Rabbit help needed!

[AlexandraLT]

Hello.
I have three four month old dwarf "female" rabbits who are all "sisters".
They were all living happily together until a couple of nights ago i heard fighting going on in the cage!
I then saw alot of humping between two rabbits and another one getting attacked by one of the other rabbits.
I immediately seperated them (1. because it was 4am and i wanted some sleep. and 2. because i knew something wasnt quite right!)
The next day i decided to sex them to check that i had the combination i was told. and actually found i have 2 males and a female!
I then knew at this point they all needed to be split until i could do something about it.
I tried the two boys together and they seemed fine to start with and then one tried humping the other and they started fighting again.
I now have a dilemma!
I split the indoor cage, which i made into three to seperate them as a temporary thing, until i could find something more suitable!
I use cardboard to split it into sections but now the rabbits have decided to chew through the cardboard so i need to use something else.
Any help or suggestions on this situation or what i could use?
Thanks for all help!

[Liz47]

Hey, sorry to hear you're having trouble.

Rabbits are very likely to fight, even if they are the same gender/from the same family, once they reach sexual maturity. Which in females is usually around 6 months but in males earlier (around 4 months). So this is likely to have happened with the male/s. They will all need to keep seperate obviously, even the two males as severe fighting could occur but I am not sure what you could do to seperate, if you don't have anything the rabbits can't chew through (like NIC cubes, I have used pannels from a little pen before) to seperate the cage into sections do you have any other cages? Or any small rooms/areas you could keep the rabbits in that are rabbit proof? Bathrooms tend to be fairly rabbit proof (keep the toilet lid down!).

I believe rabbits can get pregnant rather young, so you may have to get your female checked. A vet can check and also see what is the best option, ie carrying out the pregnancy or an emergency spay may be able to be done.

As I mentioed earlier a lot of rabbits do fight if left unneutered, so the two males need neutering. This can be done whenever their, er, balls drop aslong as they are a good weight. The female will also need to be spayed, this can be done from 6 months onwards generally, some vets will do it before 6 months if the rabbit is mature enough and a good weight. The males will still need to be kept single until a while after their neuter (sorry can't remember the exact number of weeks) as they can still be fertile. The female will also need to be left alone until she is healed up.

You can then try to rebond them all, trio's can work but they can be tricky. Bonding will need to take place in an area totally neutral to all 3 rabbits. Start in a small space then if all is ok you can gradually increase the space and add things like a bowl, toys etc (not at first as the rabbits could get territorial over them.) Their accomodation will also need to be cleaned with white vinegar solution or similar to try and neutralise that too before they go back together.

I have a bonded male/female pair (spayed/neutered) and a single neutered male as Beano, my female, won't accept another rabbit. Spaying will also prevent cancer, which affects 80% of unspayed older does and neutering will prevent fighting, spraying and generally make all the rabbits calmer, happier and healthier. Hope you can get something sorted for the buns :)

[billybobbs]

You need to see and have a think whether you could keep up to 3 or more cages in your home if they all need seperating. And also your little female may well be pregnat now and you have to find suibtable space for her and her litter.
I really feel for you, it must be an awful situation to be in. I hope you manage to at leat get the males living together. You may need to consider outdoor hutches x

[AlexandraLT]

Thanks for all your help liz.
I have been looking into getting all of them done, but got quoted £105 to do the female and £103 each for the boys.
Im now in a sticky situation whether to do that or whether to spend the money on a hutch and let them all be happy alone.
They dont show any aggression or anything when they are in their runs (had to do some improvising and seperate the big run into three decent sided runs with wire. And they are all fine (I know this is completely different and i will not risk putting them together again!)
I dont know what the best thing to do is. And if i did get all three done, it doesnt mean the problem is solved.
I know rabbits like to or sometimes prefer to have company however all three seem pretty happy now they are seperated.
Decisions decisions!!
x

[AlexandraLT]

You need to see and have a think whether you could keep up to 3 or more cages in your home if they all need seperating. And also your little female may well be pregnat now and you have to find suibtable space for her and her litter.
I really feel for you, it must be an awful situation to be in. I hope you manage to at leat get the males living together. You may need to consider outdoor hutches x

Thanks for your help! However im really hoping she is not pregnant! I know nothing about rabbit pregnancies, and really had no intention of this happening!
Im so angry that they told me all three were females and only one was! I know it must be hard to sex them, But surely they cant be so wrong!
I also have three dogs which means the rabbits had to be kept upstairs and i really didnt consider having this problem to then this where i would put the other three cages!
One of my males seem so much happier on his own.

