Hello All!

[BunnyBunBun]

Hello all,

Though I’ve had bunnies before, I’ve never been in this exact situation. I am new to this forum and could use some advice about my new baby buns.

Yesterday, I brought home a pair of 8 week old sibling bunnies. I was told they were both female but noticed one of them started displaying male-like behavior (aka humping) and today the vet confirmed that yes, I have a brother and a sister rather than two sisters. I am planning on getting them both fixed as soon as I can, but I don’t want any “accidents” before then, so I have a few questions:

1. The vet said we’d be okay until we can get the male fixed in about a month’s time, but everything I’ve been reading online says that they should be separated immediately as the female could get pregnant before then. Would I be okay waiting until he’s neutered or should I separate them as soon as I can? I’d rather be prepared so I am planning on going out in a couple of days to get a second set of supplies to do just that but I’d like to know if I’m worrying about nothing.
2. If needed, what is the best way to separate them? I don’t really have a lot of room for two pens; I was planning on just putting a divider in the one I have as they are both still small enough that they should have plenty of room. Once they get more settled, I will be allowing them to run around the house so they will have plenty of space then; I just want to know if anyone has any advice on what will work as a temporary solution until that time.

Thank you for any advice you can give me. I look forward to all you have to say and browsing more of your forum!

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome!

From what I’ve read, males can impregnate females at as early as 10 weeks, and females can get pregnant at 12 weeks. So it would be wise to just separate now so you don’t risk it. Especially since you’re noticing male-like behavior.

Neutering happens once the testicles drop, which also means he could start impregnating, so I definitely wouldn’t wait until he was old enough to be neutered. If aren’t quite sure if your vet is super rabbit savvy, here’s a list of good questions you can ask to assess whether you want to find a different vet: https://rabbit.org/faq-spaying-and-neutering/

Regarding housing, they can be side by side, but I’m heard stories of males impregnating females through cage bars. I don’t know how much truth there is to this, but I think until his neuter, I would play it safe and have them separated by at least a foot or so. You can use an extra pen to make the buffer, or NIC cube grids work really well. I would also think about using the cube grids to make some sort of roof unless your pen is very tall, because you would be amazed at how high bunnies will jump when they are trying to get to another bunny!

When I’ve had to have two buns separate temporarily I’ve made small NIC cube condos for them, then re-purposed the grids to make one large condo once they were bonded.

. . . 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.  

[DanaNM]

Also, I’m going to move this thread to the Q& A section, as I think you might get more responses there!

. . . 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.  

[Sirius&Luna]

I agree, you should separate them as soon as possible. Not only is pregnancy a risk, but if the male is humping the female she could get annoyed and attack him, ending in a nasty fight.

There should definitely be either a solid divider (piece of wood or perspex for example) or at least a foot between their cages to stop mating through the bars, as well as nipping through bars.

Since you won’t be able to get the girl spayed until shes about 6 months old, you’re going to be living with them separated for at least the next 6 months (4 months until she’s old enough to spay, a month to recover and drain hormones, and a month of bonding, minimum). So I would ensure that they have a decent amount of space and it’s not too much of a temporary set up. X Pens are good as they can be rearranged, or as Dana suggested, cube condos work well too.

I would also suggest swapping them between hutches during the time that they’re separated. This will stop them getting too territorial about one space, and will make sure that they remain aware of each other and get used to each others’ scent. Hopefully, once they’re both neutered you’ll have an easy bond!

[BunnyBunBun]

Thanks for the advice!

Asked a different vet and they agreed with the first that they should be fine together until we can at least get the boy neutered. I still don’t think I want to take that chance so I might just go ahead and separate them.

I do have some thoughts on how to give them more space while they are apart, including letting them play, supervised, in a blocked off hallway. That might help alleviate some of the space issues.

Side questions: Is it okay to put them together once he’s fixed but before she is? Or should I keep them apart the entire time? Can they play together supervised during recovery or should they be kept apart at all times before and during recovery?

[DanaNM]

They really shouldn’t be together unless it’s during a bonding session. Play time in non-neutral space often leads to fights, which can slow the bonding process. Once buns get hormonal they often don’t recognize each other, even if they got along as babies. I agree with S& L that switching who is one what side (“pre-bonding”) is a good idea.

Since you are new to this process, I suggest reading the Bonding section under the “bunny info” tab at the top of the page. Basically once your girl is spayed and her hormones have settled, you can start working with them in neutral territory so they can safely sort out their dominance hierarchy. There are lots of approaches, but key points are that neutral space is very important, and behaviors that escalate to fights should be stopped.

(as an aside, you would have needed to go through this whole process even if you had two girls, so I hope you aren’t too bummed about it!)

. . . 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.  

[BunnyBunBun]

Thanks for all of your wonderful advice!

I ended up setting up a second area so each bunny can have it’s own space. The pens are next to each other, though they are not right against one another with a gap between them. Hopefully that’s enough to prevent any accidents. I made sure that they are still able to see each other and they keep looking to try to get to the other one. I’m am planning on alternating them between areas so they can at least still sense each other a bit while they are apart from one another.

While my little boy seems fine (he’s too busy exploring right now to know what’s going on I think), his sister seems to be a little anxious at times. She seems to be more nervous without him around. I feel bad for separating them whenever I watch her look for him because she seems so sad and I’m hoping she doesn’t have some sort of separation anxiety.

Is there anything I can do to help alleviate some of her anxiety? I’m sure this will resolve over time, especially once they’ve been separated for a little while but I’d like to know if there is something I can do now to help her.

[DanaNM]

Sounds like a good set-up! I think having him nearby should help her not feel so nervous. Also providing extra hiding spots, and giving her extra cuddles and attention should help

. . . 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.  

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