Girl and Boy rabbits from the same litter.

[LSAFD]

I was hoping to get 2 boy rabbits but now they are older she only has one boy rabbit and then all girls in the litter. But she will know for definite next week of genders.

How would I go about having a girl and a boy rabbit living together? They are from the same litter but I know they will both need neutering/spraying.

Thanks

 

[Niklovesrats]

Im no expert but as far as my very limited knowledge goes I think you would have to have them living separately until one or both are spayed/castrated and for 6 weeks after the operation then re-introduce. I think if you housed them together she would get pregnant before he had the snip

 

[Niklovesrats]

Also housing 2 boys together doesn't always work out.... they can tend to fight when they hit puberty.... would 2 girls work for you???

 

[bunny momma]

I recommend that you have any combination spayed/neutered. Years ago I had a male with cancer on one of his 'bits' and a female with an absolutely huge uterine cancer which went unnoticed until she suddenly became quite ill. Both survived but they each had surgery when they were older and/or not in optimal physical condition.

 

[Pets mum]

Mine are brother and sister. They lived together from the start, and got along fine, Toffee was snipped as soon as possible, and they got on fine afterwards. Treacle has since been spayed.

 

[Babsie]

A male & female is often recommended as the best combination. All rabbits should be neutered, anyway, as you say, so that makes no difference. Are you in the UK?

 

[Shimmer]

Brother and sister should be fine together once they are neutered. I would get the boy done as soon as he is ready - often around 3-4 months. Make sure your vet is OK with neutering both and will do him ASAP. Once his bits have dropped and he has reached a reasonable size (again, ask your vet), he should be fine to be neutered.

The girl will have to wait a bit longer - usually at 6 months old. If her brother is done round about 3 months, there should be little risk of hormones causing behavioral problems (eg fighting) and the risk of pregnancy is minimal as his fertility will gradually reduce over the month or so after neutering, and hopefully she won't be able to get pregnant during that time as she won't be old enough. They will probably be Ok living together during this time if all goes to plan. If they do need to be separated, it would only be for a few weeks. She may get hormonal and need separating prior to neutering if there is any fighting, and possibly for a week after while she recovers from the op. After that, they can be rebonded.

The advantage of getting rescue bunnies is that you don't have to go through all this as they should already be neutered and bonded - so you don't get all the awkward bits.

Good luck with your new fur babies.

 

[LSAFD]

A male & female is often recommended as the best combination. All rabbits should be neutered, anyway, as you say, so that makes no difference. Are you in the UK?

Yes I'm in the UK. I meant for the bonding as from reading about a boy/girl living together it says they have to be separated whilst the boy is still fertile (even after neutering for a few weeks) but then I also read splitting them up can make it so they don't want to live together anymore (breaking the bond?).

 

[Rhian33]

You could always get an already bonded pair from a rescue. It saves you such a lot of money and hassle doing it that way. They will already be neutered and vaccinated so you don't have to worry about getting the timings wrong and ending up with an unplanned litter or hormonal rabbits falling out and rebonding or even worse ending up with 2 singles.

 

[tonibun]

In my experience I have had quite a few brother/sister pairs and they really are very happy together. Perhaps it's because the hierarchy is already sorted out while still with Mum. I agree with Shimmer's remarks so no need to repeat them. If you get brother and sister at 8 weeks, you should be able to keep them together for another 5 or 6 weeks by which time the boy will be ready to be neutered, unless he is very small.

 

[tlcwrites]

I have a brother/sister pair within my quad. Their previous owner misjudged the neutering and ended up with an accidental litter. Once the kits were old enough to leave Mum, they sold all the rabbits, babies included. Dad had been neutered by them already, but only after Mum gave birth. They clearly adore each other and are both neutered now. They make a wonderful pair and are really accepting of the other 2 girls. When I first got them, I did have a pregnancy scare with Selene; as I didn't know when Helios was neutered, I was scared that she'd had a rebound pregnancy. Thankfully, it was just a pseudopregnancy and the rebond happened within minutes after separation.

I've also had a sister/sister pair in Elphie (now in the quad) and Galinda (who passed away in January.) For the first 5 years, they were kept separate because their bond failed when hormones struck. I finally managed to rebond them in July just gone, and Elphie was devastated and grieved heavily for her sister. She is only now just getting back to her old self.

 

[Babsie]

Yes I'm in the UK. I meant for the bonding as from reading about a boy/girl living together it says they have to be separated whilst the boy is still fertile (even after neutering for a few weeks) but then I also read splitting them up can make it so they don't want to live together anymore (breaking the bond?).

You would have to separate whatever the sex - 2 boys would fight as would 2 girls once the hormones kick in. Bonding is difficult at the best of times so if they've already had a fight your efforts would probably be in vain.

Personally I would always go for a pair from a Rescue. They would probably have already been neutered and bonded. Most people think that Rescues only have what they consider to be 'older' rabbits. Not so, they often have babies born to already pregnant females when they took them in, or complete litters from people who have had an 'accidental' litter because of mis-sexing or irresponsibility. Actually rabbits soon grow from those cute bundles of fluff, and they are just as lovely when they are a bit older. Breeders/pet shops often mis-sex babies, leaving the new owners with a load of problems. From a Rescue they may be a bit older and possibility of such mistakes happening extremely low.
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[Zoobec]

You would have to separate whatever the sex - 2 boys would fight as would 2 girls once the hormones kick in. Bonding is difficult at the best of times so if they've already had a fight your efforts would probably be in vain.

Personally I would always go for a pair from a Rescue. They would probably have already been neutered and bonded. Most people think that Rescues only have what they consider to be 'older' rabbits. Not so, they often have babies born to already pregnant females when they took them in, or complete litters from people who have had an 'accidental' litter because of mis-sexing or irresponsibility. Actually rabbits soon grow from those cute bundles of fluff, and they are just as lovely when they are a bit older. Breeders/pet shops often mis-sex babies, leaving the new owners with a load of problems. From a Rescue they may be a bit older and possibility of such mistakes happening extremely low.
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I agree with Babsie :thumb: