Rabbit Separation.

[saadahmed24407]

My two Rabbits are called Chestnut and Silvia they both are not spayed and are sisters who are from the same litter and get along quite well however we need the rabbits to live separate since Silvia was supposed to be used as a breeder rabbit and Chestnut is a family pet who will soon be sold.
How would I separate the two rabbits.

 

[button+banjo]

My two Rabbits are called Chestnut and Silvia they both are not spayed and are sisters who are from the same litter and get along quite well however we need the rabbits to live separate since Silvia was supposed to be used as a breeder rabbit and Chestnut is a family pet who will soon be sold.
How would I separate the two rabbits.

Are they bonded?

 

[Popsicles]

How old are they?

 

[saadahmed24407]

Both are 1 years old and are bonded but not very close
They seem to enjoy eatchothers company

 

[button+banjo]

Both are 1 years old and are bonded but not very close
They seem to enjoy eatchothers company

Have you ever seen them grooming (licking) each other? If they live together and like each other than they will likely be upset if you separate them.

 

[saadahmed24407]

Yes they Lick eatchother and sleep with their heads under the others.
I will need to separate them though because one will need to be used for breeding

 

[button+banjo]

Yes they Lick eatchother and sleep with their heads under the others.
I will need to separate them though because one will need to be used for breeding

Oh. They are definitely bonded then. If you read this page it will tell you more about bonded pairs of rabbits and what happens if you separate them: http://www.thebunnyhut101.com/2014/02/social-life-of-bunnies-bonding-losing.html

 

[saadahmed24407]

Would it be better to separate them only for when the rabbit is breeding but have them in cages right next to eatchother since I can provide this.

 

[button+banjo]

Would it be better to separate them only for when the rabbit is breeding but have them in cages right next to eatchother since I can provide this.

Well.....the thing is if you breed one of them, it will probably break their bond as pregnant rabbits usually do not like other rabbits in their territory. After the rabbit was finished raising the babies it is likely she would reject her previous mate if you tried to rebond them. All the hormonal changes that happen after she is bred would probably disrupt the bond.

May I ask why you are breeding her?

 

[saadahmed24407]

Rabbits are breeding so we can sell their babies.
If we breed both rabbits would they both have the same change

 

[button+banjo]

Rabbits are breeding so we can sell their babies.
If we breed both rabbits would they both have the same change

There's really no way to know. If you were going to breed both of them they would need to have a large area to share as living space so that they could each have a nest away from the other. If you were going to do this, this page tells exactly what you would need to do to minimize stress on the rabbits and (hopefully) not break their bond. It has a section on two females living together and one having a litter, and two females living together and both having litters: http://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/mum-bunny-has-company/

If the link doesn't work let me know and I will copy & paste the info from it here.

 

[Preitler]

Yes they Lick eatchother and sleep with their heads under the others.
I will need to separate them though because one will need to be used for breeding

Well, that isn't really an issue - I keep all my breeding does in pairs - the other one always is a great stepmom, or if both have litters at the same time the kits mingle when they leave the nests and the does share duties.

It needs some space though, I connected two hutches for each pair, and only seperate them for about 2 days prior kindling, but even then they spend garden trime together.