Post neutering help please

Hi all,
I have 2 unrelated 5ish month old does due to be neutered next Tuesday and at present are living in the same cage with a divider to separate them. They can get on (eating, blinkying and chilling) but tend to fall out due to dominance (mounting and nipping one another) I have managed to separate them before any fights have broken out during their playtime outside of their cage. But to be on the safe side they are now let out in different parts of the room to play.
Taking this into consideration when can I remove the divider in the cage? Do I do it when they return from the vets so that they can recover together or should I wait until they are fully healed and see how it goes from there (little steps)
Also what is the best bedding for them during their recovery? At present they have carpet and newspaper lined litter boxes in the cage. I may have to line the litter boxes with hay as their hay rack is at their sitting head height at the moment. Due to the divider I do have to clean them out daily by lifting them out of the cage, I know this will not be practical once they return from the vets so should I just clean around them instead?
Any advise will be greatly appreciated on after care for two does.
Many thanks.

Hi there Em and welcome to the forum
I don't have experience with this but will point someone in your direction to help

Hi Em and welcome to the forum, you have two beautiful bunnies there, they are gorgeous, well done for getting them neutered as they look a bonded pair and so having them neutered should stop a lot of their hormones and they will get on a lot better and should stop the nipping and humping.

I would keep the divided until they are fully healed but make sure that they can still see and smell each other, that way you can monitor them both much better, I would bed them on carpet, newspaper and hay and it will be fine to lift them out every day and clean underneath them, just make sure that they can't jump on anything high though.

Hope this helps and good luck with their neutering and keep us posted

Hello there,

Oh my - such beautiful bunnies I have a soft spot for lionheads.

In the footage they look pretty much bonded already Even our established pairs are known to indulge in some humping!

As Snowy has said it would be best to keep them separate tho until they have healed. I am sure they will get on fine and look forward to seeing some more piccies

I have to say I would be careful about just 'removing' the divider because during the time they have spent split in the cage they will likely then view their respective area as their personal territory and may well decide to defend it from the other rabbit.

What would be best is to perhaps have it thoroughly disinfected and neutralised whilst they are away being speyed and then use it as there home once they are healed and rebonded in a entirely seperate area.

If, on the otherhand, they are still spending time together now then I would perhaps think about having the vets put them to recover in the same cage once they have come round from the GA, as they will be too sleepy to react and set off a cycle of aggressive defensive behaviour and then have them move into the neutralised hutch together once you get them home.

I've kept two does together who have been neutered on the same day and it caused no issues with regards to the healing process, it just depends on how well they are interacting before hand.

Thank you Jay, Snowy, Sixer and Sooz for the warm welcome and your valuable advise.
I shall go with the flow and keep the divider up until they are both well recovered. I will keep you informed on how they get on too but I must admit I am dreading the big S day at the V E T.
I will keep this thread open in case there is anyone else wants to share their knowledge/experience in the mean time.

Hi all, here is my update as promised.

Took both to the vet bright and early on Tuesday morning and wondered 'am I doing the right thing!' Got a phone call in the afternoon (heart pounding) but it was to tell me they had had a couple of emergencies in and had not yet managed to do my rabbits but they would be done by the end of the day. So I went through another couple of hours of worry. Anyway another phone call in the late afternoon arrived to tell me both made it through with no probs but as it was late they wanted to keep them in over night to make sure all was well.

Picked them both up on Wednesday morning and both looked as if they had been dragged through a hedge backwards! What had I put them through I thought. Once home I gave them one quick run together before putting them back in the cage with the divider in place, and left them in peace to recover a bit more.

Thursday morning they had washed and dressed and looked much better so I let them out for an hour together, Lacey was back to her old self showing off a couple of binky’s too. But Poppit was not quite normal she kept looking for ways to hide/escape which is very unlike her. This evening they have been out for a good couple of hours together and things are fantastic. Both running around and doing things I have never seen before, so much more playful which I didn’t think was possible. Not a single poo on my carpet, no violent chewing like before and more grooming going on, ahhh the list just goes on. But I do miss the affectionate grunts and the chining, but that’s okay as other good things have come out of this.

I have to take them back to the vets in just over a week to get their stitches removed. Once over that and when I have time to spend I shall take down the divider and see how they get on with supervision.

I must admit I was a doubting Thomas about getting my rabbits spayed, and I know I may come across a few steps backwards until things even out but I am so pleased with the outcome of get them both spayed.
Thank you all for your help and advice.

Oh that's great news Em I'm glad they got the after care as well, and it sounds like they're recovered really quickly It's a massive operation, so well done! I remember getting my boy done, I was sooo nervous and asked all these questions, but it was the best thing.
Their personalities will return and you'll still get grunts etc from time to time, but they sound well happy! I hope we'll continue to see you all and keep up with their news

I'm glad everything went well for them and for you too!