Lukaku and Onana

[Lukaku&Onana]

Good afternoon!

I am Charlie from London and very relieved to have found this forum.
Two months ago totally unexpected those two beautiful gentlemen - by the names of Lukaku and Onana - came into my life. A family member couldn't keep them and as I felt sorry for them we took them in. I feel head over heels for them and want to do everything to provide the best life possible for them.
They are both male, were born in October last year and are not yet spayed. I have made an appointment now, however, as they were totally loving with each other when they first came but then started fighting. And one of then - Lukaku - is significantly bigger than the other, Onana. So we had to separate them.
Will it be possible to put them back together after spaying? I really would hate them to be on their own. And does anyone know what breed/mix Lukaku - the big one - could be. I would like to know how big he could become as he is growing like nobody's business and might be too big as a companion for little Onana? He is very docile, though - but by now almost twice the size than our little black friend (and bigger than our cat who is scared of him.)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I just think they are magic and feel just grateful too have those gracious creatures in our life.
Now I will look at your rabbits ...

 

[Blue eyes]

Hello and welcome to the forum!

They are 6-7 months old so are now considered adult rabbits. They will not be getting bigger.

It is pretty normal for hormones to cause issues with rabbits. You did the right thing by separating them. Once they are both neutered, they will need about 6-8 weeks after that surgery for hormones to fully dissipate. After that, you can begin trying to bond them again. Whether or not they bond is up to them. I'd suggest reading all you can about the bonding process in the meantime.

They are really cute. Thankfully, size or breed makes no difference when it comes to bonding. The largest rabbit could bond with the smallest dwarf rabbit!

In case you aren't aware, this age (6-7 months) is also when a rabbit typically should transition to their adult diet.

 

[Lukaku&Onana]

Thank you so very much! That reassures me a lot. I would not want one of them to be alone and also, they will have so much space if they have the entire enclosure to share (they of course each have their own hut). I will keep them apart for eight weeks after neutering and then start the bonding process. They really loved each other when they came, always would lay down side by side, and I think a companion is the most important thing for a good life. I also will read your advice on adult diet. I have been so far feeding them what our vet recommended: limitless hay, some pellets and a lot of greens from our garden.

Thank you again!
I really hope they will be friends again. (They are still very keen on each other, sniffing each other through the fence that now splits the enclosure etc but I won't dare allowing them together before that hormonal/territorial issue is solved as I am really scared the smaller one could get hurt.

Do you have any idea what breed/mix my big rabbit Lukaku could be? I have never seen one like him and find him extremely beautiful. He has one looped ear and I wonder if that is part of his charm or if he was injured when he was little. I hope not!

 

[Blue eyes]

You're welcome!
I'm no breed expert as most all of my rabbits have been mixes from a rescue. I've had a few with "helicoptor" ears, or 1 ear down, 1 up. It just means that there is a mix of lop and up-ear in his background. But I'll leave ID of possible breed mixes to our breeders on the forum.

 

[Lukaku&Onana]

Thank you! Good to hear that it isn't totally uncommon to have one ear up and one down.
The only rabbits I had before were Dutch rabbits as a child ... and I am over fifty now. So it is basically all new to me.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

We have had a couple mixes with ears that stuck strait out like airplane wings. Some of different sizes get along fine and others don't. Our first bunny, Commander Bun-Bun did not get along with any no matter the size--she was a fierce bunny that had to be kept alone.

 

[Niomi]

I had two sister rabbits that I had to keep separate for a couple of weeks because of a medical issue. I put them in an area where they could see each other. When it came time to put them back together, they went through a bonding process and it took a couple of days before they could like together in the same cage again.