{bunny pics} aslo, should i separate them?

[ashleycat]

robyn, i think he has been picking on drew, both neutered boys, robyn is the multi colored, drew is white with silver.... roby is the youngest, and biggest, i have noticed a few fresh bite wounds on drew, and it feels like hes lost a lil bit of weight. he was 3 lbs to begin with, roby is 5 lbs.. should i sep. them? or did they just happen to play rough? http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd05b3127cce908092d6556a00000026108AZNW7hmzbt- http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd05b3127cce90809dcb15e800000026108AZNW7hmzbt- http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5dd05b3127cce9080924055fc00000026108AZNW7hmzbt-

[ashleycat]

how do i know if they got into a fight? drew has a few bite wounds, but does that mean they faught, or got rough play? they seem bonded, they sleep and cuddle... 2 fixed males. anyone have 2 fixed males together? should i separate them?

[bunnyloveruk]

If they are males i would seperate them unless you have had them both fixed. Two male bunnies will only live together as a pair till about 12 weeks of age then will start to fight. If they are females then just keep an eye on then, they should be ok as long as they were purchased at the same time and same place. Some bunnies will adapt to another bunny living with them if purchased seperate but it is still best to keep an eye on them and see how they go. Good luck.

[LKPike]

they look very happy (and cute!) together :)

[Daisylover]

Sometimes 2 boys will get along but it is a bit unusual. Even though they are neutered, bunnies are still very territorial. They want to be the boss, they want the best food and the best sleeping and best hiding places. Make no mistake, withoutm having them neutered they probably would have ended up really hurting each other badly (at a minimum).

Rabbits tend to be social animals and prefer to live with other bunnies. OIt's unusual but once in a while you'll find a bunny who really wants to live alone or, as I like to say, be an only child.

In any pair or group, they also have to sort out who is going to be the boss. If you have two strong-willed rabbits both wanting to be boss you have got a real problem. If you have one who wants to be boss and the other tends to be laid back, or if you have 2 laid back buns, then you are ok. This is the same for females. Ideally the very best pairing and the easiest pairing of 2 rabbits is male to female.

You might want to check out www.rabbit.org
this is a free site and they have wonderful insight into rabbit care and are the current experts in having rabbits as pet.
Good luck.

I think if I were you I'd keep a close eye on them for the next several weeks and monitor them closely. Be sure one really isn't bullying the other.

[Orca]

I have always read that they are territorial and that two shouldn't be housed together because of potential fights...although there are bound to be exceptions.
When I had both my girls, one would start fights with the other and try to dominate over her...so they had to be separated. They were bought at the same place, same litter, a day apart.

[ashleycat]

i think im gonna have to sep them, sure they look happy, but i found another bite wound, and when i was holding drew, roby was in his cage just runnin an binkin like he was happy he was gone, but when i put him back, roby was grooming drew... im confused, but i dont want drew to get hurt anymore... :( but roby needs attention, hes a destructive bunny, should i get him a female?
a spayed one at that..

both boys are neutered.... but roby acts like hes KING OF THE CASTLE, lol.. drew is soooo mommas boy.

[Daisylover]

Ideally, I'd get 2 spayed female bunnies, one for each boy.

Otherwise the boy without a girlfriend is going to be jealous and there's no telling how he might react.....He could either fight the other male for the female, he could possibly go after the female and fight with her, or he could get depressed or destructive and angry (it's kind of similar to someone on the outside watching the "in" group be cool and have fun, but not being able to join them).

It won't matter if you have the boys in 2 diff. cages, they can still hear, see and smell each other. And a single moment of carelessness can create a dangerous situation. In addition, chances are you will end up spending more time with the couple (especially when the female first comes home) and the 3rd bunny will be ignored. Remember bunnies are very social and if they do not have one of their own kind as a friend, they need a lot of attention from their human.

You should go to www.rabbit.org and read up on bonding. You might want to try to stick it out keeping the boys together for a bit longer, but again, this pairing of 2 boys together is usually the least successful match.

The key to a successful pairing is simple but not well-known....... It is preferable that you let your boy pick out his new wife! Don't just bring home any old female as you run a risk that they both want to be the boss bunny and therefore will never get along. Then you'll have yet another problem on your hands.

