# 10wk old brother & sister



## tilybud (Nov 4, 2012)

hi, I recently got 2 baby rabbits. They will be 10 weeks old on tues 6th nov.

I took them to the vets for a nurse who is experienced in rabbits to sex them, turns out after 2 visits (as one she was'nt definite on) we have a boy and girl.

After lots of debate and her consulting the 'rabbit bible' she has advised me that we should be ok to keep them together for another couple of weeks as:

1 - its no longer their breeding season,
2 - they are in an outdoor hutch with no artificial light & covered at night so are experiencing shorter daylight hours,
3 - they are both still young,
4 - his testicles havent dropped yet

She did say all this was'nt guaranteed but the 'odds' are in our favour.

They are booked at the vets on thurs 28th nov, by which time they will be 13 weeks and 2 days old, to get they're jabs and to check if he is 'ready' for spaying.

So at the moment they are still together as just under 10 weeks but the last couple of days the boy has started, very infrequently, trying to hump the girl, although he doesnt seem to realise which end is which 

They get along so well and I am worried about separating them then them not rebonding but I also dont really want babies, as ive seen what its like - my friend got 2 'girls' from [email protected] and ended up with 15 in total 

I just wondered what your thoughts are on this x
Thanks


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## Guest (Nov 4, 2012)

I would split them now, it isn't unheard of for 10-11 week old babies becoming pregnant and if he is already "trying" I wouldn't tempt fate. Especially as rabbits don't have breeding "seasons" they are stimulated ovulaters(sp) which means does come into season when the buck mounts her.

Once they have both been spayed and neutered you will have to wait a minimum of 4 weeks before introducing them because if he was to mount her during this time there is a risk he could rupture her internal sutures.


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

You will have to separate them for a while and rebond them. That's okay buck and doe bonds are often pretty easy. Just follow the sticky threads for our advice. 

I would get them both neutered. Neutering reduces chances of fighting and common cancer in the reproduction organs. 

It takes 8 weeks for the buck's sperm to die and his hormones to calm down. You can't bond him with an unneutered doe before this time or you risk her getting pregant.

It also takes 4 weeks for the doe's internal organs to heal: please don't attempt to bind before this or you risk killing her. It takes about 6-8 weeks for her hormones to die. As long as you have waited 4 weeks, she can be bonded. However, you may want to wait until her hormones die. My two bonded 4 weeks after Trixie was neutered with no problems.  

Oh! And make sure they have enough space of course or they will get aggressive and take it out on each other and you. We recommend no small then a 6x2x2ft hutch (or a shed) with 24/5 access to a run at least 6x4ft (preferably bigger). If they are indoors, make sure they have the same square foot space as that. 

- Louise  xx


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## tilybud (Nov 4, 2012)

Thanks for the reply. 

Right, I'll order another hutch now, should get it in a day or 2 hopefully will be soon enough.

Im going to get him done first, the vets will do it as soon as he's ready, then leave her til after xmas as they said they preferred to wait til she's 5ish months.

Do you think I should leave them apart til after they're both done or put them back together after he's 'safe' ?

I've read some people swap them from hutch to hutch so they're used to each other / have the hutches near each other what do you think about this ?

I was wondering about having the run next to both the hutches (when i get the other ) as ive attached it to they're current hutch and letting the rabbits in half the day each so they can see / smell each other ?

Feel so sad about separating them, even though I know its the right thing to do, as when he got on her the other day my husband put him in the hutch and they were trying to get too each other x


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## JordanRose (Mar 10, 2012)

I had the same issue. I'd apparently brought home two girls but that wasn't the case- this became apparent very early on when Flix was mounting a lot at just 13 weeks old 

As soon as the vet confirmed their sexes, I split them up. Wasn't worth the risk for me- pregnancy is risky anyway, without them being so young. Also, as Bernie says, rabbits don't have 'seasons'. The saying 'breed like rabbits' is there for a very real reason!

I don't really how the shorter days would make any difference either, as rabbits are crepuscular i.e. most active at dawn and dusk- they wouldn't care about the darkness aspect (in fact, if anything, they might 'get it on' to keep themselves warm! You never know... :blush.

I would split them now, then get them both neutered. Once their hormones have settled you can reintroduce them


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## tilybud (Nov 4, 2012)

Thanks Jordanrose

When did you put you'res back together did you get them both done first or just one ?

How easy was it to reintroduce them ?


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## JordanRose (Mar 10, 2012)

tilybud said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> Right, I'll order another hutch now, should get it in a day or 2 hopefully will be soon enough.
> 
> ...


Personally, I'd bond them back together after they've both been done. The likelihood is that you'd have to split them anyway while your female recovers from her spay, so you may as well reduce the stress of this by waiting a few more weeks.

When Flix and Gaga were split, I gave Gaga the top tier of their hutch and Flix the bottom. That way, they were always able to smell eachother. Before bonding them, they got to explore eachother's part of the hutch, too, and were able to sniff eachother through the bars on their separate playtimes. The run idea's a good one- I'd always supervise, though as they can and do sometimes find a way to get around it 

It's a nuisance, but it's more than worth it once they're happily back together and babyless 

ETA: As my two were able to see and smell eachother it was really easy to rebond them. Flix was a humping machine but Gaga tolerated it very well and they were snuggling together in no time :001_wub: Try to keep them as familiar with scent as possible and it should all be fine. Good luck!


