16 week old boys

They are brothers abd have always lived together. I made a mistake by letting an 8 month old unneutered male near their cage and they had a big fight. after that I seperated them (this was a week and a half ago). I have now brought all the rabbits into an outbuilding for the winter (not including new bun). They are having run time together and seem fine. Do I risk putting them back together for good, or at 16 weeks are they likely to fight again. My vet won't neuter til 5/6 months.

I found with mine they were fine at 16 weeks but I think it was 17-18 weeks they all decided to fight and divorce each other. I then had to keep them all separate until I could neuter them and then I bonded back the bondable ones. They are most likely to fight at dawn and dusk. They might go back together fine, but they might be inclined to fight, so really it's whether you want to take the risk.

I'd hate to go out and find they'd fought. I may let them play for supervised times for now. Shall I alternate slleping quarters so they don't get too territorial?

That's a great idea That helped keep a couple of mine semi bonded and made rebonding easier when they had to be separated once. Hopefully you won't get any problems and they can be neutered soon.

To be honest if I were you, I think I'd find a vet who would neuter now - many vets will neuter boys as soon as their testicles drop (about 12 weeks), or talk to your own vet again and explain that there has been a fight and therefore they need doing now otherwise they probably won't ever be able to live together.

There is a very high risk with unneutered boys that they will suddenly start to fight incredibly viciously and it would be virtually impossible to get them back together again. This is even more the case if they are put together and then separated again, as they will become confused about who is the boss and whose the territory is. The sooner they are neutered, the less hormonal they will have become, and the more likely they will be able to be bonded afterwards.

I was surprised when he would n't neuter earlier. I may ring again in case i've misunderstood.