Parents and babies

[Georgih]

Hello…. Back story…
We have a lionhead(girl) Ruby and a dwarf netherland (boy) Bob. Well Bob was suppose to be fixed and well long story short they had babies 7 to be exact. 4 girls and 3 boys.
At 10 months we adopted out all but 2 of the boys and they are now 12 weeks . Mom and dad are 8 months old and we got both of them fixed now for real. They are all in a 3 story condo we built and a huge play area attached. They have 3 litter boxes, tons of toys two eating areas and two water bottles.

Issue:
I am noticing the dad and mom chasing the runt named peanut and the dad Nipped peanut. But yet they will all snuggle together also and both the mom and dad clean their boots.. In concerned for Peanut. I don’t know if they are just scolding him or if they are being aggressive toward him.

Can anyone help with signs…. What I should do? We are keeping the two boys and plan on getting them fixed when old enough.

[Azerane]

Hi there I’m glad to hear that you have had the mum and dad fixed. With the two young boys at 12 weeks of age it is quite normal for the parents to be chasing them around and bullying them a little as they would naturally be driving them off in the wild at this age. At 12 weeks your boys will be entering puberty and with the changes in hormones that that brings you need to be extremely careful. Hormonal teenage rabbits can fight very aggressively or be attacked by their parents (or attack their parents themselves). Of course the plan of getting them fixed is good, but I would also recommend separating the two young boys into their own areas until you are able to have them fixed and can rebond them. Fighting is a very real concern and I would hate to see any of your bunnies get hurt. Especially for the well being of the smallest one, Peanut.

[Deleted User]

To clarify on that: each 12 week old must have their own area. So three separate spaces. Bunnies are also difficult to sex, so you might actually have a boy and a girl, or two girls. If you do have a boy and a girl, you’ll end up in same situation again. Unless their testicles have dropped on both, you might not be able to tell for a while.

[Georgih]

Hey thanks for the advice.

So it’s fine to keep mom and dad together?. They don’t fight. I just separated mom and dad from the babies but mom seems confused and sad? Today I will make two separate condos for the babies. Mom and dad will be together and the babies will have their own each separate condo until I can properly bond them. I feel horrible separating everyone ? but it’s for their safety.
Can they all be together during supervised play time?

[Deleted User]

Not even during play time. they need to remain completely separated at all times until after the boys are neutered and you have waited a month for hormones to die down and prebond. if mom and dad aren’t fighting, I don’t see a reason to separate them. If they do start to fight or show signs of aggression, then separate them and start bonding them all over again.

[Mikey]

Rabbits done see family bonds. They see two hormonal rabbits intruding on their space, so theyre trying to chase him out. When your other male starts puberty, theyll do the same to him. They will do this for any hormonal rabbits you put into their territory. Separate mom and dad from the two young boys, and the two young boys need their own space each as well. When their hormones come in full blast, theyll want nothing more than to fight one another over territory.

No, everyone needs their own play time. Putting any of them together for play time, even supervised, and you risk fighting. Note, rabbits will fight to the death if not stopped quick enough; every time rabbits fight, no matter how bad, will make bonding them back together very hard. Rabbits who have fought and cannot forget their grudge will never bond back together. Its a risk you dont want to take.

[Author]

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