Need Advice - Buck & Doe Litter mates to be neutered/spayed

Hi I'm new! I've been exploring the forum and I thought that this would be a great place to communicate with other bunny lovers like myself!

In 5 weeks time I will be bringing my two new family members home, a buck and doe from the same litter.

I am thinking ahead and trying to be as prepared as I can! I plan to have them both neutered and spayed, I understand that the buck can be neutered at 12 weeks, and the doe can be neutered at 5-6months.

I need some clarification on seperating them, i have already started building their cage which will be a C&C cage. As they will probably already be pretty well bonded I am a little hesitant in separating them completley so is it possible to create a divider in between the cage so that they can still see and be next to each other?

Should I separate them from Day 1 or only after the male has been operated on and kept seperated until the female have been spayed and healed?

Or should I keep them together first until the male is ready to be neutered and then divide them?

Or should I keep them completely separated in different cages/different rooms until ready and then re-bond them?!

Hope you've stayed with me and can help!

Many Thanks! xxx

Hi Kobikiki and welcome to HH I think it's great that you've done so much research before getting your buns, and your questions are very good ones because it is a bit of a minefield, this topic, so you may get some differing responses, but here's what I've learned.

kobikiki wrote:

I need some clarification on seperating them, i have already started building their cage which will be a C&C cage. Excellent choice As they will probably already be pretty well bonded I am a little hesitant in separating them completley so is it possible to create a divider in between the cage so that they can still see and be next to each other? Yes, you an split the accommodation in two by buying a few more panels, and they can still smell and see each other, and have minimal contact through the dividing wall.

Should I separate them from Day 1 or only after the male has been operated on and kept seperated until the female have been spayed and healed?
Or should I keep them together first until the male is ready to be neutered and then divide them?
Or should I keep them completely separated in different cages/different rooms until ready and then re-bond them?!
As a new owner, its best to seperate them as soon as the buck' plums drop, you'll need to keep an eye out every day from around 9 weeks onwards. After he has been neutered, he will still have testosterone in his system for 2-4 weeks ( depending on when your vet is happy to do the neuter). The Doe can be speyed from 5-6 months onwards, some vets don't like to do it so young, so will wait a couple/few more weeks. She will need at least a couple of weeks after her op (which is a much bigger operation than the Buck's) to recover. You are best to re-introduce them on neutral territory, and the cages be washed thouroughly. With CC cages, you could redisgn the things s that there is 'this is my space this is yours' territorial stuff going on, should make the reintroduction easier.

Hope you've stayed with me and can help!

Many Thanks! xxx

The thing is that there are no hard and fast rules, and you can be more flexible with indoor rabbits. all rabbits are different, so whatever a text book says, or any of us, your buns will probably do something unexpected along the way. Just keep asking as you go along, and remember no question is a daft question.

There's bonding info on two of the videos for the HH YT channel ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wao_mAvY3ls

and

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7qraiZ8g6M

Thanks for the great advice, that has settled my mind a bit more now!

If the cage is divided, would it cause a disturbance if they switched the sides that they were living every week or so or would that be confusing and unsettling?

Assuming that I when I bring them home I keep them separated straight away, have the buck neutered at 12 weeks, keeping them separated until the doe is spayed at 5-6 months, which by then hopefully the buck is recovered and the doe's recovering should be 2 weeks or so - is okay to keep them living side by side for almost 3 months? Will they already have the bond from spending their first 8 weeks together?

As they are the only 2 from the litter I'm expecting their bond to be fairly strong!

When I bring them home for the first time is it okay to let them run around together until putting them in the cage? As I'm sure we'll be quite excited when we get them!

Thanks
Lisa

Hi Lisa,

Welcome to HH.

Im no bonding expert, only what I have seen on here.

I think it will be really good to keep them side by side so that they can smell and see each other it may help them stay friends too.

Also, provided his plums havent dropped (which im sure they havent yet) then I dont see why you couldnt let them be together when get them home, it may help them settle into their new home as they can comfort each other.

I expect when you get them home they will be quite scared and will want to hide away somewhere they feel safe, until they know they are okay. So I would let them into the cage with something to hide in or under too.

Please keep asking any questions you have - we are always happy to help. There is a wealth of knowledge here and I have found it invaluable.

Again, welcome!

Thanks Katie, more great advice!

I think what we might do, as i've just had the idea, is possibly let them be together for the first couple of days and then gradually put the divide up, maybe like have it up for 30 mins or so and then take it away to let them be together, then gradually increase the amount of time it is up for to prepare them for when they need to heal. How does that sound?!

I have read that it is good to swap them into each others cages so that they are used to each others smells and are not territorial, is that correct?

Thanks again

That sounds like a brilliant idea.

I dont know about the cage thing, but in principal I think it sounds like a great idea. I bet someone will be along soon who knows millions about these things!

okay great - its good to have confirmation from others when you are unsure about things!

I'll make that my plan of action but I'll still welcome some advice from others

Better get buying some more grids to extend their cage!!

Thanks