Holland Lop Boys

[heather]

I’m about to be a first time bunny owner, and I’m super excited. I’m interested in getting two holland lop buck littermates. They’re both four months old right now, and I would get them neutered in about a month or so or whenever a vet recommends. 

They currently live in the same cage and seem to get along fine. One is already the dominant one, it seems, but they never seem to fight. Should I consider getting them together, or should I try to get a different pair? The only options I have are the two brothers, or their one sister. 

Any advice would be great, I don’t want to have unhappy bunnies. Thank you in advance! 

Also I want to get them neutered, how fast should I do that after I get them, and how fast should I reintroduce them to each other in order for them to bond? 

Last question (sorry)- Should I let them bond to me first, and then each other, or have them both try to bond to me and each other at once? 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, I just want to be a good friend to these little boys. 

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Heather. : )

Are the bunnies living together at breeders or pet store? Private seller?

Are they certain both are boys? Their testicles have descended and visible?

It’s a tricky situation…. Some boys will get along okay – even intact, but it very often is not that case and they can fight terribly. Since they seem to get along, I would be tempted to get them, let them settle with you for a week or two, then get them desexed. The op may cause some issues between them so they would have to be separated to be safe. They could have time together under supervision after the op though if it doesn’t stress either out. In some cases, it might look to each other for comfort.

Even coming home to a new environment could trigger some fighting, but they could also seek each other out for comfort too. It is hard to predict. You’d have to go into this knowing the current bond may break. That would be the case with male and female also. In which case it’s a matter of waiting until hormones level out post spay/neuter, then working on bonding them.

It’s normally recommended to try m/f pairs for ease of bonding but sometimes f/f or m/m pairs work better. It depends on the rabbits. It’s also recommended to separate rabbits at this age asap as things can be unpredictable with their hormones come into play.
Having said that, I have seen intact males living together. Some just didn’t fight.
But stressors did set off some of them and causes fighting. In my view, these rabbits never fully relaxed either, though some of the less dominant ones paired off. It also impacted negatively on their health. These weren’t my rabbits. I’d be too nervous to allow that myself!!

[jerseygirl]

Oh, another consideration is if you have a rabbit savvy vet experienced with desexing females. If not, that might help make a decision about getting the boys or getting a boy and girl.

[Boston's Mama]

My experiences with two boys has not been good – it’s harder to bond two boys than to bond a male and a female.
That said, if they already live together they have what is called a “baby bond” all baby bunnies get along – until hormones kick in. I would think at 4 months their hormones are just starting ( hence current owner seeing now one is boss but not yet fights) I would think once hormones kick in that this could worsen.
If you can and will seperate them for a few weeks after the neuter when they go through a hormone craze – and you can and will cage them seperately if bonding does not work – then get them

If it’s your first bunny and your not sure about having two cages seperately I wouldn’t do it.
Or maybe they will seperate? Since they are still babies and unneutered they haven’t properly bonded – so you wouldn’t be breaking a bond seperating them this young.

[Boston's Mama]

There are others on here who got littermates that suddenly began to fight – then they had to house seperately. Some until after desex then bonding – some never bond after.

[sarahthegemini]

You’ll need to separate them until they have been neutered, then start bonding once their hormones have disipated. Gender/breed/size etc doesn’t matter when it comes to bonding, it’s all down to personality.

[heather]

They’re still with a family that kind of accidentally had another group of babies. They think they’re both boys but we’re not totally sure yet but I imagine I should get them neutered asap.
So would you recommend that I just get one and then bond it with another rabbit in time? I was told littermates would be ok but I’m worried after doing research.
The family said that most of their bunnies have been fine and they’ve only ever had one problem where one of their bunnies bit a hole in his brothers ear. So they’ve been kind of bred mellow but I understand that each bun is unique and that’s not the case for every bunny.

[heather]

Would you recommend me getting one and then take him bunny speed dating after he’s neutered and rebound him with some random other bunny?
I would feel bad leaving the other brother behind, but I don’t want them to never relax either.

[Boston's Mama]

That’s what I would do – then you can find out for sure he’s a boy, bond with him and have him neutered , then find him a already spayed / neutered bunny that HE indicates will be a good match which gives you are much higher chance of a successful bond and less time with two seperate rabbits

[Author]

Messages