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My rabbits Humping HELP ME

reedey

New Kit
HMMM HELP tyrome the rabbit is humping my other rabbit how do you know difference to mating and dominance i think the one tyrome humping is a boy but help and tryome keeps smelling the other rabbits private area and the other rabbit is not having it shes runing and eve made a squake sound
 
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hi :)

are they neutered? I'm presuming not.

how old are they?

rabbits should be neutered/spayed at anywhere from 3-6 months, depending on their weight and when the males testicles drop. a rabbit savvy vet can preform this with little to no complications, of course there is always a risk with anaesthesia, as with any animal, and in rabbits it is higher. but with a rabbit vet that knows what they're doing, it should be smooth sailing, and if its not they will know how to act upon the situation.

having a vet that isn't rabbit savvy can mean the difference between life and death due to them possibly not knowing what to do, or even giving you ill advise.

rabbits need to be separated from at the very latest (in my opinion) at 10 weeks old. boys have been known to breed at 12 weeks of age. its why at 8 weeks breeders separate males and females to stop any chance of breeding happening, among siblings or to mom.

usually they can't impregnate a female before their testicles drop but this is not an exact science as they have been known to impregnate females before their balls drop.

rabbits should be neutered/spayed for a number of reasons, the most being for does(girls) that uterine cancer is rife. a lot of does that haven't been spayed often seem to get uterine cancer or infections, and it shortens their life span. for boys, its mostly behavioural reasons, same for the does too. a neutered/spayed rabbit is a healthy and happier rabbit, not controlled via their hormones and the stress of not passing on their genetics.

many unfixed rabbits are territorial, grumpy and aggressive, towards you and towards their partner. in many cases with unfixed rabbits where one or both aren't fixed, the bond breaks due to hormones and aggression, and fights occur.

here is a guide to sexing rabbits:
http://www.pet-informed-veterinary-advice-online.com/sexing-rabbits.html

here is some information on spaying and neutering:
https://rabbit.org/faq-spaying-and-neutering/
https://www.vets4pets.com/pet-health-advice/rabbit-advice/neutering-your-rabbit/
https://www.saveafluff.co.uk/rabbit-info/neutering-spaying-rabbits

if you need help finding a rabbit savvy vet, check here:
https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/rabbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/

OR, you can ask in the forum with your location and somebody may be able to offer a vet that is good.

I am not sure if you are aware, but rabbits also need vaccinations, myxi, RHD1 & RHD2. there are two different vaccines, filivac covers RHD1 & RHD2, nobivac covers myxi & RHD1. they do need both and without the vaccination, mortality rates are high.
 
my rabbits are not from a petshop they where born in my house when 2 of my mums rabbt mated and they never been netured due to it being t expestive
 
I appreciate it is expensive but it really is necessary.

you really need to find out what sex they are and separate them of they are the opposite sex. inbreeding is not good for rabbits especially among siblings, which could cause miscarriages, deformed babies and stillborns. its not a pleasant experience for you or your doe. and if she is young, having a litter young could be fatal for her.

they can not stay together if they aren't of the same sex.

if you are on low income, you may be able to get help RE neutering them which really is necessary for their health and wellbeing. many rabbits die due to uterine cancer at an earlier age, which is totally preventable.

Male-and-Female-Differences.png


if you are unsure you can upload a picture here and somebody can help you out, or ask a vet to sex them for you.

you have obviously had one litter already, intentional or not, its really important to sex the rabbits correctly and keep them in same sex groups at the least. but with them being unfixed bonds are likely to break due to hormones.

are they vaccinated?
 
owning pets is expensive, that's what comes with owning the animal. they are reliant on you and you need to take care of them. that ranges from the correct diet (which can be expensive) to general vaccinations to veterinary bills. this is all important and all comes under being a responsible owner.

if you can not afford to vaccinate them (varying from £20-50 depending on where you are in the country per vaccination), what happens when one of them gets sick? I am not looking to be harsh here, but this is the reality you need to look into. what happens when they are unwell and run up a bill of £200 or so, maybe more? what happens then?

they really do need to be vaccinated. right now RHD2 is rife and I believe has a mortality rate of 90% in unvaccinated rabbits. it is airborne so there is nothing you can do to protect them. it is a sudden death often with no symptoms whatsoever. having rabbits that aren't vaccinated it is asking for trouble and "dancing with the devil".

I can not stress enough how important it is to get them vaccinated.

I hate to say it but if neutering is too expensive (varying from £50-200, spays are a bit more), and vaccinations are too expensive, perhaps you shouldn't be owning rabbits or pets in general?

as I said, what happens if they become unwell? are they just left to suffer? how will you pay for it?

when rabbits are unwell it can become costly fast, I know when my boy was sick I was paying £60-80 per visit almost every week. sometimes they can suddenly require an overnight stay at the vets, or an out of hours vets, both of those cost hundreds.

I have been there myself, dirt broke and struggling to pay for them. but if it was to be a long term thing, I would have to rehome them.

to your rabbits, you are their world. they rely on you to care for them. they can not pay for themselves or take themselves to a vet. you need to do that.

