Breeders advice and neutering?

Well, I was looking for a neutered female to join my two boys to make a trio. After getting in touch with a rabbit breeder in Hartlepool she basically told me that she would not let me have a girl as it would make the boys fight. I know that it is good to advise and not just throw baby bunnies at people but I need some advice.

She also basically said that I was irresponsible for having two boys rabbits together? She said the longest she had ever gotton to with two neutered boys was 9 months then fighting started!

My boys are getting neutered on 20th June, they will be 4 months, if any signs of aggression showed I would have them done earlier. Am I really so bad for having two boys? They really love each other at the minute, they are inseparable. I know hormones can change things but I would never be so irresponsible as to let them come to harm! I feel awful today because i'm feeling that my boys aren't going to be able to stay friends!

Any advice please? Can two boys stay firm friends forever?

lots of people have neutered pairs of boys on here, you're not doing anything wrong! like you say you know to look out for aggression etc and are getting them neutered as early as possible so you will hopefully be ok.

as with all trios, there is a risk that it doesn't work and your boys may fall out even if previously bonded. personally i would not opt for a baby rabbit but an adult spayed female from a rescue with a known personality :wave:

I have had trios of 2 boys and a girl - usually resulting from the loss of one of a pair and extending an existing pair. I also find neutered boy pairs are easier than other pairings. I would carry on with your plans to get them neutered and keep them together, then see how things are. If you get a girl, I would wait until a couple of months after she is neutered before you try bonding them. Hence the advice on getting a rescue (already neutered) female. There is absolutely no reason why your boys should not continue to get on if hormones are removed from the equation and future bondings are done appropriately.

I quite like bunny trios. Many on here have bigger groups, so all kinds of combinations are possible.

The breeder is at least taking some care on choosing the new homes for her baby bunnies - even if her experiences are different to some of ours. I just wonder what pairings she would deem to be OK.

Neutered boys can work. I have 2 in my group of 4. I'm guessing thecreason she's having trouble is brcause she's a breeder so has entire animals (particularly females) around in close proximity which they can smell. I'd also assume that they're not given enough space either as breeders tend to keep their rabbits in hutches. Too little space doesn't help with harmonious bunny co-habitation either.

I'd suggest contacting a rescue instead as their girls will already be neutered and they may be able to bond for you.

Shimmer said:

I have had trios of 2 boys and a girl - usually resulting from the loss of one of a pair and extending an existing pair. I also find neutered boy pairs are easier than other pairings. I would carry on with your plans to get them neutered and keep them together, then see how things are. If you get a girl, I would wait until a couple of months after she is neutered before you try bonding them. Hence the advice on getting a rescue (already neutered) female. There is absolutely no reason why your boys should not continue to get on if hormones are removed from the equation and future bondings are done appropriately.

I quite like bunny trios. Many on here have bigger groups, so all kinds of combinations are possible.

The breeder is at least taking some care on choosing the new homes for her baby bunnies - even if her experiences are different to some of ours. I just wonder what pairings she would deem to be OK.

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She simply suggested that I split up my boys and add a female to each of them, but I couldn't bear to split them up. They are never apart! They look lost if I take one out to groom them or clip nails etc.

At least its good to know that Male/Male pairings DO work out sometimes. I was so worried I wasn't going to be able to keep them together.

i have a trio. two boys and a girl all neutered, the boys are brothers who came to me at 6 months unneutered. I had them neutered very quickly. they all get on very well together but they have a lot of space and can get away from each other when they want to.

what i would wonder is if the breeder had problems because she had entire bucks and does nearby and the neutered boys could smell them. - that would likely set off trouble. even neutered they keep the knowledge they are male and my lot have spring fever at moment- they still bonk from time to time and can play rough. I can imagine in the smaller hutch type set ups that a breeder likely uses that spring fever bonking could turn nasty easily if they can't get away from each other and the smells of breeding rabbits nearby would exagerate everything.

Rhian33 said:

Neutered boys can work. I have 2 in my group of 4. I'm guessing thecreason she's having trouble is brcause she's a breeder so has entire animals (particularly females) around in close proximity which they can smell. I'd also assume that they're not given enough space either as breeders tend to keep their rabbits in hutches. Too little space doesn't help with harmonious bunny co-habitation either.

I'd suggest contacting a rescue instead as their girls will already be neutered and they may be able to bond for you.

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I would love to add a neutered rescued female to my group eventually. Sadly there doesn't seem to ever be any neutered females of around the same age as my boys? I'm looking for a girl of maximum one and a half really, and she would need to be a small breed.

I've been keeping up with sunderlands pawz for thought and a couple of other rescues but haven't found a girl suitable yet.

Sarah1991 said:

I would love to add a neutered rescued female to my group eventually. Sadly there doesn't seem to ever be any neutered females of around the same age as my boys? I'm looking for a girl of maximum one and a half really, and she would need to be a small breed.

I've been keeping up with sunderlands pawz for thought and a couple of other rescues but haven't found a girl suitable yet.

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pawz for thought have two 9 month spayed females advertised on rabbit rehome, is it out of date? :wave: they look lovely

I have had a neutered male pair that kept falling out after reaching about a year but now have a trio of two males and one female that get on great...no aggression at all. I have also had a neutered male/female pair that kept falling out. I think it really depends on the rabbits and its nothing to do with the sex of them and if yours are getting on well now there is no reason for them to fall out and I wouldn't split them unless you need to.

elmoandfern said:

pawz for thought have two 9 month spayed females advertised on rabbit rehome, is it out of date? :wave: they look lovely

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Erm, im not sure, i've been just going onto the pawz for thought site and looking on the rabbits for adoption bit?

I have/had lots of male pairs and trios with 2 m and 1 f. My most loved up pair was two unrelated boys. And personally I find boys much easier to bond.

However I wouldn't even think about bonding them with a female until 6 weeks plus post neuter, and you also have to be prepared that you may end up with 3 singles.

Amy104 said:

I have/had lots of male pairs and trios with 2 m and 1 f. My most loved up pair was two unrelated boys. And personally I find boys much easier to bond.

However I wouldn't even think about bonding them with a female until 6 weeks plus post neuter, and you also have to be prepared that you may end up with 3 singles.

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I suppose I do have to take into account that they could all fall out, I mostly only wanted to add a female for more company during the day but they do already have each other. I couldn't manage with three singles so maybe it is a good idea to just stick to the two boys.