Do I need to separate them?

[BunnyLass568]

First sorry to post so many questions and such so often and also sorry if this is in the wrong fourm. So during playtime today Blossom tried mounting Thumper 2 or 3 times (they’re roughly 10-13 weeks old, I’d say closer to 13 but we’re not 100% sure) and they’re both in their cage and it seems that as soon as they went back in this behavior stopped. I feel like we should separate them but my dad says that they’ll be OK and that if we end up having a litter then we have a litter (and honestly I don’t like the options that we have if we do have a litter) so should we separate them before it gets much later tonight? 

Also my dad swears that Blossom is a male do to their behavior of trying to smell under Thumper’s tail and due to mounting them but I don’t think that really proves anything though I could be wrong and I don’t know if this helps anything but Blossom is losing/shedding fur more in tufts and Thumper is shedding more normally (that’s the best way I can put it).  Is he right?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Wick & Fable]

While your dad is well meaning, it sounds like he is not fully informed or misinformed about rabbits.

The rabbits do need to be separated. If you plan to keep both, they need to be separated until they are both spayed/neutered and one month following those operations so their hormones regulate from the procedure.

Both male and female rabbits exhibit similar behaviors, so I would not use ones behavior as a correct indicator of sex. This needs to be done by a rabbit-experienced vet, who will most likely tell you that sexing a rabbit that young is generally a guessing game until their parts develop.

You need to separate them as soon as possible. Today. If these behaviors are happening, you may have a litter already and/or they may fight and one may kill the other, regardless of whether they are siblings or grew up together. Hormones change everything and if there’s humping, that means hormones have become active.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[sarahthegemini]

Your Dad’s blase attitude is a little concerning. A doe becoming pregnant at such a young age could cause serious issues with her insides. If it doesn’t kill her.

[BunnyLass568]

I tried discussing this with my mom since my dad went to bed and when discussing this with her she said that they’re fine until Thursday since they were cuddling (she also said that she didn’t want to seperate them because “they still need each other” and this is due to seeing them cuddle) and I read that just because they’re cuddling now doesn’t mean that they’ll be fine until then and I’ve been keeping a close eye on them all night and they’ve been fine but at the same time I don’t fully trust this. I don’t think my parents will listen to my concerns and the info that was gathered about this. (Correction, I KNOW they won’t, they haven’t yet.) Do you have any suggestions about what I can do?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[BunnyLass568]

I told him that and the other things but he just won’t listen, he seems to think he’s right no matter what proof I say/show him. ?? 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Wick & Fable]

It’s difficult when parents are not listening. We’ve all been there, regardless of age to say the least. At this point, there are some things you need to consider. The first and unfortunate option is, if you feel your parents will prevent you from providing a good life for your rabbits, you should give them up to a local rescue. Many children sincerely want rabbits, but due to their age and what control they have over home space, finances, transportation, etc., it isn’t the appropriate time. You can consider adopting a rabbit in the future if you find yourself in a better situation.

There are times when it takes lots of persistence, and it’s an ongoing learning experience for the entire family to both learn and be on board with what’s best for the rabbit. Maybe you can ask your dad to sit by a computer with you after dinner or in the morning, just for a few minutes, and both you and him can search for information. Maybe present it as you want him to help you understand his line of thinking, so searching things like “can I keep two rabbits together” and “how to bond rabbits” and “will rabbits fight each other”…. You and him could click on a site and take a read through. Pretty much all websites will make mention of neutering/spaying, introducing in neutral territory, them needing supervision, etc.. so make sure he sits with you while you scroll through all the information. Same with your mom too, if you think she’ll be more flexible.

Hopefully this helps. Again, it could be a matter of now is not a good time. Stay strong and continue to do your research, and try and take your parents along for the ride.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[BunnyLass568]

That it is and alright, I’ll do my very best. Thank you for the help once again! For right now I put in a small stuffed bear (named Henry) in their cage with them in hopes that they do their, uh, vigorous activity with it. My parents informed me that they don’t want to use the cage that my uncle gave us (don’t blame them any, it has a wired floor so it’d really hurt them) and that they’ll get another cage for one of them on Friday, that’s the earliest that they can get it. If it comes right down to it, although my  room isn’t 100% safe yet (mostly for wires but I’ll figure something out) I’ll take one in with me even if my parents don’t like it. 