I would worry about your rabbits wellbeing and health if you can not afford to vaccinate, nevermind neutering at this moment.
 
Binkycodie has taken the time to write out a very helpful post, please try to take it on board.

Also have a read through the Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund website, there is some great advice on care and also behaviour so you might find an answer to the humping behaviour: https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk

Are your rabbits both boys? In that case it's likely dominance and it will soon likely turn into fighting, I've known boys live happily together but only when neutered as soon as behaviour such as humping starts. Rabbits can inflict awful injuries on each other so keep a close eye on them to make sure they aren't hurting each other.

Some vets do offers on vaccinations when booking two or more in so maybe have a ring round? Or some do months where neutering is at a reduced price to encourage responsible ownership. I've got 3 baby rabbits that were abandoned at my work and they've just had one of their vaccines and I got 20% off for booking 3 in. I hope they soon settle down.
 
That's good :) I have 3 baby rabbits I hand reared after they were left at a pet shop, 2 boys and a girl and the 2 boys are going to a new home together. I've known 2 boys have a strong bond of they've been together since babies but the majority will need neutering once they develop as their hormones run wild! The 2 boys I have are being neutered as soon as testicles descend. Of course no rabbits are the same but it would be best to keep an eye to make sure the humping doesn't lead to any other dominance behaviours such as chasing, circling and fur pulling.
 
That's good :) I have 3 baby rabbits I hand reared after they were left at a pet shop, 2 boys and a girl and the 2 boys are going to a new home together. I've known 2 boys have a strong bond of they've been together since babies but the majority will need neutering once they develop as their hormones run wild! The 2 boys I have are being neutered as soon as testicles descend. Of course no rabbits are the same but it would be best to keep an eye to make sure the humping doesn't lead to any other dominance behaviours such as chasing, circling and fur pulling.

also they groom eatchother ad sleep cuddled up together and follow eatchother
 
I echo the advice already given, they really do need to be vaccinated ASAP, and the vet can check what sex they are. They will need to be spayed/neutered even if they are both the same sex, to avoid fighting when hormones kick in. And of course if they are boy and girl this will avoid unwanted litters. A boy can remain fertile for 4-6 weeks after neutering.

Good luck with them :thumb:
 
If you are in the UK, charities like the PDSA help epople who are on benefits or on a low income, they do a "chip and snip" service for £5 where they will neuter and/or microchip a pet. I recently had Calloway at their unit because he went into GI Stasis, and it was at a time when we had NO MONEY. I thought he was going to die, but when I rang them and explained, they said it was more important he got treated and they would deal with money later. He ended up having x rays, an injection to bring his temperature down, liquid food replacement and stayed in for 3 nights, and I was charged £100 (a private vet wanted £500). You pets health is your responsibility and if you are genuinely struggling, you need to reach out to charities. A neighbour of mine had a house rabbit die of myxi because she tracked in mud off her boots. House rabbits still need all the vaccinations and procedures of any pet. I would be happy to give you more information about being a pet owner on a budget, I myself am disabled and have a carer.
 
The expense is the joys of pets! I'm in the uk and i have registered Coco with PDSA, they do charge for medicines and treatment's I've been told that its £31 for his injection & also its £51 for him to be neutered, it isn't expensive especially knowing it can help them in the long run!

Of course when i first got Coco I didn't realise that they were of course pets who require a lot of care, but i would never deprive him of treatment and care he needs. Go to pdsa, once injections and neutering is done they only ask for donations this is because they are non funded. But its much cheaper than going to a normal vet.

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Also, if you have a vets 4 Pets near you then they have packages where you pay £7.99 a month per rabbit and it covers all of their "normal" treatments like vaccinations as well as some other benefits. I can't remember exactly what they all are as I don't have the booklet as I'm at work, but this year we got a free bottle of Fly Strike for each rabbit.
 
my rabbits are not from a petshop they where born in my house when 2 of my mums rabbt mated and they never been netured due to it being t expestive

your mother needs educating. i dunno, perhaps you could go with her?
 
Having a rabbit is a huge responsibility. They NEED to be neuterd and they NEED their injections. With animals like these theres no such thing as too expensive, without these things they can become seriously ill and have a short life.

I will be totally honest, i bought my rabbit on a whim. No research so i had no clue, but i done my research and I've done what i need to do for my baby. I could be like you and say its too expensive I'm not doing it, but my children adore him, myself and my husband love him & he is a huge part of our family. They are not actually that expensive, you can look around for prices on injections and neutering etc and find the best possible rabbit savvy vet for your rabbits. Pdsa do a range of things on good prices but they do not have the important injection RHD2 But a rabbit savvy vet will charge the same as pdsa between £31-£35 per injection. But its cheaper to go to pdsa to get them neuterd, if you cannot provide these things for your rabbits then i would seriously suggest giving them up for adoption where they can recieve the care that they need.
I know this is not normally advised as there are soo many disowned rabbits but you are actually neglecting them [emoji17]

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