Humping/fighting 10 week olds

[zoe93davis]

Hi!

New member here so sorry in advance if I do anything wrong on this first post.

I recently got 2 baby rabbits from a pet shop (I know it's best to adopt but this is the decision me and my family decided on)

We have 2 males, the staff member at the pet shop said this pair seem to get on particularly well together and are between 8-10 weeks (Peter looked bigger than flopsy so I'm assuming he is older but they couldn't tell me). We've only had them for 2 weeks but they've both been getting on REALLY well, grooming each other, sharing food, sleeping beside one another etc, all the behaviour you would want to see.

Yesterday we noticed that Peter begun humping Flopsy but no violence involved and flopsy didn't retaliate in any way and they carried on getting along well together. Today when they were out in the garden, Peter grabbed flopsy by the neck with his teeth and gripped hold for awhile, flopsy managed to get out of his grip but Peter chased him and begun biting and pulling clumps of Flopsys fur out. They were seperated immediately.

A few hours after the fight, I set them both down inside in the hallway to run around (I was sitting on the floor present as I always am inside) and they both hopped around side by side, grooming each other and generally getting on perfectly again but to be on the safe side, they were seperated again after 20 mins together and in seperate sleeping area tonight.

Does anyone have any advice? Should I carry on letting them hop around inside so they can keep some form of bond (this seems to be the only time they're getting along the last couple of days) or seperate them entirely? I called the vet after the fight and she said they should stop fighting once neatured but she couldn't do it until 4 months minimum age, which is quite a way away. Just wondering if anyone has any advice on what to do until that time, thank you!

 

[JBun]

It could have to do with the change of space and being in an unfamiliar area with new smells. He may have attacked not initially recognizing the other rabbit. But there's no saying if this is what happened and that it won't happen again.

Basically at this age when the hormones start coming in for males, they have to be separated permanently, especially since fighting has already occurred. If you put them back together and they have more fights, this can diminish chances that when they are old enough and neutered, that they will still like each other and be able to rebond.

So separate, wait til 4 months old, neuter both, wait 4-8 weeks for hormones to dissipate, then attempt rebonding. Just note, even after neutered, there aren't any guarantees that they will still like each other and that you will be able to rebond them. That's the risk with getting babies, you don't know what their final adult personalities will be and if they will be a good match for each other to bond.

Here's some info on bonding so you can get yourself prepared for when it's time.

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html
http://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together