Separating bonded pair before neutering/spaying, assorted questions

[ubrch]

Hello,

My girlfriend and I are new owners of baby Flemish Giants (a male and female, about 3 months old). Since they've been together since birth and tend to sleep on top of one another, I'm assuming they're 'bonded'.

We knew we would have to separate them between the time when they began to sexually mature, and the time when one of them could be safely spayed/neutered. We built a large hutch ourselves out of plywood; approximately a 44" cube, open at the top, and built such that the inside has no convex edges, and there is nothing to chew on. The plan was to keep a divider onhand that would be temporarily installed for the (three?) months or so that they would need to be apart.

One thing happened that we did expect, and two things happened that we did not expect. Chud (the male) began to attempt to mount Merlit, so we installed the divider. What this did was give each of them a 22" by 44" space. They immediately began to try to jump out of the new enclosure, and the 22" dimension allowed Merlit to do this Jackie Chan wall rebound manuever that allowed her to easily clear the barrier. While unexpected, it was very impressive. After this occured, we removed the barrier and put one of them temporarily in a carry case until we could go out and get a crate. However, between the time that we figured out the barrier wouldn't work and getting a crate, BOTH bunnies learned to clear the hutch wall without a rebounding jump. We did not expect that either.

So now we had a problem, in that our original hutch seemed to be flawed. We need to keep the rabbits separate, but both enclosures need roofs. We put plywood over the top of the large hutch. This prevents a bunny from jumping out, but it's also very dark inside and we're worried that that isn't good for them. The ventilation could also be better, but I'm not worried about asphixiation or overheating; the hutch has large cracks along the door seam and the same along the ceiling, plus they're being kept indoors in air conditioning. I still don't like keeping one of them in a dark box, though.

On top of this, we bought a 24" crate (both of them are still around 200 grams so we figured this size is OK... there is enough room for the ears), and either bunny, if placed in the crate, begins trying to push its face through the bars, and begins yanking and shaking the bars with its mouth. Putting a mat over the crate and essentially covering the sides (so it is likewise dark) seems to calm the bunny down. At any rate, there is no more bar-yanking. I also don't like keeping one of them in a smaller dark box.

So I have some questions:

1.) Should I be worried about the hutch setup? Can I let this go until next weekend when I can get some chicken wire and make a more ventilated ceiling?

2.) Should I be concerned about the crate setup? Is it OK to keep either bunny in the dark like that for extended periods of time? They are only let out when we can watch them, which is for a few hours in the evenings.

3.) We are concerned that separation at all times save for a few hours each day might damage their bonding procedure. Will it?

I'm mostly concerned about questions 1 and 2. On one hand I don't like "sealing them off" like they are now, but the alternative is pregnant, escaped bunnies that will chew the naked, unarmored cable all around the house.

Any advice is appreciated. Can I stay with my current temporary setup? What needs to change?

Thanks.

 

[aurora369]

I would suggest trying to build an NIC condo that you can build a temporary divider in that can be taken out once the babies are fixed. We have a thread about them here: http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=15348&forum_id=1

The cage can be used once they are both fixed as well, just remove the grid divider. This way they can still see, smell, and interact with each other while they wait for their operations, which will make it easier to re-bond them once they are healed.

You should also look into getting the boy neutered at a younger age than 6 months. I had my foster boys done at 10 weeks, even before the testicles had descended. As long as the vet can tease the testicles to the surface, it's not very difficult to do. Now the whole foster family can stay to together, and the boys don't have to be seperated from the females.

That said, flemish giants are much bigger than my fosters (who are 2-3lb dwarfs), so you would have to wait longer to get the male neutered than 10 weeks. But get in contact with a rabbit savvey vet to discuss your options.


--Dawn

 

[ubrch]

Oooh. NIC Condo. Must look into that.

We took our rabbits to a an exotic animal clinic that seems to have rabbit-saavy vets (pictures of rabbits all over the wall, sells rabbit food, gives out rabbit-care pamphlets, etc) and we were told to wait until the testicles descended before shearing them off.

 

[aurora369]

It all depends on the vet.

Some are comfortable neutering early, some like to wait for the testicles to fully descend.

When mine where done, the testicles where just about to descend, the little sacs where starting to form. But we got them before they became sexually viable.

--Dawn

 

[ubrch]

I picked up a NIC set at Target; wish I'd stopped by here before spending $40 on a crate. As a stop-gap measure, I was able to make a wire-mesh roof section on the large hutch so that Merlit has light during the day. This weekend I'll get some 1x1's or something and make a proper roof. I have re-arranged the obstructions around Chud's cage so that his roof is now open... I judged it more important to have light than to prevent chewing.

Is a 24" dog crate OK for a 3-6 month old flemish giant?

ubrch

 

[aurora369]

The crate will probably be on the small side, but maybe you could extend it with some NIC panels?

As long as the bunny has enough room do hop a couple times, and lay down fully stretche out, he'll survive untill he gets neutered and can go in the big cage.

Good luck, and I hope you get it all figured out!

--Dawn