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Buying unneutered brother and sister rabbits, should they be separated immediately?

B

barush_x

New Kit
Hi,

As the title says, we are thinking about getting a doe and buck from the same litter. We thought about keeping them
both in the same cage and spay the buck immediately after his testicles drop, at about 12 weeks. Of course, we don't want
any funny business to happen, so when is the earliest time a doe can get pregnant and is it safe for them to share the cage for now?
 
barush_x said:
Hi,

As the title says, we are thinking about getting a doe and buck from the same litter. We thought about keeping them
both in the same cage and spay the buck immediately after his testicles drop, at about 12 weeks. Of course, we don't want
any funny business to happen, so when is the earliest time a doe can get pregnant and is it safe for them to share the cage for now?
Click to expand...

Hello

Have you considered adopting two young Rabbits from a Rescue ? They will both already be neutered and fully vaccinated :)

If you prefer to buy the two Babies from the Breeder then personally I would not keep them together after 10 weeks of age. It's unlikely that the Doe would become pregnant. But the Buck will start to constantly pester her and it would be very stressful for both Rabbits. Defensive aggression from the Doe may occur and if the Buck wont take 'no' for an answer you'll have fighting Rabbits to deal with. Also, it is important to remember that a Buck can remain fertile for up to 6 weeks after castration. So he'd have to be separated from the Doe anyway.

The Rabbit Welfare Association and Fund provides a vast amount of up-to-date and accurate information about the care of Pet Rabbits. I'd have a good browse around their website, you may even want to become a member :D

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/

Good luck with your new Rabbits when you get them x
 
If you are sure of their age, then they can share a cage up until 12 weeks. This is nice as they have one another after leaving Mum and siblings and going into the big wide world. You would need to separate them at around 12 weeks, then have the Buck neutered, and 6 weeks later reunite them. The female can get spayed when she is around 6 months old and come straight back to be with the male, as long as he is being nice with her. Sometimes after an op the bunny smells different and the remaining rabbit thinks you have brought a new rabbit home! Some Vets allow both rabbits to stay together while at the Vets. Sometimes males can look like females until they get a bit older so there is a risk you finish up with 2 males when you get them at a young age.
 
Rabbits can be quite territorial, especially if not neutered. You can keep them together up to 10 weeks or so. Then the male will most likely start to pester the doe (she might not be able to get pregnant, but she can definitely get upset and fight with the buck).
Once the boy is neutered you should wait 6 weeks before trying to put them back together.
However, when the doe's hormones will start to kick in she might start to boss around the male, and they might fight. And you want to avoid that at all cost.
So basically my advice is to take one step at the time and closely monitor your bunnies behaviour.

Also, sometimes a bond between to baby rabbits is not a "real" bond, meaning that the rabbits will most likely need to be re-bonded once they are both neutered
 
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