Rabbits - Companions

Question
Hi Lee,
I have a female rabbit about 3 mths old. I got her about 11wks. She has been acting out, biting, being a bit not nice at times. So we were thinking of desexing her. We also felt she needed a companion as we are out in the day. So we found her a male about 7 wks? They get along great, am actually concerned too great. I don't want them to breed, but want them to share space when I am not around. Vets said I can't desex either of them till they are 6mths. Can they breed if they are together before then? When do I need to separate them? Thanks Kylie

Answer
Hi Kylie,

I'd keep them separated as of right now.  Sexual maturity can occur between 3-6 months for boys, 4-6 months for girls (general rules).

Sounds like your gal already may be sexually mature.  Especially if the aggression occurs largely when she's in her cage and you are putting hands in there.  Spaying her will also increase her lifespan two-fold.  Normally they die at 5-6 from uterine cancer.  Spayed she can live 10-12 years as an indoor house rabbit.

Having your pets fixed will greatly reduce if not eliminate this hormonally driven aggression.  Males generally don't get as aggressive as they do desirous to mate, or spray their loved one.  

The vet gave you a general rule of 6 months.  When you notice testicles on your male (you'll see them from behind as he's hopping away) and when you notice his behavior change to doing a lot of honking and running little circles around your feet, he's hit sexual maturity and can be neutered (unless he has a health problem at the moment that precludes surgery).  With females it usually is better to wait a bit to ensure they have hit maturity.  Usually behavior changes indicate sexual maturity.

In the meantime, keep them in separate cages, housed next to each other so they can see each other.  You will have to wait a month after the last one's surgery to begin the bonding process.  Takes a month for rabbits to get their hormone levels down to their new low and adjust to it.  And you will have to take bonding slowly because even though they get along 'great' now, it's because of hormones they get along great, not that they truly like each other.  You will need to bond them over weeks/months, possibly, before you are confident of letting them stay together without fighting.

The House Rabbit Society web page (www.rabbit.org) has excellent articles on bonding, fixing your rabbit, and vets that share the philosophy of HRS and are recommended for procedures.  Spend some time checking out their resources.

Lee