Thanks for your help :)
x

[Liz47]

Wow, that is expensive! Obviously vet fees vary but on average it costs about £80 for a female spay and £40 for a male neuter, spays are a tad more complicated so therefore more expensive. For me it cost £80 for Beano and £60 for Boris (my single male). Is there any other vets in your area that are rabbit savvy you could ask for prices?

Sadly many places do mis sex rabbits! I adopted my Gordon from a rescue so he was already neutered but he was in the rescue due to being bought from a pet shop by some one who was told he was a female so he was put in with all the other girls and got them all pregnant, so the lady could not cope with the amount of rabbits she ended up with! At 4 months although it is possible, hopefully, it will be less likely she is pregnant. You may not be able to tell until the last few days when she starts nesting, collecting hay/bedding and plucking fur from herself to line the nest. Although a vet could check.

Rabbits do like to live in pairs/or more but I have a single male who is a housebunny so gets lots of attention from me and he is happy, I found him as a stray so didn't intend to take on another rabbit, I do intend to get him a wifey bun but atm it isn't possible, so if you give them plenty of attention/stimulation they can be happy singlely. You may find they start spraying though, Boris pre neuter was terrible for it, he would spray every time when I walked in my room/past him!

Hope you do manage to find a good solution xx

[AlexandraLT]

There is an rspca vets close by however not sure how good they are.
And there is also another one who i have not phoned yet.
Hopefully they will be cheaper as £40 and £80 are really doable costs :)
To spend £300 i cant really justify.
Thanks for your help :) xx

[Liz47]

There is an rspca vets close by however not sure how good they are.
And there is also another one who i have not phoned yet.
Hopefully they will be cheaper as £40 and £80 are really doable costs :)
To spend £300 i cant really justify.
Thanks for your help :) xx

Hopefully they'll be better :) Re the bolded bit, I agree with you there! xx

[AlexandraLT]

one more question...
They have been living inside, would they be alright to be moved outside?
I dont think i can fit three hutches indoors! :) x

[Queen Of The High Teas]

one more question...
They have been living inside, would they be alright to be moved outside?
I dont think i can fit three hutches indoors! :) x

Yes you can move them outside, but do it now whilst its Summertime and hot, so if they still have to be outside by the time the weather starts turning again, they will of adjusted to it and grown a nice thick fluffy coat to protect them.

Oh and it takes 6-8 weeks for the hormones to die down in males, which means if you put them outside due to lack of space it will be end sept/oct ish by the time you can re-bond them, so yeah I'd move them out now.

And yikes that is really expensive what your vet charges! Mine charge £45 for a neuter and £65 for a spay. I'd look around if I were you!!

[billybobbs]

I really hope you get things sorted. It's heart breaking when you pets fight. Good luck whatever you choose to do x

[AlexandraLT]

Thanks very much for all your help!
Ideally i will make them all live together in the end and everyone having these cheaper prices are giving me a bit more hope, However just have to find somewhere to do it cheaply around here!
Is the procedure safe?
Thanks all for your help again! x

[Liz47]

Thanks very much for all your help!
Ideally i will make them all live together in the end and everyone having these cheaper prices are giving me a bit more hope, However just have to find somewhere to do it cheaply around here!
Is the procedure safe?
Thanks all for your help again! x

The ops should be safe, if done by a rabbit savvy vet, maybe a good idea to ask a few questions to 'test' them, although the majority will obviouslly be good. There is a small risk due to GA but there is many benefits to spaying/neutering for you and the buns! Males tend to bounce back from neuters and come home looking for tea whereas females may be quite for a few days and take a bit longer to begin eating fully again. Unlike dogs rabbits need to be fed right up until their ops and offered food straight afterwards, a good vet will tell you this, so take with you a 'packed lunch' for the buns, including hay, pellets and a few treats or their fav foods to encourage eating again. :) x

[Lily]

Hi,

Usually it's better to put a neutered male with one or two females, two males even when neutered don't always get on.

My sister has three together, two bonded females both spayed and a neutered male and they get on really well.

[purple_x]

Unfortunately you cant just make rabbits live together like you said....if they dont like each other (even after being neutered/spayed) then that's that.
Some people have lots of trouble even trying to bond a pair.
Trying to bond a trio is extremely difficult.

Also if you think your female is pregnant take her to the vet asap as they can do an emergency spay and you wont have babies to try and rehome.