The chances for a succesful bonding will increase dramatically if they can meet somewhere without distractions of noise, other rabbits in the immediate area and especially when they are not in their own space/house/cage. Because buns are territorial, chances are if you bring in a new rabbit, the bunny who "owns" the space may become aggressive in order to protect HIS cage/room, whatever. So introductions in neutral space are key. Each introduction will be different depending on both rabbits personality....again I strongly recommend that you go rabbit.org and read up on introductions and bonding. Good luck!

[ashleycat]

i used to live at rabbit.org, i also went to the chat, i am drewbunnymore there... they look happy, and sleep and groom with each other. theyve been together for 7 months now. i guess they just got sick of each other, ive noticed it has gotten worse since i expanded their cage.. is it too big? or should i add a story to it, so one bunny can go upstairs if he wants? how do i find the wife? do i take them up to a rescue with me? to find one?

roby is younger and is rambunctious (sp)? drew is laid back mommas boy

when i got them, i didnt know much about buns, now ive had them for 2 years.drew was my 1st one, he was adult when i got him, then came roby a baby. they were sep untill they both got neutered. a few months after roby got done put them together, they seemed fine, mounting but not fighting. then they cuddled.

i dont think my hubby would let me get 2 new buns..

[ashleycat]

if.. i did get 2 girls, should i have 2 cages, or can i have 4 in one if the cage is big enough?

[Orca]

I don't know about adding the girls...but if you're afraid they'll get lonely or miss each other, you can still let them have supervised play time together :)

[ashleycat]

that sounds more like a better idea, ok, now should i get smaller cages for them to sleep in at night, and put them in big for day to play? or i was thinking of addind some to cage, put a sliding door. to open when they unsep

[Orca]

I don't know what other rabbit owners do with their bunnies. But with Erin, she has a good sized cage (shown below) and is litter box trained. She stays in her cage when I'm not around, but when I'm home and can keep an eye on her, she comes out to play for at least a few hours, having run of the house. So maybe you could do something like that with yours? This is just what I do, you should try to get other opinions to see what would be best for you and your bunnies :)

http://store1.yimg.com/I/yhst-67835158275721_1837_18602520

[ashleycat]

i just had a baby 5 months ago, thats why i made huge nic cage and put them together..

[Daisylover]

From what you are saying I think I would be tempted to leave the 2 boys together for now and not try to get one of them a wife. That will probably be adding fuel to the fire (more to fight about).

Mounting is also a dominance behavior so it sounds like your one bun is trying to reinforce to the other that he is the boss.

I'm puzzled about why they never fought prior to enlarging their cage. I guess the fighting could be a combination of the one bunny insisting he is the boss as well as having the increased territory. I would not make the cage smaller. All manufactured rabbit cages are too small for rabbits, no matter what size the cage is..... think about it: you have a very active animal(s), that naturally want to run, skip, hop, do binkies and play constantly. Any confinement is too small for them. In an ideal home, they wouldn't be caged at all....unfortunately that is not realistic in most homes. Rather than enlarge the cage again, if it isn't too late, I would suggest you build or purchase an exercise pen and, if possible, have it attached to the sides of the cage so that it extends away from the cage and gives them a "backyard" to play in. In the pet stores they are sold as puppy pens, usually octagon in shape. I've seen nice, heavy pens which I recommend. Some stores sell flimsy light-weight wire pens which are probably more for hamsters and guinea pigs; they don't work well for buns. I think the smallest heavy duty puppy pen I've seen gives them 6 feet of space while the fencing is 24 inches high. There are 4-5 larger sized of pens in addition to this smallest one which go up in area and height. Many rescue groups and the House Rabbit Society prefer these pens to cages as they do give the buns more room and are usually less expensive than the largest cage that pet stores have for sale. Plus they are portable. I think combining the cage with the puppy pen is the best of both worlds: rabbits tend to feel safer in their cages and will often retreat to them when they have been allowed out in a room, yet they have the extra space to move around and be safe in.

If you decide to look for a female I would first check to see if there are any rabbit rescue groups in your area. You could also try your local humane society or animal shelter. Unfortunately with Easter just having past there will soon be a lot of unwanted rabbits that were given as impulse holiday gifts that are no longer wanted. The last place to get a rabbit from is a pet store or breeder since there is already such a significant problem with homeless rabbits. Rabbits are being abandoned or put down at humane socieites/shelters at an unprecendented rate and where do all these excess, unwanted rabbits come from???? Impulse buyers, breeders and pet stores.

I hope my comments help you some. I would go back to the HRS website and read up again on caging, bonding and introductions though. Good luck.