Advice needed - new rabbits

Hi everyone,

This is my first post and I would like some advice please.

We are looking to buy our first duo of rabbits, we have seen 2 boys in the adoption centre of p@h, they seem very happy and looked healthy, we couldent take them the day we saw them as we were still waiting on bunny bits being delivered.

We went there today just to get a few more bits and the lady there said one of them has a slightly runny nose and had been taken out of the store into the vet area to be checked over. She also mentioned that it looks like it's boy bits had been bitten by the other rabbit.

The rabbits were originally sold in the shop but 2 weeks later the person brought them back saying they were too demanding and she was going on holiday so they were placed in the adoption centre.

We were hoping to get the two boys used to their new home and then have them neutered in 4-5 weeks but now the lady advised about the fighting I'm not sure if this is a good idea.

Obviously I would rather have rescued bunnies but do you think I need to rethink this or am I over thinking/ worrying ? I believe that the two boys are about 5 months old so would it be better to get younger so they have a few weeks of getting used to their new home before needing neutering?

Also, is it better to look for 2 boys or 2 girls?

Sorry for all the questions :wave:

Welcome to the RU (I am also new here so take what I say with a pinch of salt)

Generally it is considered better to adopt your bunnies from a rescue.
The two boys you saw at P@H might settle down together after they have been neutered, although I would suggest it might be better to have a chat to your local rabbit rescue and see what they have available, the bunnies are very likely to have been neutered and happily bonded together already.

Hello there and welcome to the Forum. If the 2 boys you are thinking of adopting have already fought then it is highly likely they will fight again, even when they are neutered. My advice would be you could have one of the boys, not the one with the runny nose, and then find a little girl to befriend him. He would have to be neutered first and it is advisable to have the female spayed as this makes for a more settled pair, also it will eradicate the risk of her getting uterine cancer as she gets older.

The rabbits in Pets at Home haven't always come from good breeders and many suffer with Snuffles, which is a runny nose and worse. This is near impossible to resolve sadly and it means the poor rabbit cannot smell properly and their sense of smell is very important to them.

There are thousands of rabbits in Rescues waiting for a loving home so maybe there is one near you where they might already have a spayed female to go with your male, if this is what you decide to do.

I have had both pet shop and rescue rabbits. I did manage to bond my two pet shop bucks after they fought (teenage hormones). I bonded them to two does from a rescue in Yorkshire (barc) and they are all happy as a group.

I would still highly recommend rescue rabbits over pet shop ones because you get the life time back up of the rescue (make sure its a really good one like all the ones on here are) and also its waaaay cheaper to adopt an already neutered vaccinated pair compared to paying for all that yourself.