Newbie – Meet Bert & Ernie

[BecciDarbo]

Hello,

Just joined today… here are my babies, Bert (Black) & Ernie (Sandy) i rescued them at 10 weeks old & they were born on 21st June 2018.

Im hoping you all can tell me or give me some ideas of what breed they are? im presuming a Rex cross?

They are being neutered on the 23rd November, as they are doing a lot of mounting and chasing, but so far not aggressively, but will be keeping a firm eye on them! They have a large enclosure in the day time, get let out and have the run of downstairs between 5pm & 10pm, then go back to their space while im in bed as Bert is abit of a nibbler so cant be trusted 

We will also be bringing home 2 mini-lop brothers on the 6th November when they will be 8 weeks old, they will be in a separate enclosure, but close to these 2, so they can interact, smell etc.

Any advise for bonding 2 x bonded brothers would be gratefully received, as we’d love to get to the point where they can all have free roam together in the evenings…

Thanks

Becci xx

[Asriel and Bombur]

Hi Becci! They’re beautiful! Not quite sure on the breed.

As for bonding, please keep them separate at all times. Bunnies don’t recognize family units, and any chasing and mounting at this point is considered aggressive and hormonal, not a dominance display. Eventually one may turn and not enjoy being mounted and chased. You can’t keep an eye on them 24/7, and all hormonal bunnies want to do is fight and mate. It would be a shame to have one get injured while you weren’t able to watch. And yes, it can happen in the blink of any eye. One minute things are great and the next they are ready to kill each other. This advice is also for the future duo you bring home in a little bit, they will need to be separated from each other and from the other two as well. So you’ll need 4 separate enclosures and 4 separate play times with no interaction between any of them until you’re ready to bond them. 

From experience, I can tell you bunnies that fight are terrifying. I didn’t know about proper bonding and had my boys (brothers) living together as well. Bombur was a chaser and a mounter and one day Asriel had enough and the fur was flying and the blood was spilling. Some bunnies on this forum have had ears missing a chunk or testicles bitten or noses bitten, all because they weren’t separated and the owners believed everything would be fine keeping them together. 

The proper bonding process begins by having all unfixed bunnies separated, then getting fixed, spend 2 months prebonding (one while they heal and an extra month to really make sure they will be successful during their introduction). After prebonding, begin short sessions in neutral territory and increase as they get along.

Bonding a quad is a whole different beast from bonding a pair, and you really will have to prepare yourself that you might have 2 pairs, a trio and a solo, or even 4 separate buns. There’s really no guarantees.

I really can’t stress it enough to have them separate, especially before something does happen, and keeping them separate after their neuters. After a neuter a bunny can go through a bit of an up and down period known as a post neuter craze. During this period its very likely one or both will not take too kindly to the other.

welcome

[Gordo and Janice]

Welcome. I do like the names. My brother and I watched ol’ Bert and Ernie for so many years. (And I am assuming they are named after the Sesame Street duo) We used to laugh and laugh. So long ago. It’s a nice reminder and a cute choice for brothers. Hope your bonding of your rabbits is successful in the future. 4 free roam fur balls would be so adorable. Cuteness overload.

Asriel and Bombur definitely knows a thing or two about bonding. When the time is right she is a fantastic resource as are several others on this website. As for my experience, I remember one instance where someone brought over a baby rabbit (8 to 10 weeks old). Our little girl was always very interested in other people and seemed very happy-go-lucky. But when they approached her with that little baby she changed instantly, like someone flipped a switch, and it was kind of scary. Very aggressive growling, grunting, and charging. Very aggressive. If they had put the little baby down on the ground it would have been ugly. It freaked us both out. And our rabbit was spayed. Never knew that was possible but I saw it firsthand. After being on here now I understand but back then it was surreal to witness.

Anyhow, glad you are here and a part of the community. Four rabbits. Your getting serious over there in Cheshire. Should give you some sort of VIP membership status, right? Welcome again.

[Author]

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