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Help please? Maybe bunny babies??

Becky-hull

New Kit
:wave:Hi everyone, totally new here but hoping someone may be able to give me a bit of insight. So here's the deal, Ive had 2 rabbits, from the same litter, both girls, since they were 12 weeks old and are both now 10 months. They have always lived happily together, eaten, played, slept together and groomed each other. They have a large hitch with an attached run and often are let out for a run around where they have free reign of the garden. They have occasionally got a bit frisky but rabbits do that right. A couple of weeks ago they started fighting, badly! Fur flying, growling, biting! I separated them immediately, they can see each other and have just a wire mesh between them. I left it a couple of days and let them both out into the garden with the hope I could see if they had calmed down on mutual ground. They immediately had a tense stand off, staring at each other intensely then they started fighting. They were swiftly separated and returned to their own hutches. A couple of days later we tried again but as I got one out, I noticed she had made a nest and plucked a lot of hair. It seemed odd behaviour as she has never done this before. To put my mind at ease I sexed them myself and to my surprise, one of my girls was blatantly a boy! :oops:So my question is, is my bunny expecting? It's always the male who fights the female, why? The fur pulling started 2 weeks ago and still no babies, is it just a false pregnancy? I'm really surprised we haven't had babies before now after they have been together for 10 months! Any help, advice, comments will be appreciated. Thanks guys x
 
It is unusual to have had them together 10 months and no babies. The gestation is around four weeks so I'd mark the last time they were together on your calendar and add five weeks and then you'll know for sure. They can have phantom pregnancies so fur plucking doesn't always mean babies will arrive.

It would also be worth popping them in to the vet - they can double check the sexing and may be able to detect a pregnancy - it is possible for them to retain a testicle or be hermaphrodites so it's not always clear cut. The vet will also be able to book your chap in for a neuter so that babies (or not) they'll be able to go back together.

I'd try a completely neutral space when the neutering is all done so a spare bathroom/kitchen/run in someone elses garden - it might be your garden isn't neutral enough.
 
Thank you for your advice. The fur plucking seems to have calmed down a bit, she doesn't seem to be gaining any weight so I'm thinking maybe just a phantom. She is still being very territorial and nipped me today when I took her out the hutch which she has never done! I also find it very strange they have spent 10 months in the same space without any babies, we definitely have a boy and a girl though. No doubt about that. Once he has been neutered do you have any advice on bonding them again or will they just go back together? They often lay with their noses touching through the bars of the run and look like they miss each other so would be nice to reunite them x
 
After the neuter, you'll need to keep separate for a couple of months to give the boy bun time for his hormones to die down. If you do intend to get the female spayed, do that around the same time rather than go through re-bonding again.

Re-introductions should be done in a completely neutral space that neither bun has been in before - I used our bathroom for ours. I've never reintroduced after a long separation, so I hope someone else can give ideas on timescales!
 
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