Maturity

Question
Hello,

I have a beautiful pair of sibling rabbits I got from a friend from school. I
started researching rabbits when they were born and they are now 10 weeks
old, so I have sufficient new rabbit owner knowledge. I got them a week ago
and they are already affectionate and litter box trained! I was wondering
though, because we don't know if they are boys or girls, and we don't want
more surprise babies, what are the main signs of rabbit maturity?

I know that aggression, mounting behavior and chinning are signs, but they
already chin, and I don't know what classifies as aggressive. I planned on
separating them at 14 weeks or when I started seeing mature behavior,
whichever came first, is that a good idea? What is a good plan?

Those are my two questions, thank you!

Jason

Answer
Hi Jason,

it is normal practice to separate rabbits at 10 weeks.  I would strongly adivse doing that whether there are signs they are sexually mature or not.  

Some signs are cage aggression increasing in females, males will possibly mount your hand/forearm or leg, you will probably see testicles at some point on a male (under their tails, from the back), and for both they will increase markings and they may spray you.

I cannot mor strongly urge and recommend you spay and neuter your rabbits soon after sexual maturity, and keep them separated until they are all fixed and 4-6 weeks has gone by from the last operation.  There is no need for additional pet quality rabbits in the world, over 40,000 perfectly fine domestic pet rabbits are put down each year because people get tired of them.

The key is a good rabbit vet - not all are.  Start here:

www.rabbit.org/vets/vets.html

and find a House Rabbit Society recommended vet near you.

Lee