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Newbie with two new buns - am I doing right?

Madmoo

Alpha Buck
Hi All

Have two new buns - picked 13wk male up yesterday (he was last of his litter) and picked up 11wk female today to keep him company. Racking my brain for names now. Was gonna do the pairing slowly i.e. separate hutches at angle to each other and runs next to each other, etc but they are both such passive and calm little buns that I decided to see how they got on. I let the girl out in the kitchen and brought the boy in from the hutch. They sniffed each other then sat close together. When she wandered around he followed her and vice versa. I let them do this for couple of hours and there was no probs at all.

Decided to try them in same hutch and this has gone well. They have been eating hay and mix together and I have been popping out regularly to check on them. Each time they have been fine - either sat next to each other or wandering around very calmly separately. So I have covered them for the night and will check first thing in the morning.

Have I done right or have I jumped the gun a bit? Also, when is best time to have them neutered as I dont want to breed them :?

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks (and sorry for long posting)
Ange
 
The female could be pregnant already..please seperate right away!
or you could be in for lots of babies which would not be a good idea.

Male can be done as soon as his bits drop and must be kept totally away from doe for a further 6 weeks
 
You def need to seperate them straight away.
As honeybunny said she could now be pregnant but you may be lucky and she won't conceive. Book your boy in for a check up asap to see if his bits have dropped as some will be ready to neuter around 12 weeks. Do not put them back together until either 10 days after she has been spayed or 6 weeks after he has been neutered.
Your female should be ready to be neutered at 16 weeks depending on her weight, some vets will neuter soon as she is a kilogram in weight.
If you don't already have a vet experienced with rabbits it is a good idea to tell us where you are so that maybe someone can recommend a good rabbit vet to you.
You will have to keep an eye on your girl now for any weight gain, nesting behaviour, becoming stressy/aggressive as these could be signs she is expecting.
I can't believe whoever you got them both from didn't explain to you the basics!
Good for you to come on here and check! :D
Good luck and I hope she isn't pregnant!
 
Thanks for advice

Hi,
Thanks for advice - will separate them and keep fingers crossed. I dont want more bunnies in the world needing loving homes! The person I had the boy from said he would not be mature enough to breed until he was 5 months. The person I had the girl from said that as long as they got on there was no problem putting them together. I cant believe ive been so stupid. I planned to bond them slowly by having hutches at angles to each other and runs next to each other. Was gonna have boy neutered before putting them in together. Should have stuck to my instincts about this one!

Thanks for replies.

Ange
 
hopefully she isnt fertile, at that age its a slim chance,so hopefully itl be okay. just keep them seperate 4 now, check your boy, if hes 'dropped' you can get him neutured anytime from now.

x
 
Hi,
Thanks for advice - will separate them and keep fingers crossed. I dont want more bunnies in the world needing loving homes! The person I had the boy from said he would not be mature enough to breed until he was 5 months. The person I had the girl from said that as long as they got on there was no problem putting them together.

Yup little boys can be very fertile. I once waited too long to separate one of my guinnea pigs sons from her, by the time we did it was too late and the mum gave birth to yet more piggies, he was only about 10weeks old and managed to sire a litter.
Hopefully the doe is still too young to be pregnant but there is still a chance.
Godd luck with it all, at least they get on well.
 
Yup little boys can be very fertile. I once waited too long to separate one of my guinnea pigs sons from her, by the time we did it was too late and the mum gave birth to yet more piggies, he was only about 10weeks old and managed to sire a litter.
Hopefully the doe is still too young to be pregnant but there is still a chance.
Godd luck with it all, at least they get on well.

A bit off topic but male guinea pigs can potentially 'sire a litter' from 3weeks of age...
 
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