Getting two boys from the same litter

[Boston's Mama]

Getting two boys from the same litter ( were getting one but decided two is better for them )
I prefer bucks to does – so getting two bucks
Will obviously neuter them as soon as of age / weight at a good vet
Will our chances of fighting be slim given they are from same litter and raised together and neutered at right age?
Really don’t want to deal with a rabbit fight which is why I was only getting one to start with
But I think that bunny bond will be good for Oakley

[Boston's Mama]

And is there anything I should know before hand ? Like should I have two seperate bowls of food ( one each) or one to share?
Should we always get them out of hutch at same time (jealousy?)
Any little things like that that can make a difference ?

Their hutch is a big wooden one inside ( Lino floors and back wall ) a run off it , blankets for traction – really every toy you could name
Ceramic bowls
Litter tray with urine gaurd ( I’m making the guard to it tonight )

[Mikey]

No, the chance of fighting will still be the same as any other unbonded pair. Rabbits do not care about blood relations and baby bunny friendships are not bonds. Youll have to keep them apart from the start. You can keep their cages/pens close, but they have to be apart. Being apart means they will need their own food dishes, own water dishes/bottles, ect. In the future they will be able to share the hutch that you have for them, but only after they are neutered and bonded. Anything else and you are risking walking in on bloodied or dead bunnies

[Boston's Mama]

But they are together already ??? Have been since birth

[Mikey]

Doesnt matter. Rabbits will fight when hormones kick in. You wont always be able to tell when hormones kick in. The friendship they have is not a bond as baby bunnies are friends with most everyone they meet. Youll want them apart but in cages/pens close enough that they can smell and see one another, but not close enough that they can touch. This way they wont forget one another, but cannot fight when hormones kick in.

[Boston's Mama]

I have done some research ( local rabbit rescue , spca and a specialised rabbit vet ) and they all have told me that introductions of young rabbits ( under 10weeks old) is usually easy – and as long as desexed at around 4 months old they will be fine …. these two have been together since birth and I’ll definetly desex as soon as of age / weight to safely do so
I was only going to get one rabbit but everyone of those places I spoke to said two is better for the rabbit …. I wanted to avoid the whole two cage thing which is why I decided that If better in pairs I’d get two from same litter that have always been together then desex at right age – not sure what to do now….

[Mikey]

Doesnt always work and i feel its not worth the risk. If the two have a bad enough fight and youre not there to stop it soon enough, the two will likely never bond. After they are both neutered, you will still need to work on bonding as baby bunny friendships are not real bonds. And again, blood relations mean nothing to rabbits. Same litter opposite sex rabbits will even breed once hormones kick in. Youll either need two cages to start out, or youre better off getting one now and adopting one thats already neutered/spayed in the future. Possible pain and refusal to bond from a hormonally induced fight is not worth risking

[Boston's Mama]

Getting a second later isn’t an option for me – I’m not wanting to go through the tough time some have bonding older rabbits , that’s why I was only getting one. But everyone says get two – so was getting two at the same time so they are already use to living together…. I could go for a female and a male, have them spayed/ neutered at 3 -3.5 months ( will do then anyway for males or females ) then not have to seperate … I get bonding older rabbits is very hard – totally understand that – but surely babies won’t be if desexed at right time and been together all their lives??? So many people buy two babies at once wouldn’t everyone’s backyard have rabbits fighting till death then ?? Not at all dissing your experience or knowledge on it just seems weird that everyone gives such different off putting answers – if I decide on one I get told to get two – go for two from same litter and neuter ( which doesn’t sound hard ) and get told to wait and go through the harder sounding way of bonding once they older … I’m just trying to make sure my rabbit is happiest with the decision we make on getting one or two without a huge stressful time of bonding older rabbits

[Boston's Mama]

My history with rabbits was 10years ago – I have a neutered male and unspayed female ( no vets where I am wanted to spay a doe back then ) -bonded and I had no idea then about needing to bond – I just put them together! Luckily I had no fights what so ever ( which I know now is just pure luck since they weren’t itroduced properly )
Then in a seperate hutch I had a entire buck Flemish giant on his own
I had good bonds with me and them – they were all laid back easy bunnies

This is my first time looking at two at once – as I am put of bonding older ones from all the horror stories on the web – I was just getting one but as I said everywhere I turn people say get one of his siblings for him

[Gina.Jenny]

Pippi and Rusty were bought together when they were around 10 weeks old, and kept together right up until they were neutered, and after, and stayed together happily bonded until Rusty sadly had to be pts due to inoperable tumour. However, I was home-schooling at the time, and so was in most of the time, and around to intervene if needs be. I think it comes down to a number of factors, including the personalities of the buns and how much you are home.

