Bonding sisters or brother and sister

[Danni30]

I am due to get some baby rabbits at the end of June and have done a lot of reading up about how they are better in pairs of male and female.
Would you suggest brother and sister, or can two sister successfully live together.
I have rang the vets and am able to get the boy castrated at 6 months old.
I also know the girl has to be spayed to prevent cancer.
I used to be a mama to 6 ferrets 5 boys and one female they were all neutured and lived happily together.
Just wondered what people would say is best.

 

[Shimmer]

Boys can usually be neutered earlier than 6 months - often at 12 weeks or thereabouts (as long as the testicles have dropped). Females are usually done from 6 months. Some vets like them to be a certain weight, but it depends on the breed mix as well - a netherland dwarf will take some time to reach 1kg.

Sisters could be neutered together. No risk of pregnancy, but there is a chance of a fall out, need to separate temporarily, and rebond after neutering.
2 boys will also work - same issues as 2 girls.
Mixed pairs - neuter the boy as soon as practical, then the girl at 6 months.
What about a trio??

Sexing baby rabbits can be difficult and there is a chance you may not end up with what you expected.

Don't forget they need vaccinating against myxomatosis, RHD1 and RHD2 - so that is 2 vet visits, 2 weeks apart. The vet can check the gender and advise on neutering at the same time.

 

[tonibun]

I would always say that Brother/Sister pairs are the most successful, after that 2 boys, with the girls being the most difficult/impossible. The problem if you get a boy and a girl you will possibly have to separate them at about 12 weeks old until the boy has been neutered plus time to ensure he is still not fertile. But they usually re-bond very easily afterwards.

 

[mismatchbunnies]

I would always say that Brother/Sister pairs are the most successful, after that 2 boys, with the girls being the most difficult/impossible. The problem if you get a boy and a girl you will possibly have to separate them at about 12 weeks old until the boy has been neutered plus time to ensure he is still not fertile. But they usually re-bond very easily afterwards.

I agree with this. A male/female pair is almost always what is recommended for the ‘easiest’ bond and is least likely for the bond to be broken in the future. Male/male bonds are generally considered the hardest and female/female bonds are considered more difficult than a male/female but less so than a male/male overall. But this is just a generalisation and true in most cases; of course there are exceptions.

The easiest option in my opinion would be adopting a pre-bonded pair of bunnies from a rescue, as they will be spayed/neutered with no risk of an unwanted pregnancy, and you do not have to endure a re-bonding process. And although I don’t recommend it, but if you do choose to buy bunnies from a breeder, please at least follow all advice for separating the bunnies when necessary and not running the risk of unwanted babies if you get a male and female pair.

 

[Danni30]

Lovely thank you for all your replies they have been very useful I think girl boy is what we are doing to do as I wouldnt want them to fight although I know theres still a risk of that with boy girl.
I have them ready to be set up on a health care plan which will give them all there check ups and vaccines.
I will contact my vet closer to the time as they said to me 6 months was the youngest so will make sure I get him booked in sooner if he has dropped.
They do have 3 she thinks 2 are girls and one is a boy but I dont think the cage will not be big enough for another they are mini lops I have gone with a single storey cage that has been made with the RSPCA recommended minimum size but they will also have a large run attached .