[Liz47]

After they have been spayed/neutered if you find a better priced vet then I could give you more info/links on bonding nearer the time if you would find them helpful, best to take it one step at a time so sort them all out. So spaying/neutering would be first :) x

[AlexandraLT]

Thanks liz, That would be so helpful!
I know putting them back together isnt always gunna work.
One seems happier on his own than without the other two. But maybe bonding two back together would be nice! Three ideally :)
Thanks for all the help!

[Liz47]

Great :) and thankyou for taking everything on board, when I first got a rabbit I didn't know anything about spaying or bonding, or how 'complicated' they can be! x

[AlexandraLT]

Hello Everyone!
Quick update! The two boy rabbits are booked in for their op on friday!
Rang the RSPCA vet and they quoted £60 for each boy! Which saved me over £100 in total.
I seem to believe that they should not be starved or anything and should always be given food!
Is there anything else i should know or watch for pre/post op?
Thanks :)

[Liz47]

That's great :) Yep, take with them some hay, pellets, treats to eat before/after their op. When you bring them home they may be a bit quiet and reluctant to eat, although males usually bounce back. Just keep offering them their fav veg as well as hay, pellets. Use bedding that won't stick to the wound, so avoid shavings etc. If you have any newspaper, hay and blankets should be fine. Keep them both in a small space for a few days to avoid them jumping/running. Keep an eye on the 'wound' as it can become infected, although this is unlikely and is easily treated if so. xx

[AlexandraLT]

Will do :) Im now getting worried that Im not going to be able to rebond them all together again!
This isnt at all an issue to me but im worried they may get lonely! Im pretty sure at least two will go back together not sure the male who is starting all the fighting will allow the other male to rejoin!
Is this going to be a likely problem! And will The other rabbit get lonely?
x

[Liz47]

It's hard to tell unless you try I'm afraid! Rabbits do best with a companion, but atm I have a single as I have mentioned. Would you be able to keep him inside? Therefore he'd get more company from you and provide him with lots of stimulation to keep him busy :) xx

[AlexandraLT]

I know they are better with others which is why my fingers are tightly crossed that the one who is being aggressive will calm back down again!
They are all inside atm however before this problem started we were going to buy a shed for them to live in outside! When they all got split up it has delayed this process as we are not prepared for all three to move into single hutches! I also dont want to buy another two hutches until im definitely sure they cant go back together!
Now they are all inside they are taking up alot of room!
Ideally though they would all stay inside but this would mean all in the same hutch and i dont know how likely this is looking!
I dont want him to be on his own, but i also believe that i could bond any of the two boys back with the girl! (dont know which one to bond back if i have to choose!)
This is a situation i was so unprepared for and its so difficult!
Thanks for your continued support x

[AlexandraLT]

Just an update:
Both boys are now home from their op which they had last night! Both seem okay!
They got brought home in the same carrier which i thought was weird but now are seperated again!
I know it takes 4ish weeks for their hormones to calm down again so gunna wait for that and hopefully figure out whether the female is pregnant!
Thanks everyone for your help!

[Liz47]

Glad to hear the ops went well :) x

[AlexandraLT]

I know the fourish weeks have not been completed and the hormones will see be flying!
But when i let the male who got split from the other two run next to the cage of the other one he tried to bite through the cage at the other one!
Is this a sign of them not being able to go back together!?
Im also not sure whether if i cant bond them all back together to get another one to go back with the one who the nasty male wants to bite?!
If only things went to plan.....

[Liz47]

You can never really tell, but before my two were bonded they tried to bite through the bars, yet were fine when together in a neutral space.

[AlexandraLT]

That makes me feel so much happier! I may be alright then! Fingers Crossed,
I am in touch with a rescue just in case i cant bond all three back together, and can only do two!

[Liz47]

That's a good idea :) hope it all goes well for you though xx

[purple_x]

It usually takes 6-8 weeks for hormones to die down, not just 4.

When my mum bonded her pair (a male and a female) they would try and bite each other through the grid keeping them apart but as soon as they were put together properly in a neutral room they were fine, love each other to bits.

[AlexandraLT]

Do i risk putting all three in a neutral place and bonding them back together! With my water pistol etc at the ready?
Or do i do it so i bond two and try to rejoin the third?
Or do i do it so i bond rabbit a with rabbit b then rabbit b with c then a with c etc?
Thanks :)

[Liz47]

I'm not sure but I'd probably put them all in together. Here's a link for you with info on bonding, it's a sticky on a forum I'm on (same username) and the forum is also full of great advice so feel free to ask anything on there too :)

Do you want to bond a trio? Read this first - Rabbits United Forum (http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?317003-Do-you-want-to-bond-a-trio-Read-this-first)


Bonding Bunnies - (http://flashsplace.webs.com/bondingbunnies.htm)