New Pet Flemish Giant

I'm sure this has been asked often, but I have no idea...when do you have baby boy bunnies neutered? Ours is about seven weeks old & we plan to have him "fixed.":shock:

Thanks!!

Most rabbits reach sexual maturity around 4-6 months. I've read that larger rabbits can mature a little later, so your rabbit might be on the higher end of that range. With male rabbits you wait until their "boy parts" drop.

Its really important to consult with a vet on that sort of thing. I would recommend finding a rabbit savvy vet now and brining him in for a check up. You can also get all your questions about his health answered.

Vets are expensive so if you don't want to do that I think you should do a few google searches and compile all the research you can. Of course you can always ask your questions here, but it might be easier to do initial reading online.

So you should research things like:

What kind of hay they need
Why most rabbit foods sold at petco are bad
Warning signs that your rabbit is sick
How large of a "cage" (LARGE for flemsih giants)
How to properly lift your rabbit
How rabbits like to be interacted with
How to teach a rabbit not to nip...

Its very possible you already have done all those thing. I dont mean to assume you haven't, but I thought I'd give you a few pointers of what to look out for. I had a lot of those types of question when I first got a rabbit.

Someone with more flemish knowledge should come around soon!

Hi Heidi
Have you bought him from a breeder/seller/pet shop? 7 weeks is a little young to be even taken from their mother - never mind being neutered 8 weeks is the perfect time for kits to be taken from their mothers.

Anyway... like a dog, a male needs his testicles to drop. One they drop, your rabbit can be neutered. This is usually around 4 months old so you have a bit to wait yet. Some vets prefer to wait until 6 months because of it can be risky(but with neutering and spaying there are always risks).

But really, there is no rush at all for you to get your boy neutered unless you are housing him with another rabbit(it's probably a bad idea to house a flemish with a small/medium rabbit).

Thanks for the tips. I'm going to read up on "teaching your rabbit to not nip." Our two females are quite nippy. But this little guy seems pretty laid back. We've had a few rabbits over the years, but this is the first we've had one as a baby.:biggrin:

We got him from a family in a nearby town who is raising them. I thought 7 wks. sounded a bit young, but I read somewhere else that 6 wks. is okay??:?He has been eating hay & pellets very well & drinking lots of water since we got him last night, so seems like he will do great. Also lots of normal little bunny poops.I'm hoping they will eventually (after lots of supervision)get along well enough to hop around the house together during the day, but we'll plan to have him in a seperate cage at night. His is about 3'x2', so not huge, but should be okay just to sleep in for now??

Thanks!!

:wink

I got my bunny when he was 6 weeks old and he's now a little over 11 yrs old. He was 6 months old when I got him neutered.

HeidiofTulips wrote:

We got him from a family in a nearby town who is raising them. I thought 7 wks. sounded a bit young, but I read somewhere else that 6 wks. is okay??:? He has been eating hay & pellets very well & drinking lots of water since we got him last night, so seems like he will do great. Also lots of normal little bunny poops. I'm hoping they will eventually (after lots of supervision) get along well enough to hop around the house together during the day, but we'll plan to have him in a seperate cage at night. His is about 3'x2', so not huge, but should be okay just to sleep in for now??

Thanks!!

:wink

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6 weeks? No way! At this time they are just weaning from their mother and depending only on pellets/veggies/water - learning how to live by itself.

Glad to hear he is getting on well - sometimes we get new, worried owners on here

Here is a good site I found before when researching flemmies:
http://mysite.ncnetwork.net/resp9fau/index.html

Here is a pic I found of 6 week old kits:

Still depending on mom

Awwwww, how cute! Our little guy definitely looks a little older. Thanks for the info. I will check out that website!

I don't think that that pic are flemmies though. Looks more like a Rex to me but I'm not too sure

First of all - I wish you the best of luck with your flemish giant. They are an AWESOME breed and I don't say that just because I breed them.

That picture can't be of 6 week old flemish - they're just too small there (at least based upon my experience). I have a litter here that turns 6 weeks very soon and they're MUCH larger than that photo.

As folks have said - it is best if the rabbit stays with mama until it is 8 weeks old and we just lost some 10 week olds a month or so ago - one of which had gone to its new home - and one of which passed away here.

I say this to say - just keep a close eye on your little guy. He will probably be fine - but honestly - he still should be with mama at this age so watch out about giving him a lot of treats and fruits and stuff since his gut still can be changing.

Yikes. Now I'm going to worry about him & will definitely keep a close eye on him.ray: I'm afraid Ididn't know enough about baby bunnies before I jumped into this, we've only had adults. I'm surprised the family selling them did it this early.

Glad you guys are here!

He's only eating Timothy hay & good quality pellets. Should I be giving him alfalfa hay for now? He's a good water drinker, out of a bowl, & he even tries his hanging bottle.

I've been doing some research...any other tips you guys can think of for young bunnieswill be very much appreciated!!

Thank-you!!

alfalfa is good for growing, younger rabbits as it's higher in calcium. We gave ours alfalfa till they hit six months and then weaned them onto timothy hay.

The white bunny in the picture below your name is hilarious, laying on its back!!:biggrin: