PDA

View Full Version : advice required on putting rabbits together


whizz380
12-02-2008, 02:20 AM
hi, i have two black rex bunnies (a neutered male and an unnetured female)in a very large two tiered shed with large run and acess to free running in the garden.I also have a netured black and white male rex cross lop , who until a few weeks ago lived with his mother who sadly passed away, he seems very lonely as hes been with her from birth (apart from the week he was neutered) he gets on well with my male rex (his dad- now netured) but the female rex seems quite agressive towards him, she jumps on his back squealing and pulls his fur out, i had tried introducing them on netural ground but had to seperated them, he showed no sign of agression just cowered bless him, i sometime leave her in the shed and let him run in the garden with his dad. ideally i'd like to keep the three together so they have company at all times, does any one have any ideas on introducing them, would she accept him if i had her nerured? if so is she too old to be done, shes about 4 -5 i think. I know the ideal would be to get another rabbit to go in with the one on its own, but i really dont want to do this as i'm not replacing any as they go i want to keep two giant rabbits in the future and can only do this once my other rabbits have gone. (dont get me wrong i'm in no hurry to change to giant bunnies, i adore the ones i have now and am more than happy to keep them whilst they are happy and healthy, theyre part of my family., and hope to have a good few more yeasrs with them yet, i just have to be practical, if i replace any as they go then i wont be able to have giant bunnies in the future).
any ideas or experiences gratefully recieved.

IzzyTwig
12-02-2008, 02:28 AM
Getting her spayed would probably help as it sounds like hormone induced terriorial behaviour, it's better late than never. But it's hard to tell how much of a difference it would make.
If that doesn't work, the alternative is trying to find an older rescue bun as a wife for your lone bun. There will be lots of female rabbits in need of homes who are older and a similar age to your current rabbits. You don't have to get a baby bunny.

Tamsin
12-02-2008, 02:41 AM
Spaying should help the hormones although it's not a certain fix. She's not to old to spay though the vet should give her a health check first and in slightly older rabbits they usually recommend a blood test to check liver function. Rescues often spay older does without problems :)

If you have the space, there is no reason why you couldn't pair a smaller rabbit up with a giant. I think several forum members have giants paired up with medium sized breeds - including rexes. That might be an alternative option for you if the spaying doesn't work.