Also a quick question (sorry! Really sorry!) that my mom had, “can they still play together during playtime?” I told her that I doubt it but she didn’t seem to like this answer so I’ve been researching but I can’t find the answer. She worries that it’ll be harder on them for when we separate them and because of the Summer season.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[sarahthegemini]

No they can’t have play time together. For the same reasons that they should be separated (hormones=fighting and pregnancy), they shouldn’t be allowed to be together at all.

[kurottabun]

Unfortunately they can’t. If I remember correctly you still don’t know their sex. It only takes seconds for a male to impregnate a female so if one starts humping the other you may not even stop it in time. Rabbits don’t “play” like dogs do – if you put them together at all unbonded, 99% of the time it’s either to mate or to fight.

For wires etc, if you can’t cover them then you can find something to block the whole area off. Before I bought some barriers, I just moved some boxes or anything I could find to block off the areas that have wires.

[BunnyLass568]

(Sorry the late reply, trying to get things ready for when my older sister comes to visit.) That we don’t and thanks for the idea on the boxes! I only have cardboard currently and covered what I could, for the wires behind my computer stand I used my boots/shoes and I’m using vinegar (putting viegar on a wash cloth and gently rubbing the wires with it) on the others that can’t be hidden. (Such as the AC wire and my bedroom light.) But I was told that that won’t work out very well and will just ruin those things.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[BunnyLass568]

That’s what I thought and told her. ?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[BunnyLass568]

I thought I should give an update since it’s been a little bit. We ordered another cage for them but it ended up being too small. It took a little bit of time but my parents found one in a store that’s pretty much the same size as they had/have but my mom talked my dad in to combining the two cages (he actually asked me if we’re going to seperate them which took me by (happy) surprise and long story short they’re still together because of my mom. ?) instead of seperating them dispite everything she’s heard/seen and read. Maybe it’s for the best for now because the other bowl that I was going to give them was too small and they ran out of water too quickly and I don’t currently have another one and have to wait a few days until the one I ordered for them gets here.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Sirius&Luna]

But they’re now 16 weeks old? Your doe is absolutely going to get pregnant if she isn’t already, and then you’ll have even more bunnies to separate.

[sarahthegemini]

If your doe gets pregnant, at such a young age it can cause long term damage. And there’s a very big chance it will kill her. Also, she can get pregnant immediately after giving birth if she’s still with the male so if they’re together when she gives birth, she could very well end up pregnant again.

Your mother needs to be a responsible adult and do the right thing. Both of those rabbits are at risk (fighting) but especially your female

Pregnancy is a big deal and I don’t understand why it isn’t taken seriously when it comes to animals. Ask your Mum how she’d feel if she had a daughter that got knocked up as soon as she physically could. Would she be concerned about the damage it would do to her body? Might sound like an extreme example but it really is no different..

Not to mention, what would she do with a litter? If she doesn’t want to separate two bunnies, is she really going to bother separating all the babies to avoid further issues?

[Bam]

Maybe you could determine the sex of the buns now, it’s been a few weeks and it might be a lot easier to see now. If they are of opposite sexes, I’m sure your mum would understand the importance of separating them to avoid getting a lot of babies.

If the buns are both males, they should be separated for reasons of safety. That can be more difficult to explain lain to your mum though. Two girls can work, at least for some time.

