courtneydayle
Alpha Buck
My room is just a little smaller than the area we've got our colony in. So yea, they have enough room. We weren't talking about wild rabbits.
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A question for you all...
- Thread starter courtneydayle
- Start date
My room is just a little smaller than the area we've got our colony in. So yea, they have enough room. We weren't talking about wild rabbits.
bethepoet
Mama Doe
That may be the case in certain circumstances but by far not the norm. If we all go around saying 'oh yes, unspayed does together are fine' and the OP's rabbits have a big fight and she has a huge vet bill then she won't be very happy with us for not warning her will she?
Yes.
Yes.
Yet.
Yes!
courtneydayle
Alpha Buck
Yet.
Polka won't fight back, its not in her personality. She's very laid back. Sure, she'll go crazy and binky and sprint all over the place, but she submits to Bandana in everything.
bethepoet
Mama Doe
If that's the case, your colony need more space.
Elena
Wise Old Thumper
Well I've tried to help. You asked a question, I tried to answer it. I only hope you don't have to have the £120+ vets bill and all the worry and nursing back to health that I had.
ETA. Even though mine were spayed and getting on well all it took was for them to get into a room that didn't smell of the group but instead smelt of one of the pairs. That marking of hormones was enough for weeks and weeks of hard work to unravel.
ETA. Even though mine were spayed and getting on well all it took was for them to get into a room that didn't smell of the group but instead smelt of one of the pairs. That marking of hormones was enough for weeks and weeks of hard work to unravel.
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bethepoet
Mama Doe
She doesn't HAVE a personality yet! Spaying totally changes their behaviour, and if you're not going to spay, the influx of hormones will totally change their behaviour, just not in a desirable way. We aren't attacking you, you've asked a question and we're giving you genuine answers. It's more than likely not safe to keep them together. If you are going against that advice, please remember you're only putting your own rabbits at risk and it won't be pleasant if you're wrong.
I have 2 does. They are true sisters. They weren't spayed until they were 6 months old. Prior to that, the one would constantly hump the other (sometimes getting the wrong way around :roll and this happened quite frequently. They didn't start to squabble about it until they were about 5 months old when Coco took umbrance to it. These squabbles were Coco turning on Thumper and grunting and chasing her, but no fur flew. It did begin to get worse - one time Coco actually pinned Thumper down and grabbed/bit (?) Thumps on the neck but no blood, but by then they were booked in for their op anyway.
So, the point I'm trying to make, is that you haven't necessarily got a boy and a girl; it could quite easily be 2 girls - or even 2 boys!
Also, although there is no action taken at present, they could start to squabble eventually - equally, however, they might not.
My advice to you is keep an eye on them and if they do start to squabble keep a closer eye on that. When mine were chasing each other it didn't look very nice, particularly when Thumper was pinned down and grabbed/bitten as she squealed. However, there was no fur loss, nor was there any blood - but rabbit fights can get very nasty indeed.
Ensure they are both girls; if they are then go as above. If not you will need to separate them as they can breed very young.
PS Since being spayed they get on very well indeed with only the occasional spat in where Coco (dominant one) will grunt at, nip at and chase Thumper. She occasionally pulls out a mouthful of fur but then they're grooming each other again. I have no need to separate them whatsover; they're sisters! They're bound to argue!:lol:
and this happened quite frequently. They didn't start to squabble about it until they were about 5 months old when Coco took umbrance to it. These squabbles were Coco turning on Thumper and grunting and chasing her, but no fur flew. It did begin to get worse - one time Coco actually pinned Thumper down and grabbed/bit (?) Thumps on the neck but no blood, but by then they were booked in for their op anyway. So, the point I'm trying to make, is that you haven't necessarily got a boy and a girl; it could quite easily be 2 girls - or even 2 boys!
Also, although there is no action taken at present, they could start to squabble eventually - equally, however, they might not.
My advice to you is keep an eye on them and if they do start to squabble keep a closer eye on that. When mine were chasing each other it didn't look very nice, particularly when Thumper was pinned down and grabbed/bitten as she squealed. However, there was no fur loss, nor was there any blood - but rabbit fights can get very nasty indeed.
