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I think Lucky is depressed

Lord Trellis

Mama Doe
Ever since I separated Lucky he has become depressed, it will be a while before he can be neutered as he is not old enough yet. The vet said I have to wait until he is at least 4 months old before he can be neutered so he can't be anywhere near his sister Lacey or Lamb Chop.

He has a whole room as his pen with food, hay and water and some toys which he takes no notice of. He spends much of his time looking for things he can chew and sleeps, he is eating and drinking but he gets frustrated and tips over his water bowl and food. I'm trying to think of some ways I can provide him with some enrichment and some ways I can cheer him up a bit?

His personality has changed and he just wants to bite and destroy things like when I bring him out of his pen he wants to nip me and dig and bite the couch and pee on it.

Can anybody think of some ways what I can do for him to make him feel happier?
 
I think I would get him some rabbit-safe branches to chew eg Willow, Hazel, Hawthorn.
 
I think I would get him some rabbit-safe branches to chew eg Willow, Hazel, Hawthorn.


Agreed, also if he can smell the Does it will wind him up and make him very frustrated. So they need to be as far away from him as possible. Try to avoid having direct contact with the Does before having direct contact with him.

Once the Does reach 12+ weeks you might well find they start to fight, especially if they can see or smell an entire Buck. ‘ Baby Bonds’ are not true bonds, once puberty hits things can change in an instant. So be prepared to have to separate the Does until 6-8 weeks AFTER they are both spayed. If they have a nasty fight before spaying they are unlikely to be able to be bonded again.
 
He is about 12 weeks now or there abouts I haven't been counting. The vet confirmed he is male.

I always wash my hands after handling the does before handling him, he is two rooms away plus a closed door so he wont see the females but depending on there sense of smell its possible he may still smell the does.

I'm off to Wilko to have a look around for bunny things and I'll also pop to my local park and get lots of willow branches and twigs. I did have some willow branches but I used the last of them in my budgie aviary.

I will do my very best to bond the does, they are bonding very well already but of course things can go south after some time I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. I used to have rabbits in the past I'm aware of the possible problems ahead.
 
He is about 12 weeks now or there abouts I haven't been counting. The vet confirmed he is male.

I always wash my hands after handling the does before handling him, he is two rooms away plus a closed door so he wont see the females but depending on there sense of smell its possible he may still smell the does.

I'm off to Wilko to have a look around for bunny things and I'll also pop to my local park and get lots of willow branches and twigs. I did have some willow branches but I used the last of them in my budgie aviary.

I will do my very best to bond the does, they are bonding very well already but of course things can go south after some time I'll cross that bridge if I come to it. I used to have rabbits in the past I'm aware of the possible problems ahead.

Many vets will neuter at 12 weeks
 
Agreed, also if he can smell the Does it will wind him up and make him very frustrated. So they need to be as far away from him as possible. Try to avoid having direct contact with the Does before having direct contact with him.

Once the Does reach 12+ weeks you might well find they start to fight, especially if they can see or smell an entire Buck. ‘ Baby Bonds’ are not true bonds, once puberty hits things can change in an instant. So be prepared to have to separate the Does until 6-8 weeks AFTER they are both spayed. If they have a nasty fight before spaying they are unlikely to be able to be bonded again.

Lamb Chop has already started to hump Lacey so I'm keeping a close eye on them because a fight may be on the horizon but for now they seem to be getting on alright with each other.
 
This reminds me of when I brought home a third bunny (Stakki) aged 10 weeks. I already had a bonded female/male pair called Squee and Benji (both neutered). I was assured that Stakki was female but as soon as Benji smelt Stakki he became very territorial and started humping Squee. We found out at 12 weeks that Stakki was actually male.

Lucky's behaviour could be because Lamp Chop is male (and the humping of Lacey makes sense too). Hopefully not though but don't rule it out.
 
Is your vet rabbit savvy? What was their reasoning behind this?

I expect they deal with all kinds of animals but mostly cats and dogs. The vets reason was because its a very fiddly job and its harder to do when there not developed enough.
 
This reminds me of when I brought home a third bunny (Stakki) aged 10 weeks. I already had a bonded female/male pair called Squee and Benji (both neutered). I was assured that Stakki was female but as soon as Benji smelt Stakki he became very territorial and started humping Squee. We found out at 12 weeks that Stakki was actually male.

Lucky's behaviour could be because Lamp Chop is male (and the humping of Lacey makes sense too). Hopefully not though but don't rule it out.

Its a possibility. I have been having my suspicions that Lamb Chop could be male. Its harder to check Lamb Chop because she struggles and has a very powerful kick and sharp claws. I am 65% she is female if she does turn out to be male that could have consequences. Its not easy to tell a rabbits gender when they are young, you can get an idea but one can never be 100% until they are a bit older.
 
Its a possibility. I have been having my suspicions that Lamb Chop could be male. Its harder to check Lamb Chop because she struggles and has a very powerful kick and sharp claws. I am 65% she is female if she does turn out to be male that could have consequences. Its not easy to tell a rabbits gender when they are young, you can get an idea but one can never be 100% until they are a bit older.


IME it is easy to accurately determine the gender of a Rabbit from about 5-6 weeks of age. Split penises can complicate things at times but this genetic condition is not always an issue.

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Its a possibility. I have been having my suspicions that Lamb Chop could be male. Its harder to check Lamb Chop because she struggles and has a very powerful kick and sharp claws. I am 65% she is female if she does turn out to be male that could have consequences. Its not easy to tell a rabbits gender when they are young, you can get an idea but one can never be 100% until they are a bit older.

If you can’t tell the responsible thing to do is to get a rabbit savvy vet to determine their gender. There is no reason to wait longer to neuter, it is safe to neuter from 12 weeks and we have had hundreds of males done at this age with no ill effects. I would strongly advise you register with a rabbit savvy vet.
 
I expect they deal with all kinds of animals but mostly cats and dogs. The vets reason was because its a very fiddly job and its harder to do when there not developed enough.

I really would advise finding a rabbit-savvy vet for your rabbits.
 
It doesn't sound like this vet is particularly experienced with rabbit neutering, which would worry me.
 
Good news, although I don't want to get my hopes up just yet... The PDSA said they will be able to neuter Lucky but they want to give him a full examination first. They are a lot cheaper too.
 
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