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## tilybud (Nov 4, 2012)

Just seen youre advice about the hutch Louise & friends, at the moment they have a [email protected] rose cottage double hutch, which ive attached the rose run to so they have access to it from when i get up in the morning til it starts to go dark.

The other hutch i will prob get will be this one Rabbit Hutch Guinea Pig House Cage Pen & Built In Run - Feel Good UK mainly due to finances as ive already spent loads and hadnt really budgeted on getting another hutch.

Obviously they will have loads of time in the run. Eventually when they are back together I would like to join the 2 hutches somehow, maybe via a tunnel or sell them both and get the small playhouse from b&q and attach the run to that.

The 2 hutches and sharing the run would be a short term solution x


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

tilybud said:


> Thanks for the reply.
> 
> Right, I'll order another hutch now, should get it in a day or 2 hopefully will be soon enough.
> 
> ...


No worries, most people start off with tiny hutches because the pet shops always sell small ones.

The 6ft combo of this is apparently good. 
(HappyHutch.co.uk)
Or this
(HappyHutch.co.uk)

But the bigger, the better. 

Yes, vets do often like to wait. You can put them back together when he's safe, but you will have to separate again 4 after she's been done (bummer, init? It will be worth it.)

I know, I got sad too. :cryin:

Some people put them next to each other, some people don't. Up to you, really.  xx


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

tilybud said:


> The other hutch i will prob get will be this one http://www.feelgooduk.net/76-rabbit-hutch-guinea-pig-house-cage-pen-built-in-run-m.html#trixie1




Far too small, I'm afraid. It's 3ft. There won't be much room in there. 
You could get a slightly smaller hutch if you was only temporary. May be you could get away with 4-5ft (121- 152cm), as long as it wasn't permanent. May be have a look at preloved or gumtree or ebay for second hand cheaper hutches.


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

I have found some fairly cheap solutions for a temporary hutch.

Bunny Business - Product Catalog
5ft hutch | eBay

You could even keep these to add extra outdoor space.
Bunny Business - Detail
Rabbit Hutch, Sycamore Lodge, Single Hutch Double Run (6ft from pets at home) | eBay

If it's 6ft, you can keep it
6ft hutch | eBay


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## tilybud (Nov 4, 2012)

Thanks!!

Love the Grove one from bunny business ! Its not quite as big as the rose cottage one ive got now but obviously would only have one bunny in not 2, also at least it would mean when one is in my original run the other would at least have a run of its own 

Im sure my husband would be able to join the 2 afterwards, either that or sell both and get a small playhouse from b&q instead x 

Would you keep swapping them over hutches daily or just leave each in their own hutch?


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

tilybud said:


> Thanks!!
> 
> Love the Grove one from bunny business ! Its not quite as big as the rose cottage one ive got now but obviously would only have one bunny in not 2, also at least it would mean when one is in my original run the other would at least have a run of its own
> 
> ...


Yeah, that's what I though. 2 runs and 2 hutches.

You can always join everything together with runaround tunnels. Runaround: Rabbit and Guinea Pig Runs Or whatever your husband plans to do it. 

Personally, I used to swap mine because one run was a lot bigger than the other, so they both had a chance for a good run.


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

I agree with the others -do separate them for now, and rebond them once they are both spayed/neutered. That will avoid any possibility of bunny babies.

Large rabbit accommodation isn't cheap, but it is amazing what you can pick up on ebay and preloved. Each bunny will need a large hutch and somewhere to run, but just imagine the bunny palace you will have for them when they are bonded, because you will be able to link it all together.


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## tilybud (Nov 4, 2012)

Something else, just out of curiousity what do you think about 2nd hand hutches ?

My friend had 2 rabbits who both died (strangely on the same day) and still has the hutch - its one with an under-run, needs a little tlc which my husband could sort. 

If i was to get some safe disinfectant from the vets and totally cleaned it do you think it would be ok to use?


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

You would end up with something along the lines of this when it's together.










(This is Gertrude's setup.)


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## seanmac (Oct 22, 2012)

i cant buy rose cottage from pets @ home was looking at it the other day, but its the name that the nurses use to call porters when someone has died at the hospital.

Just couldn't buy it for the rabbit lol


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## Summersky (Aug 11, 2012)

Seanmac- you'r right - they do. I hadn't even made the connection till you said.

Re the second hand hutch, I wouldn't say no in principle, as you can scrub and disinfect, but knowing that 2 bunnies had died on the same day, I would be wanting to know what they died of. I would be worried about VHD.


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## Louiseandfriends (Aug 21, 2011)

tilybud said:


> Something else, just out of curiousity what do you think about 2nd hand hutches ?
> 
> My friend had 2 rabbits who both died (strangely on the same day) and still has the hutch - its one with an under-run, needs a little tlc which my husband could sort.
> 
> If i was to get some safe disinfectant from the vets and totally cleaned it do you think it would be ok to use?


A REALLY good clean with boiling water and disinfectant should be done before use.

Make sure that it's decent sized.  xx


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## emzybabe (Jun 30, 2009)

Hi Tily

I recently read this article - I thought it would be of use to you

CottonTails Rabbit Rescue - Early Neutering Campaign


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