Two Males - Breeder Made Mistake - HELP

[natowetay]

I wrote earlier today about our Flemish giant (Wanda) getting "attacked". She had a few wounds, one of which was quite deep over her eye. I spoke to the vet this morning and she feels I did everything right (long lasting penicillin dose, cleaning the wounds and applying Derma Gel). Everything is healing nicely.

I THOUGHT a cat or raccoon got in with the rabbits causing the damage but got to thinking today that MAYBE Cosmo (our other Flemish Giant) attacked Wanda. I thought it was strange that Cosmo had NO wounds or even hair plucked out whereas poor Wanda was a mess. Plus, a cat or raccoon I don't believe would have given up so easily.

I brought "Wanda" back outside this afternoon to stretch her legs as I currently have her recovering in a large carrier. Almost immediately Cosmo started shaking his head (thought he was playing) and ran over to Wanda and sniffed at her. Then he proceeded to chase her around the pen. I didn't wait to see what would happen but I'm pretty certain, due to the fact Wanda was scared and shaking, the Cosmo caused her injuries.

I checked out "down below" and BELIEVE we have two males but COULD be mistaken. I am no expert in regards to rabbits.

Now for my questions... if we have both of them neutered relatively soon, will this fighting continue? Will they ever be able to live together?

Please, any advice would be appreciated. I am at a loss. Before we got the rabbits I did some research and found that rabbits are "pack animals" and like to have company (other rabbits). That is why we got TWO - one for each of my sons. Of course, the breeder thought they were male and female. I know that two males would fight, which is why I didn't want two males and I thought it would be the same with two females.

Of course, I cannot keep them together and currently, due to my fiance's busy work schedual we cannot build another run for quite some time (atleast a week or two). We also have to find supplies and room to build another pen for a Flemish Giant. Plus, it defeats the whole purposeof getting TWO... so they could live together and keep each other company when we were not around.

Any help would be appreciated!

Thank you
Cait

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Your best bet is to get them sexed and neutered. It can take time for the hormones to calm down enough for them to be able to be together. Once both are done and healed, you can try bonding them. If they are male/female, it should be easier than male/male. A male pair can be done, but it can be tricky. Of course, then is no guarantee that they will get along even after being neutered no matter the sex.

As far as housing goes, you could build a second cage/hutch and have them share them run. It would mean that one is in the run and one is not and you have to switch who has access to it. Dividing the run in half could also be done.

 

[Luluznewz]

I may be wrong on this...but if the breeder promised you a male and a female it might be possible to take one back. I'm sure you have bonded with both animals and dont want to do that, but I feel like it should be the breeders responsibility to make sure they sex the animals correctly. If you really think its going to be a problem permanently you could ask and see.

 

[Pipp]

The same thing happened to me with two Flemmish rescues. They came here as two girls. I was suspicious because I also had an unneutered mini-rex who should have been happy to see the 'girls' but the kept trying to get at them through the bars and he didn't seem to have loving thoughts!

And then I saw a flash of pink and discovered one was a boy. And as I was putting together another pen for him, he got into a HUGE fight with his 'sister'. Seeing as 'fighting' wasn't the issue I was expecting, I flipped him over and lo and behold -- two boys.

I ended up with one in a pen on the porch and the other in a 2x2x2 panel pen under my kitchen table. Poor guy could barely turn around, but he didn't seem to mind too much. It took a couple of weeks to make the space.

One of the boys was litter-perfect. He could have run of the place without leaving behind a single poop and he never got into anything. The other was a ridiculous slob who got into everything. (Guess which one I kept, LOL!)

Hopefully you can block off a separate room or something and let one be free-range. But you really can't let them accidentally meet even for a few seconds. Two intact males can really do a lot of damage to each other.

I agree about contacting the breeder. They shouldn't have a problem with an exchange if they have another rabbit.


sas :clover:

 

[dixonsrabbitry1]

Mistakes happen. You can call the breeder and ask them to sex them for you again. Or exchange one for another female if they turn out to be both males. Until then, get them in two separate cages. If you do have a male and female you may also have an unwanted litter on the way. Rabbits should be kept in separate cages because they are very territorial and they will fight.

 

[natowetay]

Thank you to every one for your thoughts and advice.

I have thought about contacting the breeder, however, my sons have already grown attached to their two bunnies. It is a shame though, as the kids had a blast going into their pen together and playing ALL TOGETHER.

To make matters worse, if we decided to exchange one of them it would be Wanda as she is not as "child friendly" as Cosmo. And due to the fact she has "wounds", I doubt very much that the breeder would even accept her.

I will have to do some thinking on this.

Thank you all again. You have been very helpful.

 

[elrohwen]

It is very possible to bond two neutered males together. They will fight now because of their hormones, so they need to be separated until 4-6 weeks after their neuters. At that point, re-introduce them in neutral territory and slowly build their bond back up.

Honestly, even if they had been male and female you would have needed to separate them, then get them fixed. Having two males isn't any more difficult, except that you don't have to worry about accidental pregnancy (which makes things easier). If you return one for a female at this point, you will not be able to put them together until after they are fixed.