Ensure they are both girls; if they are then go as above. If not you will need to separate them as they can breed very young.
PS Since being spayed they get on very well indeed with only the occasional spat in where Coco (dominant one) will grunt at, nip at and chase Thumper. She occasionally pulls out a mouthful of fur but then they're grooming each other again. I have no need to separate them whatsover; they're sisters! They're bound to argue!:lol:
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To be honest, at two months old, I would expect females to still act like babies. I would not be expecting a female baby to be humping at this age. I would expect a boy to be.
If they both look the same I would therefore be questioning the gender of both. Something I would also be aware of would be genital deformities where bunnies can look like one but actually be another, or be a mix of two. This is often genetic, and given they are related it is something to consider.
If they both look the same I would therefore be questioning the gender of both. Something I would also be aware of would be genital deformities where bunnies can look like one but actually be another, or be a mix of two. This is often genetic, and given they are related it is something to consider.
becki_moorcroft
Warren Scout
As these are mini rex, they do mature very early and also (not sure if its exactly the same in the us to here) have a more than usual 'hormonal' phase... I am a breeder, my rabbits are 'nearly' all in tact (i do have a few older neutered pets) and most live in groups for company (exceptions being current stud bucks and young does due to their hormones)... however i will say that a pair of young does are very volatile and i wouldn't try it unless you're very experienced with bonding and rabbit language, which to be asking such a basic question, means you need to spend a bit more time studying your existing colony (see who's boss, who submits to who), if you are planning to keep them in tact (for showing or breeding) i would split them for now and re-bond them once they are about 10 months old, this generally works best, the easiest in tact pairings to use at the beginning of a colony (existing colonies are easier to manage as the dominance sorts itself out and youngsters fall into the established pecking order) are an older proven doe and a young doe around 8 months old (usually with a 6 month or so gap between them).
You can easily keep in tact breeding animals together as long as you do your research and they do not need to be split up in order to raise their young, it does seem to be a common misconception and un-neutered rabbits cannot be housed with others.
You can easily keep in tact breeding animals together as long as you do your research and they do not need to be split up in order to raise their young, it does seem to be a common misconception and un-neutered rabbits cannot be housed with others.
Fingers crossed that they do not start fighting. I just wanted to say that spaying really does change their personality and enable buns to be together without constant hormones. The main reason for spaying my girl was due to the health risk of unspayed does as 80% of them will have uterine cancer by the time they are 5-6. That is scary.
lovelybun
Warren Scout
i would spay them with time but for now, mounting is fine as long as they dont start fighting they are just determining who will be boss:lol:. (there is little chance they will start fighting if they are sisters.)
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That's out of the question in this case, unfortunately. OP wants to breed/show them (hasn't decided yet) and they're pets second so....
bethepoet
Mama Doe
From what I've seen of OPs posts, they are primarily pets, especially since breeding/showing aren't certainties.
I got two females last year and they got on absolutely fine until spring ever hit this year. Cleo was constantly dry humping Evie and chasing her around; although Evie was always trying to get away, Cleo would start humping her and tug on Evie's fur for purchase. Evie did lose some fur round her neck and had a few nip marks. We did separate them until Cleo was spayed, (for other reasons we couldn't get Evie spayed at the same time). We did try rebonding them, but Cleo was still extremely dominent and it was clear that Evie was scared of her. Evie is now bonded with one of our neutured males and we are working on bonding Cleo with our other neutured male.
courtneydayle
Alpha Buck
You were not mistaken, they are pets first and the rest after that. I wouldn't spoil them this much if they weren't pets. They're my babies.
lovelybun
Warren Scout
If they have been living together since they were young there is little chance of them fighting. i used to have two unspayed does and they got along all the time, they did mount eachother once or twice but in all they were inseperable.
courtneydayle
Alpha Buck
They're colony rabbits, raised and bred from colony rabbits.
lovelybun
Warren Scout
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