Hello!

Hello, I'm Hayley and I'm gaining a netherland dwarf today. Someone brought him and his brother but have had to seperate due to fighting so I'm to be his new mummy. I have owned dwarf lops and dutch rabbits before but never a netherland. Any advice to give me?

Also will he need a friend? Maybe a doe? Can I put another breed with him or is he better left on his own? Thanks very much for your help!

Welcome to HH Hayley. You must be very excited. You can put any breed with your bun sweetie. There is lots of advice available here. Are you after basic advice... I don't want to teach you to suck eggs....

Hi and welcome to HH .

You can put pretty much any breed with him but I would steer clear of size extremes just to reduce the risk of accidental injury between them. Generally the best gender combination is a male and a female (both neutered).

What breed would be best to put in with him? Would he be likely to fight with them like he did his brother?

I don't think i matters about the breed. He probably fought with his brother because they had both got a bit older and the old hormones started to kick in. That can be sorted out by having him neutered when his little furry balls drop.

Hes 11 weeks old. What age do you neuter them?

It depends on when their testicals have dropped but it is usually around 14-16 weeks and the smaller the breed the faster they tend to mature. Bucks can be fertile for 6 weeks after the 'snip' though, so shouldn't be with any un-neutered females during that time.

Has he had his vaccines yet...the vet can show you what to look for otherwise when you take him for those.

Hes unvaccinated. Hes going to be a house rabbit. Would you still get him vaccinated?

If you look at the home page there is a section giving lots of information about areas such as neutering, feeding etc.

Generally with boys they reach sexual maturity about 3 months and can be neutered between 12 - 20 weeks once their balls have dropped. Sometimes it can be later and sometimes they can have a retained testicle. (My Felix has one retained ball).

Once the hormones come through they will fight with another unneutered male, even one they were previously with. The shame of it is that lots of people will get rabbits when they are 8 weeks old and happy together. They then reach maturity and sometimes will start to fight. Usually neutering solves that problem and it also stops male rabbits spraying urine which is something they do to mark territory - often that includes you!

He will still need to be vaccinated against myxi and VHD.

Myxi can be transmitted by flies, other rabbits or fleas and for his welfare and your peace of mind, it is better to have it done, even if he is an indoors animal because they can still catch it. It is done every six months.

VHD is also a nasty disease and can kill very quickly without symptoms. It is given yearly, but cannot be given within two weeks of a myxi jab.

Birds_Will_Fly wrote:Hes unvaccinated. Hes going to be a house rabbit. Would you still get him vaccinated?

Definately. Catswhiskas lost her little bun Blanket to Myxi today and he was a housebunny.

The Nobivac Myxomatosis vaccine can be given from 6 weeks and the Cylap or Lapinject VHD from 10 weeks. There should be a minimum gap of 2 weeks between the administration of the vaccines, they are not licensed for use simultaneously and such use can make the rabbit poorly by overloading the immune system, it will also affect the efficiency of the vaccine.

Just like your dog and cat vaccinations then. I live in the contryside with fields and lots of wild rabbits around so need to have him vaccinated. Is it a 100% vaccine?

He's just arrived. Hes black with brown flashes, brown on his ears and the bottom of his feet. Anyone know what colour he is? Just letting him settle in for abit.

Hello Hayley, welcome to Happy Hoppers.

Birds_Will_Fly wrote:Just like your dog and cat vaccinations then. I live in the contryside with fields and lots of wild rabbits around so need to have him vaccinated. Is it a 100% vaccine?

The VHD I believe is, however the Myxomatosis vaccine is actually derived from the Shope Fibroma virus which produces a cross immunisation against certain strains of myxomatosis and it is not 100% effective. What is worth remembering is vaccinated rabbits are more likely to develop the nodular form of myxomatosis which is generally not considered life threatening, while full blown myxomatosis in unvaccinated bunnies usually results in euthanasia or a miserable and slow death.

Hi Hayley and welcome to HH I'm sure you'll get all the help you'll need. You'll most likely get a brooader range of answers in the relevant sections of the forum. Infirmary etc. I have a house bunny, he's vaccinated every 6 months against Myxi, and annually against VHD. Looking forward to seeing pics of your new arrival

Hi and welcome iv only been a member for a week or so now and every one on here is so friendly and helpfull and im sore it wont take long till you discover that for your self


Dan.