lots of questions _long post

has any one tried sepperating their bunnies for a day (not overnight though) to help them get over an argument. if you have has it worked? i know gerbils for get about one another after like 24 hours. is there a specific time it takes rabbits to lose a scent or do they never forget one another. they are not old enough only 18 weeks or 5 months. (wait are they? i didnt relize how old they were! please let me know) they have a vet appointement on tuesday so i will be confirming they are both girls then. but i am almost positive they are checked so many times that if there was a penis there i think i would have seen it.

i have found some scratchs on them one day. when i was petting them i felt one. so i thought it could be from the cage. then the next i found a cut about half of a dime. so i started freaking out cuz i have no where to put them seperatly. i thought mabey it could still be the cage but unlikely. but i thought again that if they were getting that intensely mean toward each other that they would be mean when i was around them. (i havent seen them do anything) i mean they cuddle and if you didnt see the scratch and cut you wouldnt even know anyting was the matter. so i dont know what to do. im going to see when the vet says on tue. during their check up. my dad is going to build another cage for them in the summer(spring) but right know we dont have any room for them to be in two cages. i would divide the cage in half but them it would be too small at least in my eyes. we might have to do that if it becomes a problem though. i will have to check the measurements to see if it fits the standard for a mini breed

i was wondering if only girl bunnies had nipples. kindof a stupid question but human males do so i just wanted to ask.

also i was wondering what if anything to treat a bite or scratch. it is healing should i just let it be. i found it yesterday

Hiya ,

if they are boy and girl you will need to seperate them as they are at the breeding age.

If as you say they are both girls, they are fighting because they are reaching sexual maturity, they will both benefit from a spay and they should be a lot calmer after six weeks and you can bond them again. If they're drawing blood from each other I would split them and put them in a cage next to each other so they can still see each other, as you're never suppose to break a bond between a bonded pair. There are lots of usefull topics on bonding bunnies on here, if you do a search you should find some.

I would clean the wound, but get your vet to take a look as it could go bad and start off an abbsess.

I do apologise for my spelling, I'm dyslexic so hope you understand what I'm trying to say :lol:

You are right like humans all buns have nipples :lol:

Janice

I would check the sexes before leaving them together, just incase you have one of each - pet shops often get it wrong, and even vets get it wrong - Apart from obvious testicles on an older boy, when they are young the anus is further separated from the other bit in a boy, whereas the 2 holes kind of run together at the tip with a girl....

Am I right anyone who knows - never sexed bunnies I'm glad to say as it looks very much harder than piggies!

Assuming they are same sex, the more space they have, the less likely they are to fight - Boys will nearly always need neutering as they will spay wee everywhere and fight - I have 4 unspayed sisters living more or less happily together - no major fights yet and they are nearly 2yrs old, but they have the run of a big shed 24hrs, plus a couple hours in the garden a day.

But sometimes they just take a dislike to each other and you have to split them - buy a 3' dog crate now and you will be prepared, and it folds flat if you don't need it - not too expensive either.

I do know of some people who give their rabbits seperate houses and let them share running out time together with no problem - the bond doesn't break from them being in their own hutch/cage overnight, and they are surely more likely to fight if confined to a small space together - but they have to be neutered as this reduces territoral urges to fight over space when they meet.

babylops said:

has any one tried sepperating their bunnies for a day (not overnight though) to help them get over an argument.

Click to expand...

To be honest I think it's more likely that separating them temporarily will make their arguments worse, as they will feel the need to reassert who is the boss (as this is probably what their arguments are over!) each time they meet again, especially if you are leaving one of them in the existing cage for that time - as that bunny will then view the cage as HER territory and not as shared.

How big is the cage? In England the minimum recommended size for bunnies of any size is 5 feet by 2 feet, house bunnies often have smaller but ONLY if they are allowed out to run around for a long time. I wouldn't take too much notice of what breed standard books say, as they are likely to be extremely small measurements which are not ideal conditions for pet animals. The more space you can give them, the less likely they are to fight, I would say if they are in anything less than 4 feet, unspayed females are very likely to fight.

As Elve suggested, I would suggest that you get a dog crate, the bigger the better - they are collapsible so easy to store and not that expensive. You can also make an "upper" layer to give them more space. If they continue to fight you may have to separate them totally, separating the space they have now is likely to make them very unhappy, they would be much better in a larger space each. If you try them both in a large dog crate, you will probably be able to tell whether this gives them enough space or if they will need to be separated. If you have to separate them, it is possible that after they are spayed and given 6 weeks to calm down, they may go back together again (you will have to reintroduce them somewhere totally neutral territory) but you should be prepared just in case they don't!

Good luck - let us know how you get on at the vets!

i will check the measurements of the cage but i dont think that a dog cage would be bigger than what i had my dad spend lots of time building. here are pictures with some of the cage http://photobucket.com/albums/a59/babylops/ . the cage is not under hte deck any more butin my dads workshop(he doesnt use it and when he does we take them inside) yes i do find hair but i know atleast some of it is from them shedding. we have had a weird winter and usualy here in new england (US) we have cold winters but we have had some warm weeks and then to throw them off its going to snow about a foot tonight so i think thats why they have started ot shed. ill keep you updated and i will post a picture of the bit( or what i think it is at least)

ps my dad is going to build a top for the cage in the summer when they go outside. so it will be double storied and mabey (i will have to ask how much trouble it will be ) he will build a part that can be on the grass so they can have a run connected that i can block off at night. i do take them outside other times wiht a harness but it when it snows they only like it for about 5 min and then they are sick of having cold and wet feet.

thanks for all your help i realy need it

erin

here are some pictures of the cut. it was hard to take a picture of it so bear with me









here is a picture of the cage it is 2ft tall 4ft 9.5 inches long and 1ft 9inches tall. what do you think? as i said they will be getting a bigger cage in the when the snow stops falling and it starts to warm up.





here is how i found them yesterday(can they hate eachother that much, i mean look at them)



and here is their vet/ cage to bring them inside to play with



let me know what you think

like you say, it's not a lot smaller than a big dog crate, if any smaller - I was suggesting buying a dog crate for splitting them up, not to house them both in...However I would think it's too small for 2 rabbits to spend long periods of time in - especially unneutered rabbits - My 4 girls are loose in a 5x8 shed and they get very nippy and chase each other etc when one is in season, which is most of the time.

I've just given the girls a huge run 20x13' a couple of times a day, as well as the shed, in the hopes that they will not fight as I don't want to split them up - got nowhere to put them!

I think you really need to give your girls a lot more space, or get them spayed together same day, or give them 2 seperate cages, or they will fight more when one comes into season. You may find that they will share a run together happily if they are caged next to each other, but they may not - it really is a try it and see situation as all rabbits are so different.

If you decide to spay them you need a vet that specialises in exotic pets as they are different to cats and dogs - and they will need to be kept in a warm place for a few days to recover from the op - they need heating like in a hospital.

well when can they get fixed if 19 weeks next wed. they were born oct. 5 so it like 4.5 months. i think they need another 1 1/2 months so like end of march early april? or can i do it sooner. is there any way to tell when they are in season except for their behavior (which i havent seen anycahnges in) bu there obviously is beacuse of the bite