[BunnyLass568]

@Bam: Sorry for the late reply, a lot of family stuff has popped up. A few days ago Blossom escaped from their encloser and I had to grab them before they ended up hurting themselves and just holding them for a few seconds they ended up biting my arm (not hard enough to break the skin) and left a mark that bruised over so I’m gonna try to sex them in a few more days to make sure I don’t stress them out and if it doesn’t go well I’m gonna have the vet do it when we finally go. (Been trying to convince my parents to take them when it seemed like they were starting to get sick (actually I’ve been trying to take them to the vet ever since the first day we got them) since I’m overly paranoid. ?)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[BunnyLass568]

@Sirius&Luna: I know and she knows and she knows that I wouldn’t give the litter to just anyone, especially with people near where I live and I REFUSE to take them to auction! 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[BunnyLass568]

@bam: Tried to gender them but it didn’t go well, it made them too uncomfortable so we’re gonna have to have the vet do it, but knows when that will be now? ?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Nutmeg]

What do you mean by “When it seemed like they were starting to get sick” ??
Unfortunately bunnies are pray animals and by the time they actually show that they are sick it is usually very bad by that point.

Also, I have two very cute bunnies that I got at 8 weeks and 12 weeks. As much as they snuggled together I had to instantly seperate the. Thank god I did as the vt confirmed they were a boy and a girl when I brought them in for their first check up.
Bunnies can have litters of babies every 28 days!!!! That is sooner than once a month!!

They will be going in to be spayed and neutered this Wednesday so that I can start bonding them to put them together finally.

I Know it may seem like everyone is telling you things you already know. But its just as frustrating for us to read that your parents aren’t listening.

Will they pay the hundreds of dollars to get them spayed and neutered?
If the answer is no than you should at least re-home the girl.

Girl bunnies have an 80% chance of getting uterine and ovarian cancer if they are not spayed by the age of 3. So if you parent’s wont do that for her than re-home her to some one who will so she has a chance to live a good 10 to 12 years in stead of only 3 years.

Then just keep the male. While it makes them easy to litter train and makes them less territorial, it is not as detrimental to their health to have them neutered as it is the female. BUT (**** and this is a big BUT***) If you do that, you can never get a second bunny as two un-neutered boys can not live together.
AND you can’t just spay the female and not do the boy.

I hope this helps.
And please clarify what you meant about them acting sick.

[BunnyLass568]

@Nutmeg: I’m so sorry! When I said when it seemed like they were getting sick I was referring to this post: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/167765/Default.aspx and trust me I’m still trying to convince my mom that they need to be separated especially since one of the buns tried to nip the others tail recently (I didn’t see this but my dad did) and they said that they would take care of the vet stuff. 

Know what? I’m gonna try to separate them tomorrow (I need help to make sure there’s no escape attempts) despite my mom trying to fight me on it. I should’ve done that as soon as they got the second cage, I really should have. And I’m gonna use a bowl in the cabinet as a temp waterdish. (Someone (guessing it probably my dad) put a bowl down for Demon so why can’t I do that for the buns?) I don’t think the waterdish I ordered will ever come at this point so I’m gonna try to convince my parents to let me use the money my grandmother gave to order the waterdishes that’s in the binkybunny store instead of using it for something else.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Nutmeg]

I actually just use a heavy bowl for my bunnies. I didn’t buy a special water dish at all. Just make sure its heavy enough that its not too easy for them to tip it over.

And yes, please separate them. Maybe ask your dad to help as he saw the nipping!
Good luck!

[BunnyLass568]

Posted By Nutmeg on 7/10/2018 8:53 AM

I actually just use a heavy bowl for my bunnies. I didn’t buy a special water dish at all. Just make sure its heavy enough that its not too easy for them to tip it over.

And yes, please separate them. Maybe ask your dad to help as he saw the nipping!
Good luck!

Sorry for the late reply, I’ve been sick. Anyway I’ve tried looking for heavy enough bowls in wal*mart but to no avail, at least not for ones heavy enough but I also wasn’t given a lot of time to look around properly. …Do you want to hear/read the news?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Nutmeg]

Hey – sorry, I can’t get on here on the weekends much – Sure! Would love the hear the news!
Oh and I also use the glass tupperware bowls.. it has a flat bottom so it makes it more sturdy and heavy… ceramic is also good. I find the pet ones, while cute to look at , are just way over priced.

[BunnyLass568]

Posted By Nutmeg on 7/30/2018 11:29 AM

Hey – sorry, I can’t get on here on the weekends much – Sure! Would love the hear the news!
Oh and I also use the glass tupperware bowls.. it has a flat bottom so it makes it more sturdy and heavy… ceramic is also good. I find the pet ones, while cute to look at , are just way over priced.

