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Sisters, will they fight?

kaths101

kaths101

Warren Veteran
Hi, my friend has bought her daughter 2 baby rabbits :roll: ..both girls. The lady she bought them from had no idea how old they were ...again :roll:
Anyway, I'm going to try my best to help her, she has them now!! but she has two girls. My friend is not the sort to get them spayed etc, but she's expecting them to live happily together which is why she bought two! (Suppose that's one thing she's done right).
I will obviously do my best to push her in the right direction regarding their welfare but tbh my friend has already just given her kitten away as her daughter got fed up of it being aggressive so I'm not holding out much hope.. Along with a dog, ducks, goats and other animals they've had and then got bored of!

I just want to know if the likelihood is they will start fighting once maturing? Is it around 5 months?
 
I wouldn't worry as much as if she'd bought two males, but of course they should still be spayed for health reasons and it will help preserve the bond long term.
 
We have had two sisters before, they got along fine until adolescence kicked in. One started humping and pulling the others fur out. After neutering they where fine again, I deffinately get them done for a number of reasons (as you probably already know:)). You cannot tell some people though:roll:

Good luck!
 
I've got 2 sisters, I had them spayed together at about 4 months when they were just starting to be humpy. They've always been together and are fine, but I don't know how they'd have been if they weren't spayed......
 
I have two girls living together, they were at the eight month mark before anything started happening, and even then it was just minor chasing at food time, and one incident where one of them had a very small wound when I went to check on them. Not sure if that was caused by the other rabbit biting, or just catching on their claws.

She could be really lucky with her two, but I'm not sure how long the bond will last without spaying. You do hear of breeders keeping multiple does together so depending on their personality it might work.

I would work on getting her to spay them though, explain to her the health risks, and if that doesn't bother her, explain in terms of huge sums of money for vets bills, that usually makes them listen.
 
I think it is highly unlikely that they will continue to get along, unless they are spayed. Even if spayed it is the worst partnership, 2 boys would've been better. I have bought 2 females several times because I didn't want lonely bunnies, but that was years ago when vets didn't even consider spaying. They always fought, and I ended up housing them separately for the rest of their lives, which totally defeated the object :(
 
They do need to be spayed.

Rabbits are territorial, heirarchical animals and not far removed from their wild counterparts. Female rabbits will become hormonal, then territorial and will start to squabble and fight, sisters or not. Rabbit fights are not pleasant and can result in serious injury, which will cost her at the vets.
 
We have two sisters who started fighting at around 12 weeks. We increased their space and actually managed to keep them together until they were spayed, but we were very cautious about it and it was stressful!
 
Friends like that is the reason I don't have any! :evil::lol:

Good luck, I hope you manage to persuade her to do the right thing.
 
The risk of Uterine cancer should be enough to have them spayed, aside from the fighting. It will be far cheaper in the long term to have them spayed, and far better for the rabbits to be operated on while they are young and healthy. My vet said he would rather be doing a spay on a young rabbit than operating on a cancerous growth in a 3 year old. I would be more surprised if they didn't fight if left un-neutered :(
 
Ok thanks all, that's what I thought but thought I better get my facts totally right before I start preaching!
I know she would have got two sisters thinking they will get on and wont need spaying. I tried to talk her into getting rescue rabbits but she said they wanted babies, I did say they don't stay babies for long! But also their accommodation isn't big enough.. Argh.
They're little Netherland dwarfs, they look tiny to me probably not 8 weeks old!
 
tulsi said:
Why do parents let their kids treat animals as play things? :censored:
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I know, she said she wanted them to get used to being handled.. Hmmm.

She also had them on the trampoline while the kids were bouncing on it! :shock:
 
ripminnie said:
:cry: God help the poor bunnies :cry:
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Omg, I never try to judge anyone without knowing the full story, treat people how you wish to be treated, etc but I'm actually appalled and shocked that anyone could do this! Those poor poor bunnies :cry: I've always thought kids & animals don't mix precisely for this reason. I know the kids don't know any better, but she is supposedly the responsible adult and should be keeping them in line so everyone, human and bunny, enjoy each others company. I see these bunnies growing up to be aggressive to the kids out of fear and then getting rid of. Not to mention the refusal to spay etc. I'm sorry to be judgemental of your friend who I don't even know, but this has really upset me. I have two new bunnies the same age and I'm doing all I can to protect them from my over eager mother who thinks they're cuddly toys :evil: The thought of these babies, scared in their new home and being bounced around on a trampoline really upsets me :cry:
 
Yes me too :cry:

Sarah1989 said:
Omg, I never try to judge anyone without knowing the full story, treat people how you wish to be treated, etc but I'm actually appalled and shocked that anyone could do this! Those poor poor bunnies :cry: I've always thought kids & animals don't mix precisely for this reason. I know the kids don't know any better, but she is supposedly the responsible adult and should be keeping them in line so everyone, human and bunny, enjoy each others company. I see these bunnies growing up to be aggressive to the kids out of fear and then getting rid of. Not to mention the refusal to spay etc. I'm sorry to be judgemental of your friend who I don't even know, but this has really upset me. I have two new bunnies the same age and I'm doing all I can to protect them from my over eager mother who thinks they're cuddly toys :evil: The thought of these babies, scared in their new home and being bounced around on a trampoline really upsets me :cry:
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