• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

Seperation??

D&D

Young Bun
first i would like to say hi to everyone :wave: and that your forum is extremely informative.

i have a male and female...six weeks ago the female gave birth to a kit who i found dead in her eating area of her cage even though she had prepared a nest inside..(the hutch comprises of 4 separate large areas with one of the areas raised up on top, each compartment is is roughly half a metre square and they have the run of a 20x12ft garden...btw i live in spain so we dont have any predator risks where i live and garden is completely secure with a 9 ft conifer hedge and fence.)


my question is we have realised she is ready to give birth again,watching today as she happily grabbed leaves/straw and a special organic based soft nesting material which i bought and placed it around the garden for her.

the main question i have is when we separate them how long do they have to stay separate??, from our calculations she will be due to give birth in about 1 week and we know that they are supposed to be separate at that time, at the moment to be safe i have split the 4 sections into two hutches and from now when i put them away each night they will be separated, but after she gives birth what is the timescale they have to be completely separated? as soon as we know the kit/s are ok then we are having them neutered.

the reason i ask is due to how close they are and you see they hate to be separated.

ty for your time


as you see they are very close...

meet Dora and Diago.

doradiago.jpg
 
Your buns are lovely and... hello :wave:

Book the male in to be neutered now. Six weeks after that he can technically go back with the mum without making her pregnant. But... I think that the kits have to have gone by the time dad is allowed back. I'm not certain but I am sure someone else can let you know for sure. Basically that means 8-10 weeks after the kits have been born.

Both parents should be neutered (female rabbits often die of uterine cancer at an early age if they aren't). They will have to be re-bonded because hormone changes affects behaviour and there can be issues. It should be fine in the end though...

Good luck!

Emma
 
Are you asking how long to keep the dad away from the mum for? If that is the question I would get him out of there now and neauter him, then wait 6 weeks before putting him back. If you leave him and she gives birth he can be humping her again with hours (if it happens over night u will have no way of stopping it) and then she will be pregnant again.

Untill you take him out and neauter him the cycle of pregnancies and litters will go on and on!
 
ty for the replies.....yes i meant from now, how long they have to be separated...


problem is they are like love birds, they never fight and are always together, if you separate them they go crazy until you put them together again....nice to watch but i know its going to be tough on us and them watching them lose contact.

there is no chance the male can get to female overnight as the hutch has been split into two and we wouldnt let them both out at same time, thing is, would it be ok if they can still see each other?..(top section of his area has a metal grille)...would that still be ok or would she feel threatened and hurt the kits?


sorry for all the questions but you cant have too much knowledge...our rabbits are family and thats how we treat them...:)
 
I think having them separated by wire would be fine, as long as you know there's no way they can break the wires and get through.
Zakura had her father living side-by side with her when she was a baby,and even lately I kept Sasuke (un-neutered buck) and Zakura (neutered doe) beside one another like that and they kept lying next to each other.:love:
 
that sounds like an option i will do then, i will have to rebuild a section of the hutch....ty again for your replies and help...:)
 
Just thought I'd see how things are progressing, remember that as soon as the babies are born he can make her pregnant again so it is best to separate them completely 24/7 before the babies are born just in case you aren't there when they are born. Assuming of course they aren't born already :)

If he is with her for even a minute after the birth she can get pregnant again which would be very bad for her health and the health of both sets of kits.

Good luck and let us know when she has given birth and post piccies if you can take them without disturbing mum and babes!

Toodles

Emma
 
we have a problem....:(

not with the babies and mommy...they are fine...its diego...he is so angry, charging at me anytime i move...to start he let me stroke him no problem and he usually loved me rubbing my nose on his ears even after charging (once he realised i was ignoring his anger, but tonight he bit my face...:(

maybe that was stupid of me...im sure its the separation that is causing it and his testosterone has gone haywire but i never expected him to do that, the problem is i cant get him into the vets for a week (typical spanish).....i really dont know what to do, i feel so sad for him because he is suffering like this and its only been a few days and i cant allow him to run free around my 4 year old son....i can take a bite with no agression back and just shake it off but i cant have him biting my son.

they dont have runs, they have a decent size hutch but i would feel bad keeping him locked up in there and as both hutches are outside im worried if we bring dora inside she might forget about her babies.

sorry for rambling, im just so upset for him and dont want my little diego suffering, he was always so loving and affectionate...:(

any ideas on what to do would really help.
 
Back
Top