which is fatal, and happens frequently in bunnies not weaned properly.

As long as they can see each other (but separated with a barrier) each bunny will still take comfort and knowing one of their own is near by.

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