two girls?!?!?!?!?!

So been to the Italian vets and apparently i have two female buns :shock: still getting them both spayed but will they always fight now??? I don't have the room to keep separated forever as where they have been for the last week since fighting isn't really big enough to give them a really happy life. It was nice and spacious when they lived together

How old are they? It is difficult to tell which sex they are until they are 12 weeks or so when the boy's testicles have appeared. As they have been fightinng my guess is they could be boys but could be wrong. Girls don't normally fight when very young.

tonibun said:

How old are they? It is difficult to tell which sex they are until they are 12 weeks or so when the boy's testicles have appeared. As they have been fightinng my guess is they could be boys but could be wrong. Girls don't normally fight when very young.

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They are 13 weeks, i got them at 8 weeks and the breeder told me i had a boy and a girl.. 2 vets in England agreed but the boy is very jumpy and they said his bits were pulled up inside because he was so frightened.. then i was checking for injuries after their fight and i thought the girls bits looked suspiciously like a boy's bits and people said on here it is likely they are 2 boys as they are fighting.. then get to the vets here in Italy today and 2 vets both said it looks like they are both girls!! Nightmare.

Do you think they will fight all their lives if they do turn out to be girls? They have got a rabbit specialist to come to the local vets on Saturday to give her opinion before i book in for the operation at a different clinic so i will find out for definite then. I never knew it was so difficult to tell!

You need to find qualified rabbit specialist of a qualified exotic vet, not sure about Italy but over here, despite rabbits being the third most popular vet, normal vets dont learn hardly anything about them, as they are classed as exotic animals as they can be very complex. Hopefully the one coming to your practice should be able to sex them, but is there a way you can see them on a more regular basis?

Girls dont usually fight so young, how odd. But whether they are boys or girls, you wont really be able to tell whether they will bond again until after they are neutered, so keep them apart for now. Hopefully their fighting wasnt bad enough to hurt future bonding.

Out of interest, why on earth did you get your rabbits from a breeder in England and then ship them over to Italy? Surely you can get rabbits in Italy?

nessar said:

You need to find qualified rabbit specialist of a qualified exotic vet, not sure about Italy but over here, despite rabbits being the third most popular vet, normal vets dont learn hardly anything about them, as they are classed as exotic animals as they can be very complex. Hopefully the one coming to your practice should be able to sex them, but is there a way you can see them on a more regular basis?

Girls dont usually fight so young, how odd. But whether they are boys or girls, you wont really be able to tell whether they will bond again until after they are neutered, so keep them apart for now. Hopefully their fighting wasnt bad enough to hurt future bonding.

Out of interest, why on earth did you get your rabbits from a breeder in England and then ship them over to Italy? Surely you can get rabbits in Italy?

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Okay thanks for the advice i will see where the specialist is based on Saturday. I don't think it has hurt future bonding they can see each other through the run and the are out together for coat brushing time. I got the bunnies in England because i wanted to make sure they were healthy and thought i was getting them from a top notch breeder. There aren't any proper breeders here just crummy little pet shops and i didn't want to promote buying buns from these shops - they don't have much room at all. I also specifically wanted mini lops or lion heads for temperament as they are house bunnies. They weren't 'shipped over' though, they came in the car with me and had regular stops in a run.

Either will eventually live happily together. It depends far more on the individual rabbits temperament than the sex

Jessie21 said:

Okay thanks for the advice i will see where the specialist is based on Saturday. I don't think it has hurt future bonding they can see each other through the run and the are out together for coat brushing time. I got the bunnies in England because i wanted to make sure they were healthy and thought i was getting them from a top notch breeder. There aren't any proper breeders here just crummy little pet shops and i didn't want to promote buying buns from these shops - they don't have much room at all. I also specifically wanted mini lops or lion heads for temperament as they are house bunnies. They weren't 'shipped over' though, they came in the car with me and had regular stops in a run.

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I'd keep them so they can still see each other, and so they can interact through mesh like you are doing, but just in case, I'd not have them out together for coat brushing time till after they are neutered, because things can kick off quickly, especially if the buns arent together all the time so not properly bonded, and youre not sure if they are male yet. If you wanted, you could also do some low-stress bonding activities, like swapping over their litter trays and blankets regularly, brushing one with a brush then brushing the other with the same brush etc, so they stay used to each other's smells.

I dont think mini lops and lionheads are particularly better for house bunnies, so dont be disappointed if they arent perfect house buns after going to all that trouble, although I'm sure you love them to bits anyway

Yes, if you are impressed with the specialist, that would be a good idea to get her details - I hope it goes well!

I have two female rabbits and it took time to bond them, but they have been inseparable for 7 years now.myhey groom each other and snuggle up together.
Everyday we took them into neutral territory(places neither claimed as their space). We would let them interact and separate if they got aggressive. We took them on car rides(which are stressful to them) and we rubbed their noses together so they would associate one another with comfort. I'd say after 6 weeks we were able to trust them together as one went into the other's cage and it wasn't a problem. Takes patience, but it's worth it so they don't injure or kill one another.

Renzas3d said:

I have two female rabbits and it took time to bond them, but they have been inseparable for 7 years now.myhey groom each other and snuggle up together.
Everyday we took them into neutral territory(places neither claimed as their space). We would let them interact and separate if they got aggressive. We took them on car rides(which are stressful to them) and we rubbed their noses together so they would associate one another with comfort. I'd say after 6 weeks we were able to trust them together as one went into the other's cage and it wasn't a problem. Takes patience, but it's worth it so they don't injure or kill one another.

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Thankyou this sounds good to me