giant lop house rabbits

Question
QUESTION: hello i bought  what i thought was 2 does  from the pet shop 8 weeks ago   now last sunday 1 of them gave birth!  i  now have a litter of 2.  it is very difficult to keep the male apart and im afraid he may have mated her again    she is just 18 weeks old and her babies are 8 days  both of them chew dig and spray everywhere  i have tried to  litter train them    they have there own cage at night   up until she gave birth   i thought they were both female   the other rabbit was constantly on top  of her   i thought it  was just showing dominance  in fact she was a he!  is the pet shop liable  as they sold them to  me at does? they are destroying my home they have chewed through cables  floorboards and carpet!  my husband wants to  give them back to pet shop and get a refund   now we have babies   i love them there cute   but they are destroying our home   i have tried lots of toys  treats etc use a spray deterrent  nothing works   any advice?

ANSWER: hello jayne

It is very unusual for the pet shop to get the sex of animals wrong. it is up to you what you wish to do about this as the pet shop should have made sure what sex they were and got it right. it may be possible that she is pregnant again which is really not good, it will cause your bunny so much stress as she already has babies to look a after and also its very likely that the other litter will not survive.

if they are distroying your home then i wouldnt have them as house rabbits, out door rabbits can have just as much fun as you can also buy them a large rabbit run so they can dailey exercise.

hope this helps

sarah



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: mine are giant lops and were sold as house rabbits   i thought they were not allowed to live outside?  if they can then it would help us a great deal as our home would be safe  and we could still keep the rabbits.  they are not innoculated yet. would you reccommend me neutering the male? would i need some kind of cover or blanket to put over the run and hutches if i kept  them outside?

Answer
hello

any rabbit can live in or outside, im sure they will be fine outside as long as they have a large hutch and run.

yes, if you would like them to live together and not to have any more babies then i would neuter your male, it will take about 6 weeks for him to heal properly before putting him back with the female.

for my cages outside when it is cold i use some old towls or even curtains or sheets to keep them warm and dry.

sarah