Paw Talk - Pet Forums banner

Question about keeping rabbits together...

2K views 5 replies 4 participants last post by  Jennicat 
#1 ·
I work at a barn and we have 2 bunnies, male and female. The one, the female, Vicious(who really isn't, just irony), has been around the barn for a few years, and the male, Nibbles, we just got. Well, the original plan when we got them was that Nibbles was a girl and would live with Viscous, however we found out he was not. I obviously know if we put them together we'd have bunny babies, but I was wondering if we neutered the younger male, would they be able to live together? Or do they both have to be fixed? I just don't feel it is safe to put the older female under the stress of the spaying, but the male is only a year and a half and I think he'd take it better. So is it fine for only one to be fixed, ro do both have to? Thanks.


TS

P.S. Our plan was to keep both outside, but still in the barn, in a large hutch.
 
#2 ·
It can work if the male is neutered and the female isnt depending on the bunny! I currently have a neutered male living with an un spayed female and they get on just fine but some female bunnies can be just as nasty as males when they are in heat if they dont get any so to speak!!!
 
#3 ·
I had an unspayed female with a neutered male for years, they were VERY bonded, but for health reasons I wish I had spayed my littlebunny girl
 
#4 ·
It's much better to spay the girl if you have to make a choice between one or the other. Female rabbits develop ovarian cancer 80% of the time. It can quickly spread and get into their other organs, causing them a young and unpleasant death.

Ideally, you should fix both, because that ensures the greatest success in bonding, however.
 
#5 ·
I know, the problem arises that this bunny (super sweet btw, has never bit in her life) has been living at the barn for at least 4 years, probably more, but I can only vow for those and when I got there she was not young. She has to be something like 5 or 6. Wouldn't it not be very good for an older rabbit like this to get spayed? I know the risk about cancer and such, we got our bunny at home spayed for such reasons, but it seems for this rabbit it would be unsafe to get her spayed. See, its a horse barn, and I really am going to have to look for donations to get then neutering done. If they can't live together, chances are we'll have to find a new home for the boy. At the moment they live in adjacent cages, and they touch noses and everything. This females is very mellow, even in heat she doesn't get very aggressive or jumpy or anything. I let her out to play and she usually stays in one little area investigating.

My plan was to try to get donations for neutering Nibbles. I could try for donations for spaying Vicious, but I am concerned about the safety of the procedure.

P.S. IF the male is neutered, will it stop most of the humping? Or will they still try? IT seems to me that if I only spay the female, he'll still try to breed, or am I wrong?
 
#6 ·
We've spayed rabbits as old as 8-9 years of age. If you have a good vet and she's in otherwise good health (I'd get bloodwork done beforehand), I think it's important. If she has cancer, you may be able to catch it before it spreads, or she may have not yet developed it, and you can save her the heartache.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top