Non-neutered & Almost 3 Month Old Rabbits Together?

[housetb]

Ok, so my rabbits get along very well. They bonded instantly and their cages are literally connected right next to each other. I have a middle blockade up that separates them so they have their own cage space.

In the last week or so, Rupert (our dutch boy) has been hopping right over the barrier into Babs' (our mini-rex girl) part of the cage. This concerns me because even after removing any spring boards for him to have easier access to hopping over, he is still doing it!

His intentions are less than pure, let me tell you! He always tries to mate with her, but Babs never gives in. They hop around for hours until he finally tuckers out, then he'll just lay around.

I've never seen them fight, and I've never actually seen him be successful to mount her (I've taught her well). Anyways, my question is: since Rupert is making a point to get over to her cage, and since they get along fine, would it be OK for me to remove the middle barrier and combine their cages so he will stop hopping over?

Oh, and a little side note: Babs is just under 3 months old (getting close to being 3 months I'm pretty sure). I do not think she is sexually matured yet, so that is another reason I am considering it. I know she is close enough that she could reach maturity and we could have babies, but I almost feel Rupert's safety outweighs the chance of baby rabbits. Thanks for your thoughts!

 

[BertNErnie]

are you planning to have babies? if not separation will be key until its time for the snip!

 

[funnybunnymummy]

If neither of them are fixed and she's still a baby, you can't really call them bonded. Really, you need to make their cages 100% separate until he's fixed. Especially because she's so close to reaching sexual maturity. Rabbits can breed through the bars of the cage. I wouldn't risk it.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

I would not allow them to be together. She could get pregnant now and it would not be good for her to get pregnant at such a young age. Since it can only take a few seconds for the mating to happen, you really can't have 2 intact rabbits of the opposite sex together without a high risk of pregnancy.

It also doesn't sound like they are really bonded. Bonded rabbits don't chase each other around for hours and only stop because they are tired. While some humping can be ok as they sort out who is the boss, it should not be constant.

I would keep them apart until both are fixed. The male can be done now and the female once she is around 5 months. You will still have to keep them apart until 4-6 weeks after he is neutered to make sure he is fully sterile.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Neuter first, bond second. Until then, they need to remain separated.

 

[housetb]

I did go ahead and put them in the same area today because I wanted to see how they would act. Everything seemed to look OK when my wife and I returned home today. They were both still in the cage, water and food were ate, and they didn't make much of a mess (which means they were actually more chilled out than normal). I will probably separate them though because it seems to be the better running option. Rupert will be getting neutered next month which we are very happy about because we're hoping it will make him chill out in general. Thanks everyone for your feedback!

 

[Cheyrul]

If you do not want babies, keep them separate for at least 6 weeks after the neutering. The vet told me my females were not old enough to get pregnant when I had the males fixed. Fortunately only one female got pregnant but she had 11 kits. It was very hard to find good homes for them too. And while they were adorable, it was and still is a huge mess.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Make sure you prepare yourself for the possibility of babies. Depending on her breed, she COULD be sexually mature that young and could very well have gotten pregnant since you left them together unsupervised. You're actually lucky they didn't kill each other while you were gone.

Emily

 

[SnowyShiloh]

I agree, don't let them hang out together anymore because she could get pregnant even if you don't see him successfully mounting her and even if you get the feeling she isn't sexually mature yet. It can happen very fast! A pregnancy at her young age would be hard on her.

 

[OneTwoThree]

There are so many unwanted bunnies out there, please do not breed without any knowledge of what you're doing. Separate your bunnies, alter them, then work on a true bond.
Bunnies aren't like other mammals where there are fertility cycles, they can literally do it once and be pregnant. and then if they aren't separated, they can get pregnant again while pregnant and it can be fatal.

 

[MiniLopHop]

I agree they need to be seperated, but here is an additional reason: If he chases her enough and ends up humping her face (which does happen more than you think) he stands a high chance of getting his willy bitten off. Then you will have a huge cost of reconstructive surgery so he doesn't end up with urine scald.

My female is older, so she was already spayed. There was no reproductive reason to seperate them. Until my male was old enough for the snip I had to have a fence because he would hump her all the time, including her head, and her patience got very thin. A bite can happen in seconds and it's not worth the risk.

 

[piperknitsRN]

MiniLopHop wrote:

I agree they need to be seperated, but here is an additional reason: If he chases her enough and ends up humping her face (which does happen more than you think) he stands a high chance of getting his willy bitten off. Then you will have a huge cost of reconstructive surgery so he doesn't end up with urine scald.

My female is older, so she was already spayed. There was no reproductive reason to seperate them. Until my male was old enough for the snip I had to have a fence because he would hump her all the time, including her head, and her patience got very thin. A bite can happen in seconds and it's not worth the risk.

:yeahthat:

An unneutered pair of female/male rabbits is asking for trouble in the form of a litter of kits. Please separate them and watch them carefully so one doesn't/can't sneak into the pen or cage of the other one. A young doe shouldn't have to go through pregnancy that early--it will be hard on her... and probably not so fun for you.

If you neuter your bunnies, you will be rewarded with the ability to bond them safely, although you still will have to watch for mounting behavior and make sure no one is mounting the other's head, for reasons described in the above quoted post.

 

[housetb]

Plans are already in motion to neuter Rupert. He's off to a very good rabbit vet next week. Once the procedure is done and I wait the necessary time (b/c I am aware the hormons can stay for 4-6 weeks after the surgery plus he needs healing time) is it bad to try bonding them? I read in a rabbit book when we first got Rupert that having a neutered male with an un-altered female is ok. I know for overall better health, I should have her altered eventually, but can the 2 bond properly if she is not spayed?

Thanks again everyone for your insight. Don't worry there should be no babies on the way, and if she does surprise us with being pregnant we will take care of them!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Males can still be fertile for up to 6 weeks after neutering. While neutering them removes the testicles, so more sperm is not being created, there is still some left that is viable. While it can be less than 6 weeks, 4 is probably more accurate, it is better to be safe than sorry. He does need time to heal, but also needs to be fully sterile for the neuter to be totally effective.

You can have a neutered male and intact female thereto, but there can still be issues. The female will still be hormonal and can hump the male. While some will tolerate this, others won't and it can lead to fights. A young female might not be an issue, but once she reaches maturity, things can change. You can try letting them out together, but you may not want to have them live togehter until she is spayed so you can keep an eye on them. Any bonding does depend on the individual rabbits, so an intact female and neutered male can work longer term, but it is better to have both fixed.