[Boston's Mama]

Were pippi and rusty boy / girl?
Did they have some squabbling that required intervention or happy right through?
I’m home a lot – I home school my kids , but still wouldn’t want to have a big fight … I already feel protective of the boy we have chosen to get and would hate to get him a “friend” only to have it be a negative for him

[Gina.Jenny]

Pippi and Rusty were both boys, no fighting, some mounting. Pippi is a bun you could bond to almost anybun though, he doesn’t seem bothered by bunny hierarchy, Rusty was always clearly top bun.

When Rusty was pts, Pippi was instantly bonded to a very poorly little girl bun, who had been living feral. Jenny was very glad to have a big warm boy bun to cuddle into while she recovered from her spay, Pippi was glad to have some company instead of grieving on his own. Again, I could only bond a girl recovering from a spay cos I was home all day.

I would say bonding older buns is possible – Pippi was nearly two when bonded to Jenny, Podge and Gina were around a year old I think, both were caught as strays, and they took four days to successfully bond. Mini and snickers were adopted as a bonded pair, but weren’t properly bonded, and needed to be bonded here, and I was told they were thought to be between 2-3 yo

[Mikey]

It heavily depends on hormones and personality. Im not saying theyre guaranteed to fight, just that there is a high chance for it to happen, and if you are not there to stop it it could lead to bad fights either causing them never wanting to bond, or causing one or both to be bloodied/die. Theres been a few posts here for the last month or two where people needed to rebond their bunnies after having them together all their lives because of bad fights caused by hormones. Some were successful, some where not. Its up to you if you want to take that risk, but to me its not worth it

[Mikey]

I want to add as well, if you decide to get a male and a female, you will need to keep them separated as well to avoid pregnancies 

[tobyluv]

I agree with Mikey that if you get two bunnies, it would be best to house them separately when you bring them home, and keep them separated until after their surgeries. Wait until at least a month has passed after their surgeries, then you can start the bonding process. It’s possible that they may not fight if kept together before they are neutered, but it’s also very possible that they will fight and injure each other, or hold a grudge which would make future bonding difficult. Their personalities and levels of aggression can change very suddenly when they enter puberty. Even if you could monitor them all the time, which would be impossible, they could suddenly scuffle or fight and hurt each other before you could intervene.

I have bonded several pairs of older rabbits over the years. I don’t think that age is much of a factor at all. Some bonds are easy and almost instant, some take time and work, and some don’t work at all, so you always need to be prepared to house rabbits separately if you plan on having two or more.

[Wascally Wabbits]

I had two bunny boys from the same litter. They got along just fine before their balls started descending. The hormones kicked in a couple weeks before that. It started with some mounting here and there. Then one day they had a full on fight (fur everywhere and one of them drew blood). You would be surprised how vicious the sweetest rabbits can get. My Chicago was a very sweet and submissive rabbit but he was grunting and lunging. Ended up having to separate them for 6 weeks (two weeks before neutering and 4 after). They were housed in the same room and always in sight of the other. I was able to bond them in 3 days after that. So I would agree with the assessment to keep them in separate cages but in the same room. Unless you are there 24/7 it is not safe to keep two intact boys together.

[Boston's Mama]

Ok I’m put off two for life haha
( I know most will say not to be and just to neuter then bond) but it seems way more work to bond than it ever was for me in the past ( seems I must have been lucky) but I’m not risking fights and drama
Oakley will be a Lone Ranger and I’m home all day and he has a mansion set up in the lounge where he will constantly be around me and the kids and free range in the evenings and nights for 5-6hours one the kids are in bed
He definetly won’t be short of attention! And then there is no fighting risk or drama

[Mikey]

Some bunnies prefer to be lone rangers, and since you will be spending lots of time with him i have no doubt he will be a happy single bunny

[Boston's Mama]

Yeah we did heaps of looking into it and the risk of two doesn’t out weigh the pros of the in our case since he is going to live in the lounge with us and I’m home all day
My experiences were always positive on the bond front with my previous Lone rangers
He will be spoilt rotten

[Author]

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