It’s alright! And ahh, I’ll keep a look out for them! Well…they’re still together. I asked my dad for help to separate them and he said “we’ll do it another day, i don’t feel like doing it today.” Ok, fine I could tell he was really tired and not in the best mood. Next time I could talk (I lost my voice for a while) I told him that I heard a weird noise from one of them, it wasn’t a scream but it was louder and lasted longer than a yelp and guess what he said; “they’re just playing”. I tried pushing it a little more but he said “they’re fine” and left it at that. On the day I had a psychiatrist appointment, on the way home both of my parents dropped “subtle” hints about not separating them and the other day I seen Thumper sniff Blossom’s private area and, though I hate to admit this, it gave me the idea to lie to my parents to try and seperate them. I told them both that Thumper tried to bite Blossom’s privates, my mom said “Ok, we’ll let your dad know” and my dad was like “it’s fine” and that’s it. They’re still not seperated.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Sirius&Luna]

BunnyLass, I don’t understand why you’re having this difficulty. I thought you were a child, in which case your parents having the final say makes sense. But in your bio you state that you’re an adult woman. I understand that living with parents as an adult can be difficult, and we don’t know the details of your situation, but as an adult, you need to put your foot down and act in the best interests of YOUR pets. Just separate them, you don’t need your parent’s permission. Move one to your bedroom and have them free roam if you don’t have another cage.

A rabbit squealing means its terrified and in pain. This can only end in a bloody mess and/or babies. I know you understand that, but you need to act on it. 

[Nutmeg]

I agree with S&L – I lived with my parents until I was 32 due to things out of my control, so no judgement there at ALL!!
But you have two choices…. stop asking and separate them NOW or Re-Home one of them!
Rabbits do not squeal for no reason. It is either scared out of its mind by the other bunny OR it is in pain as the other one did bite it.

I’m sorry but this is when you need to grow a pair and stand up for your bunnies, as they can’t stand up for themselves.

I do not mean this as a mean questions, as it will come across that way, but I mean it as a realistic question….

~ How would you feel if you came home and one of your bunnies had killed the other one?

As that very likely will happen.

Also, if the girl ends up pregnant you are going to have to separate them anyways… and at such a young age having babies could kill her too, or she could reject them and kill her own babies.

At this point if any of these outcomes occur it is now on You, and it will be your fault, unfortunately, and not your parents.

Even if every single day, 5 times a day, you say – we need to re-home one of them…. over and over and over and over and over…
or we need to separate them… over and over and over and over and over and over and over….

Trust me, they’ll do one or the other to get you to stop as it wont be worth the fight for them anymore. You owe it to those bunnies! Ignoring it and hoping for the best wont make this danger go away.

[sarahthegemini]

I live with my Mum at the moment and I’m 28. Sorry but that’s no excuse. This is beyond ridiculous. Your parents and YOU are risking the lives of these rabbits by being so careless. You’ve been told time and time again the consequences of keeping them together – you’re an adult. Take a stand and separate your damn rabbits.

Also not gunna lie, it sounds like your Dad wants one of them to get hurt :-/

[BunnyLass568]

I know everyone, I know. I do want to clarify and say that it wasn’t so much as asking as trying to demand help though I know that’s no excuse. Anyway they’re finally seperated (had to enlist my younger sister’s help to make sure neither of them got hurt or anything). I’m spending the day with them to see how they’re going to do. And eveyone, thanks. ?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Pets-Passed away: Hailey (9 years old, half rat terrier and miniature pincher, Feb-5-2019),Monster (13 years old, mixed breed, Lhasa Apso and some form of terrier, Sep-14-2020), Demon (14 year old Lhasa Apso, Aug-3-2022) Blossom (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-7-2024) Thumper (6 year old bunny breed(s) unknown, April-12-2024)💔💔💔💔

[Nutmeg]

Awesome! Would love to see a photo of their new set up! It will take a little for them to adjust, but just spend time with each of them – as they can’t even have play time together – so they’ll have to come out separately.

[Author]

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