After neutering

Question
Hi, a year and a half ago i bought 2 female rabbits from the pet shop. About a month after one died. In September of this year i decided buy another female to keep mine company. 2 days before Halloween i discovered my new female rabbit had given birth to 4 babies! My first rabbit had been humping her and nipping at her before the babies and after, so i took him to the vet last Friday to be neutered. He was fine and quiet the first 2 days after neutering, but is now biting and humping the female rabbit again. Did the neutering not work? Or will i have to separate them? Also as i was not planning on breeding rabbits i don't have separate cages, is it safe to leave the male around the babies?

Answer
Dear Jenny,

Not only will it take several weeks for the neuter to calm him, but it's also likely that the female is pregnant again if he has been mounting her. Viable sperm can survive inside the male's body for 1-4 weeks (depending on the individual).  So please read these articles for help:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/surpriselitter.html

And separate the parents until the male has calmed down enough to be reintroduced.  Be sure they can see/smell each other and don't become so unfamiliar with each other that they fight upon reintroduction.  If that happens, there are bonding techniques you can use here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=bonding

Hope that helps.

Dana