How to know whether to seperate pregnant females?

[CiaraPatricia]

I have two female lionheads about 5 months old, not sisters but have been living together for three months and are bonded.

My male rabbit got into their hutch so they might be pregnant now. I did want to breed from them sometime, but obviously he decided he knew best and they were ready to breed now! And managed to open the hutch . . .

I'd like to keep them together if I can, since they get on so well. They'll have quite a big cage (I'm thinking 6ft X 5.5ft) and seperate nesting boxes and all.

They're still very friendly and groom each other all the time, but in the last two days one has started to mount the other one, which they never did before the male got in to them.

Is this a sign they might start fighting? Or is it because of being pregnant? Or maybe that she isn't pregnant but now wants to mate? :?

Another problem is one of the rabbits (not the one that is mounting) has tried to attack another rabbit's babies before when she was near them, so is she likely to do that again? Or would she probably be ok if she was around the babies since they were born?

Does it sound like they would probably stay friends, or are going to start fighting, or could it go either way?

I hope someone can help, and thanks

 

[wooly_queen]

Young rabbits usually get along pretty well, but once they hit seniors (6 months) it can be tricky... they are mature and wanting to mate. Personalities in the does change and some does can get very "mean" once they want to be bred. Plus they try to show dominance over each other.

Even baby rabbits can be a bit mean... lol I tried to put my 4 month old thriantas in with the 3 month old jersey woolies to play in a big pen... the one thrianta buck tried to fight with a little wooly!

So I would keep an eye on them since they now get the gist of what breeding is and are close to becoming adults. Mood swings may be in the future! So who knows how a whole pregnancy and birth would go if they were together. If they start fighting then you may need to divide the cage for them or get another one for the other doe.

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Thanks

I think I'll just watch them closely so, if they start fighting then I can divide them easily. But hopefully they don't. I'm prepared that there's a good chance they will fight though.

 

[leo9lionheads]

I would separate them now, lionheads as mothers are very good, sometimes so good that they are very protective over their babies and "territory", since one has began to show dominance over the other this is probably leading to the end of them living together. In some cases they can be housed together after litters but they will have to be rebonded in a neutral area first.

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Thanks

I think I'll see if the dominance continues over the next few days, or gets worse, and seperate them if it does. I was thinking it was a bad sign. But the good news is I have two seperate cages ready for them.

 

[Jaded]

They should be fine, i have some bonded rabbits, they would probaly share a next too that would be cute

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Thanks

I'll see how it goes. And just seperate them if they fight I think.

I was talking to someone who had 5 bonded breeding does who raise all the kits together, and that made me more hopeful. But then talking to someone whose doe had attacked other kits

 

[Debacus]

I think it's a case of wait and see. I've heard of similar stories of mother/sister/daughters all raising litters in the same cage. Albeit that they sometimes robbed each other of fur for their own nests!

 

[CiaraPatricia]

They have plenty of fur no probably no worries there!

 

[CiaraPatricia]

Now if they are pregnant, they'd be about 2-3 weeks pregnant. I think they might be because one has been digging a bit and has sometimes growled/whined at me, and one has growled at the male a few times (in a different cage).

Anyway, they still seem to be friends, but one of them keeps chasing the other when they're in their run. She's not attacking her, she seems to be doing it playfully (while binkying too!) but the other one is getting scared and running away. Then a few minutes later they're lying near each other eating grass or grooming each other. So I dunno . . . I'm just keeping an eye on them.

I really want them to stay together, because then they can have twice as much space, and company, but I'll see how they do.