MeganRB96
New Member
Hello everyone,
The purpose of this post is mostly for reassurance, I'm not sure if I have done the right thing or not, or advice if there is something I could do differently.
I have two young male rabbits, around 6/7 months old, and they have been together since they were babies. I have had them for about 3 months now and they have always got on beautifully. The slightly larger boy would occasionally hump the smaller one, but this was rare and didn't seem to cause any distress to the smaller rabbit and I thought this was just a display of dominance and the smaller one does not challenge him. Otherwise, they like to cuddle up together, groom each other, share treats and toys well, and generally happy as can be.
They are both due to be neutered on the 30th of March (finance and time amongst other things have prevented me from doing this sooner) but yesterday I noticed that there was a significant amount of fur scattered around the hutch (no signs of physical harm to either rabbit) and the larger rabbit was constantly humping the smaller one. The humping wasn't causing any adverse fighting behaviour, e.g. circling, chasing, etc. but I assumed there had been a brawl of some kind at some point as both were quite reserved and seemed on edge, and they seemed quite tense with each other. I watched them for a while and the humping escalated and was continuous, though I would not describe the behaviour as aggressive, it just looked like typical dominance behaviour from the larger bunny with the smaller one submitting (he wasn't trying to challenge his dominance or fight back).
I decided to separate the rabbits before it turned nasty as I didn't want either of them to get hurt. They are currently in two separate cages and they can see and smell one another. As said before, the point of this post is mostly for reassurance that I have done the right thing, or for advice on what I could do differently. Both rabbits seem to be okay at the moment, they are grooming themselves, eating well, playing with toys, and flopping over and laying down as close as they can to one another, and there isn't any signs of aggression.
As I have managed to separate them early before any fighting escalated and have kept them so that they can still see and smell each other, do you think that their chance of rebonding after being neutered is good? (I will of course keep them separate after neutering to ensure their stitches have a chance to heal properly). How long does it typically take for their hormones to settle? Will they need to be rebonded before putting them back into their hutch together (very large hutch with big indoor space and large outdoor run attached) or will the fact that they can still constantly see each other help to maintain their bond whilst separated? Is there anything I can do to make the transition after neutering easier?
Any advice is much appreciated! I have owned rabbits for many years (my 7 year old lop had recently passed) but never had a pair of boys.
The purpose of this post is mostly for reassurance, I'm not sure if I have done the right thing or not, or advice if there is something I could do differently.
I have two young male rabbits, around 6/7 months old, and they have been together since they were babies. I have had them for about 3 months now and they have always got on beautifully. The slightly larger boy would occasionally hump the smaller one, but this was rare and didn't seem to cause any distress to the smaller rabbit and I thought this was just a display of dominance and the smaller one does not challenge him. Otherwise, they like to cuddle up together, groom each other, share treats and toys well, and generally happy as can be.
They are both due to be neutered on the 30th of March (finance and time amongst other things have prevented me from doing this sooner) but yesterday I noticed that there was a significant amount of fur scattered around the hutch (no signs of physical harm to either rabbit) and the larger rabbit was constantly humping the smaller one. The humping wasn't causing any adverse fighting behaviour, e.g. circling, chasing, etc. but I assumed there had been a brawl of some kind at some point as both were quite reserved and seemed on edge, and they seemed quite tense with each other. I watched them for a while and the humping escalated and was continuous, though I would not describe the behaviour as aggressive, it just looked like typical dominance behaviour from the larger bunny with the smaller one submitting (he wasn't trying to challenge his dominance or fight back).
I decided to separate the rabbits before it turned nasty as I didn't want either of them to get hurt. They are currently in two separate cages and they can see and smell one another. As said before, the point of this post is mostly for reassurance that I have done the right thing, or for advice on what I could do differently. Both rabbits seem to be okay at the moment, they are grooming themselves, eating well, playing with toys, and flopping over and laying down as close as they can to one another, and there isn't any signs of aggression.
As I have managed to separate them early before any fighting escalated and have kept them so that they can still see and smell each other, do you think that their chance of rebonding after being neutered is good? (I will of course keep them separate after neutering to ensure their stitches have a chance to heal properly). How long does it typically take for their hormones to settle? Will they need to be rebonded before putting them back into their hutch together (very large hutch with big indoor space and large outdoor run attached) or will the fact that they can still constantly see each other help to maintain their bond whilst separated? Is there anything I can do to make the transition after neutering easier?
Any advice is much appreciated! I have owned rabbits for many years (my 7 year old lop had recently passed) but never had a pair of boys.