What to get....2 males, or 2 females?

Do males need to be neutered when being kept together? What is better, 2 males or 2 females? Opinions would be good

Hi Jamiioo, welcome to HH

Generally, you are much better having a male / female pair (obviously each needs to be neutered beforehand). After that a male / male pair is easier and lastly, the least stable pairing is two females. You can make the odds for two girls better by getting two sisters and not separating them, but they do need to be neutered.

Rabbits are driven by their sexual hormones and it is not enough to have one animal neutered and not the other. If you have a pair, you must do both. Otherwise, the intact animal will plague the life out of the other to mate as they will be driven to do so by their hormonal impulses. The hormones also make rabbits very territorial (especially females) and aggressive with other rabbits.

Baby rabbits are happy together until they reach puberty (around 12 weeks). That is when male rabbits' testicles descend and hormones kick in. You need to separate your rabbits before this happens or you will have more than you expected.

Females can be spayed at 5 - 6 months of age. If you have a neutered male, he MUST NOT be put back in with an intact female for at least six weeks after his operation. This is because he is still fertile for this time after the operation and will make the intact female pregnant.

Both operations are very safe, although there is a risk with any surgical procedure especially one that requires a general anaesthetic.

If you were to contact your local animal refuge, you may find that they have rabbits that are already neutered and may be prepared to bond them for you. Whereabouts are you based?

I am based in Aberdeen lol, not many bun rescues up here that i am aware of, the only one i do know has just had to give up all her buns & rehoming.

I am not looking for 2 buns myself yet personally (on a pet ban atm) Boooo! Was asking for a friend who will be getting a pair of buns next week some point, but when she said she was getting 2 males i assumed that 2 intact males would fight together when they reach puberty?

EDIT: I have just realised...you are not that far off from me :O

Two intact males will fight so she needs to keep an eye out for them hitting puberty. Also, she needs to be aware that they may not be both male. It is notoriously difficult to sex baby rabbits and very often people go home with two girls and find out that one is later pregnant because one is a male.

Boy rabbits develop very noticeable testicles (plums) around the 12 week stage. You might also notice them spraying urine too. Getting them neutered will dull down the urge to fight, but the bonding needs to be done very carefully. The rabbits will need to be separated when they have their procedures and to allow them to heal. Sometimes rabbits can react strangely to being in a vets and may fight because there are lots of different smells. You need to be careful that animals who have just had an operation have an opportunity to recover.

Ahhh. So does that mean if she doesn't get her buns neutered she would be best off getting a female pair to bond?

Just tying to cover all bases as i am unsure as to whether she is planning on getting the pair neutered or not...?

Hi There,

Welcome to HH

Two un-neutered males are almost definitely will fight. Two un-neutered females may fight.

Buns should always be neutered as it is much better for their health. A very high percentage (I beleive its as much as 80%) of female bunnies will contract Uterine cancer if they are not neutered, and both sexes can become aggressive to people too if they are not neutered. It is the best way to go.

The very best way to go is to get a ready neutered pair from a rescue. These will already be neutered and bonded together and more than likely would have had their vaccinations too. A rescue will be able to give your friend excellent advice on the best way to care from them too. minimum hutch and run sizes etc. Often the cost of adopting is way way cheaper than the cost of buying and getting neuterings and first vaccinations too.

Please let us know if there are any other questions you might have. We are always happy to help.

I can't offer better advice than that, just back it up. Best pairings are neutered male and female, others can be more tricky from what I've read. My doe became very territorial and aggressive when she reached maturity and before she was neutered...a lot of bunnies get a bad name because their owners don't know to neuter them and just think they are "horrible". The best thing for your friend wld probably be to go to a rescue, some places that rescue other animals often have rabbits too...so it's always worth hunting around for one.

Hiya

Regarding 2 girls, i have sisters who are 15 weeks. They have had a great relationship but now the hormones have kicked in, and they cant be spayed for another 2 mnths. We have had a bit of aggression and if it happens again i will have to keep them seperate and go from there. Its tough as they have a great bond, but there is a risk they could hurt each other.
Also it will cost me £105 per bunny when i get them spayed- rescue bunnies are the way forward which ever way u look at it

I tried to get a girl and boy ..... Got Binky boy right... but the Pumnpkin was sexed wrong as a girl for 5mths , he was called Lilia ! Having both boys r a nightmare... Binky wants to love and cuddle Pumpkin wants to constantly beat him up so I have to keep them separate for most of the time unless I am with them ....

Dawn

In 26 years of keeping bunnies I find the best bondings are a neutered male and a spayed female. Bonded boys may fight and if they do their injuries can be serious as they are apt to go for the other one's genitalia when fighting.
Two females can work in some cases and not in other's, I have had two spayed females and a neutered male as a trio but they were Brother and Sisters and together since birth.

So if it was me I would go for a neutered male and a spayed female, a rabbit rescue will have a bonded pair and they will already be spayed/neutered and you will be giving them a forever home

I think that you should get a male and a female seeing as they get on best