Lonely Bunnies

[kitsu4tail]

do to the fact that we have large bunnies and small cages and a non-bunny proof house our rabbits have always bin separate. . . but we plan on building a new cage due to mold.
now a month or so ago our females went on a "play date" with a friend of mine who had males,(btw anyone with a chestnut rex male who isnt fixed and is less than 20miles away from Lebanon OH i will gladly pay a 20$ stud fee:biggrin2: ) and i tried to put to females who are sisters from different litters and about the same size in the same area. it didn't end to well. . . no one was hurt to bad including me, just some scratches and a lot of hair pulled out,:shock: but will i ever be able to put any one together? i dont dare put amber(chestnut rex) with crown (REW/Californian) shes twice her size. and even among litter mates when the FEMALES get close to maturity they begin to fight. how do you get bunnies to stop trying to kill each other? cream and crown had a wall between them in the same cage and when i open the lid they stand on there nest boxes and box . . . . i cant do the quick fix and fix them, i breed them and i dont like he idea of cutting out an organ to make them behave . .. :grumpy:

 

[JjGoesBounce]

They may neveer bond if they aren't spayed or neutered. you can let them smell each other through wires that are a biting, scratching distance apart.
It will definitely be harder no nearly impossible to bond them if they are in heat.
Just let their smell rub on you then visit the next rabbit.
This always seems to be a sensitive topic so i hope I put it rather nicely!

Jj

 

[kitsu4tail]

yeah i feel bad keeping them apart, but if they don't breed i cant keep them :cry2 (plz dont ask why) when i move out im takeing amber with me so ill get her fxed then but oneday i want to breed angoras, im hopeing to have a small herd but do all rabits fight like this?(unfixed) id need a huge house to care for more than 5 rabbits if eveyone is caged separately . . .

 

[JjGoesBounce]

Almost all rabbits fight when they are unfixed. Try and brainstorm housing ideas right before bed, your brain will think the entire night, so you can keep them seperate.

Jj

 

[bunnychild]

Mother and daughter has worked well for me.

 

[ldoerr]

I used stacking cages in my rabbit barn. I could fit 6 cages in the space of 2. I also used all wire cages. Was much more sanitary.

 

[kitsu4tail]

wait if the cages are all wire and on top of eachother wont the poop fall on the bun at the bottom?:shock:, and we have tryed chicken wire houses, the problem is that our @#$% idiot neighbors let thire dogs run loose and we get to deal with it :X iv lost 2 bunnies that way one died after a few days of suffering, and the dogs owner swears the sweet little mutts would never do such a thing, so now our hutches are more like castles . . . the only wire is on one side in winter and is 3 layers think, and lets just say i myself am ready for the next dog:nasty:

and if i keep daughter and mother together do i need to separate when they have babies?

 

[kitsu4tail]

given a big enough space say an entire back yard (fenced in) will unfixed rabbits still fight? or create a territory, "this part of the yard is MINE!" I'm trying to work out how an unfixed herd would work . . . -keep in mind males say 2 would be kept separate from everyone unless they get along.

 

[ldoerr]

There was a plastic pan below each cage that caught the mess. I used pelited bedding in each pan to absorb the pee and make it smell better. (I had 13 cages along with all of my stuff in a 100 square foot barn).

 

[JjGoesBounce]

An unfixed herd will not work, unless you plan to supervise them every minute of every day and be prepared for fighting and even death.
Think this through, please! I know you love your rabbits and I'm betting you don't want them hurt. If you are breeding them and still want an unfixed herd. The females in heat will not play sweet little baby and be bff's.
I'm trying to say this as nicely as I can but please please please try to think of another way!

Jj

 

[Imbrium]

bunnies don't actually go into heat, btw they're induced ovulators, so they're basically *always* ready to get knocked up

 

[JjGoesBounce]

ok, thanks!
Just want to get a point across

Jj

 

[Mariah]

An unfixed herd will not work. They will all be much happier and healthier if you spay and neuter.

 

[Imbrium]

JjGoesBounce wrote:

ok, thanks!
Just want to get a point across

Jj

yeah, I know makes an even better point for ya that they're *always* "in heat" though, hehe.

and yeah, bunnies are either fixed or kept separated, there's really no alternative

 

[JjGoesBounce]

yeah, I know   makes an even better point for ya that they're *always* "in heat" though, hehe.

and yeah, bunnies are either fixed or kept separated, there's really no alternative
[/quote]

Exactly! I hope they listen!

Jj

 

[Nancy McClelland]

:yeahthat: 2 rabbits have the potential of becoming 286,000 in 2 years time. Talk about prolific.

 

[kitsu4tail]

well looks like only "senior" bunnies will get along then, ill have to get them fix when im done breeding them. . . before they turn five years old. then they can get free run of the back yarn.

i was hoping that like fish if you had enough bunnies the aggression would be thinned out enough that no one individual would be harmed.

 

[kitsu4tail]

Nancy McClelland wrote:

:yeahthat: 2 rabbits have the potential of becoming 286,000 in 2 years time. Talk about prolific.

id like to meet this pare of buns . . . this last year hasnt gone so well, the male LOVES all the females but the dont like him. iv tryed everything. everyday for 3 days once a week and overnight the two never had babies! i ended up checking to see if my female was realy a female because she humped him!:grumpy: and he didnt get pregnant either.
now i have a new pares but i have to wait until the male is old enough.

 

[ldoerr]

Breeding rabbits is trickier than it seems. I think that hamsters breed easier than rabbits. I know the feeling of wanting to get a litter from a particular pair and then nothing ever. Rabbits just do not like to/want to breed sometimes.