Splitting two brother rabbits

[Harvey Hare]

Hiya I’m really concerned in a way regards splitting two unneutered brothers up that are only 4 months old, as I’m keeping a close eye on them both together in and out of the hutch. There feeding ok next to each other at the bowl of nuggets and hay rack. There ok in the hutch when there calm laid next to each other, it’s just when the other walks past or hops past, the other seems to go in for a nip. Other than that it’s fine at the moment but it’s NOT like an all in wrestling match or a Mike Tyson fight. But what do I look for when enough is enough as the one male who’s nipping the other has just started biting me but has always been really plasid up to resently plus neither has both males testicles dropped yet.

[Sirius&Luna]

It’s already enough, they should be separated. Don’t wait until a bunny gets seriously injured to separate them.

You can keep them next to each other, with gaps between the cages so that they can still see and smell each other until they’re neutered. It will also make bonding easier if you separate them BEFORE they fight. While they’re in separate areas, you can swap them between areas or swap litter trays so they don’t get territorial over the space. A month after they are neutered, you can reintroduce them in a neutral space.

[TheDuchess]

Prevention, prevention, prevention.

You should never wait until rabbits have injured each other to separate them. At the first sign of aggression, you should immediately separate. Rabbit fights escalate quickly and they can become quite vicious in a matter of seconds. Every moment you keep them together, they are at risk of causing each other serious harm.

[sarahthegemini]

I agree, I would separate them now. Even if they are okay most of the time, you cannot supervise them 24/7 long term and even you are able too, a fight could break out in the blink of an eye and they can do serious damage to one another. It’s best to keep them apart, neuter them and then go through the bonding process.

[Nutmeg]

Also just wanting to throw in that I agree with separating them now until they are neutered. Keep them near each other so that they can smell and see each other but not fight / nip through the bars… Then for the month after the neuter just start pre-bonding (so swapping their cages and things in their cages, things like that) and then after that month you can start having supervised play dates in neutral territory (aka somewhere neither of them has ever been before) to re-introduce them and watch for frighting.
This is what I am in the middle of doing with mine and the “Bonding” section of this forum is super helpful.

[Author]

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