Can spayed doe be housed with intake bucks?

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mfreemyers

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I have rabbits in HUGE enclosure - inside is 8x10, outside is 20x10. I had a bonded pair that mated and had two litters. Mom and Dad are now about a year old. I was able to get rid of all female babies but have kept two bucks. So I have a total of 3 bucks (including Dad) and Momma. I want to put Momma back with the rest of the herd - so thinking to get her spayed would be cheaper than getting all 3 bucks neutered. I am concerned about them all trying to mate with her and harassing her. I know they will still try to mate with her but does anyone have any advice on what I should do? I kind of thing that because I have such a large enclosure - she will be fine, but I don't want to spend the money to get her fixed just to have to house her separately - she seems pretty lonely by herself. Thanks in advance for any advice.
 
Usually to bond rabbits, they all have to be fixed. This rids them of the hormones that can cause problems. It is highly unlikely that 3 intact males will continue to get along. Add a female in the mix (spayed or intact) and they will likely all fight for her attention.

If the 3 males are intact, she would be harassed and humped constantly. This would not be good for her.

If you'd like her to have a bondmate, I'd suggest spaying her, neutering a male, and then attempting to bond those two together.
 
Keeping unneutered bucks together is risky, when the young ones mature there can be problems, deadly fights can erupt in seconds. This is probable the most difficult combination. It doesn't matter if the young ones get along with the older buck fine before they mature, I had young ones attack their sire (a laid-back dude) twice their size, and even between brothers that were always together there can be bloodshed from one day to the next (had to put down 3 bucklings 2 years ago, matured early and from one day to the next there were half castrated boys and ripped open bellies... :( )

I don't say that it's completly impossible to keep two intact bucks together, I think I've heard of it, but it sure is a rare exception that it works, and then due to special characters.
But 3 intact bucks, plus a doe - I definitly do not think this is a good idea.

How old are the young bucks?
If you want to go ahaed with your plan, have the bucks neutered before any fighting occures, once they learned that behaviour it's not always possible that they ever get along again.

The doe, well, it depends on the characters, some intact bucks will harass her a lot, but I had one that I kept with the doe for three weeks when she was pregnant - such a sweet and caring boy. The doe was always the boss (it's her who does most of the humping in my little herd), and of course, no other bucks around.
But I can't tell how bucks behave around a neutered doe, no experience with that.
I would castrate the bucks, and sell off any that cause problems in the group.
 
The best would be to spay her (for health reasons, you should anyway) and to neuter a buck to bond her with. A female / male desexed pair is a pretty sure bet. I agree with Preitler that 3 intact bucks are not likely to get along in the long run, and that putting a female (even spayed) in the mix is a terrible idea. She will probably get harassed and the introduction of a female will encourage the males to fight between themselves. So, I strongly advise against it.
 

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