New to rabbit keeping

[gemmagem]

HI Just want some advice, i got a female rabbit from some one who didnt know what they where doing. I know im new to rabbit keeping but i have google so ive given her better food larger cage and no sawdust in the bottom (still dont know why there was a large pieace of flint in the cage)

The Question i have is that she is alone and about 14-16 weeks old, i know they need company and she’s been trying to play with my cat. I have read up that you can introduce a friend if both are neutered. But my rabbit is still too young. And because she is young wouldnt it be best to introduce her now to a friend (which would be younger) then have them done when due.

I would like peoples thoughts as i do work in the day so for 7 hours she’s in our house by her self with the cat (my cat is used to small animals so is not threat) and i dont want her to be lonely. she has one of the kids toys in with her and a few boxes an a tunnel. she is let out into the whole room as soon as im back. ive set it up so that one cage (the cage she comes with) and a hutch (that i brought) are facing each other, both left open and the sides have netting on it a meter tall, so she has about 2 meter square (not including the cages) of space. i am aware that this isnt enought space but ive only had her 3 days so she still getting used to us. I am planning oh having her full roam of the room once she is used to everything.

She is doing well, taking food from me coming up for a sniff, and we are working on trust.

any and all adivce would be appreciated

[Aki]

Taking another rabbit in before she’s spayed would just be asking for trouble. You should never put two intact rabbits together, especially hormonal teenagers and it would significantly increase your chances of getting phantom pregnancies, sprays of urine on yourself and the furniture, territorial bitey rabbits and so on… It can come a lot sooner than you think (your rabbit is old enough for all that) and it’s no fun. Trust me, I know.
I know that people often think that babies would get along better but it’s not true : they will get along at first, then hormones will kick in, you’ll have to separate them and begin from scratch again. In the meantime you will risk one of the rabbits getting a serious injury (I’ve seen several cases of a male getting frisky with an unwilling female and ending up getting a castration you didn’t pay for) and / or a female getting pregnant too soon which could end up with a dead doe / a doe killing her babies in a gory way or, in the best case, babies you would have to find families for (some does get pregnant around 12 weeks even though they really shouldn’t).
Especially since you won’t be there to stop them if they fight.
My advice is to wait until your rabbit is around 7 months old, getting her spayed. Then either you take a baby and have to wait one or two months to get him neutered and then 6 weeks to wait the hormones out before attempting to bond, either you take an adult that you can neuter immediatly or adopt an already neutered buck from a shelter.
The best pairing is male / female. It is the easiest, the most stable and I really recommend it if you have no experience with bonding.

But don’t worry, I wouldn’t be that worried about your rabbit being bored,. Rabbits are mostly crepuscular animals and they spend most of the day sleeping – my rabbits litteraly disappear in one of their cardboard “houses” around noon to sleep and I don’t see them again before 6pm. It’s even worse during winter.

PS : really bunnyproof your room before letting the rabbit out. Put hard plastic (the really hard ones or she will eat through them in a minute!) protections on ALL the electrical cords.

[gemmagem]

HI Thanks for the advice, ive already figured out about the plastic netting, she ate through it last night so been out and got some wire netting to go over the plastic.  Obviously making sure no sharp edges and that the holes match up.

I will wait till shes completely settled and spayed first before getting a pal, shes allowing me to stroke her today (think the corn in the other hand is paying off) 

Shes bouncing round room at the moment following the cat, till the cat jumps up to the window or by the tv.

All happy

[Author]

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