Rabbits that wont sleep

Question
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Followup To
Question -
Last year we adopted a rabbit, great attitude, loves to be held, crazy for affection, the whole nine yards.  In the last three weeks we purchased another rabbit with the same qualities (appproximatly 2-3 months).  The two of them seemed to of bonded very quickly.  The new cage seems to be an issue with them though.  One will go in the hutch, the other will follow, then the first will run out being careful not to touch the floor and run for the litter box.  The little one will follow from the hutch to the litterbox causing the big one to run back to the hutch.  This will go on for hours at night.  I will give you some of the other info you may need in list form below.  Thank you.

Large rabbit female(almost 2 years)
small rabbit male (2-3 months old)
indoor cage 46x22x20 with an attached hutch 15x10x10
both in same cage
We have a smaller cage for our camper with indoor and outdoor access.  They did fine in that one.
         
Answer -
Jerry, Excellent detail. I can't give you any specifics, but I can cite some generalities. First, rabbits ARE nocturnal. They will stay up all night long, and usually sleep in the daytime. That is their normal schedule and it will not change. In the natural setting, a 3 month old male is almost ready to breed. He is usually at a point where he will set up a 'territory' of his own. In large herds of show rabbits, the males and females always have separate cages. The female is always taken to the males cage for breeding, as he 'gets down to business'  and doesn't spend time 'marking his territory'. If he goes to her cage, he is often distracted because he wants to spray urine around and 'mark' the area before he breeds.

Your little buck may be actually acclimating to the fact that she is there and he is unsure how to 'react'. I am guessing they are actullay doing a prolonged 'mating dance'. It usually ends when he places his head on her flank, she places her head on his, and they circle, head to tail, very close to each other for about two minutes. Then, she stops, he mounts her, and in about 10 seconds the act is over.

Your choices are simple. You can separate them now, or separate them later, OR you can have him neutered. (You may already have a pregnant doe....If so, in 30 days, you'll have babies, and you do NOT want the buck near them. he'll normally huirt them, she will fight with him, and it will be unpleasant.)  This nightime chasing activity seems to me to be natural behavior for rabbits. (The does are induced ovulators, which means she will drop the eggs once she copulates, and that is what causes the problems.)

Having two animals of the same sex is understandible as pets, but if you got a male, I am guessing you figured this was possibly going to be an issue. They would naturally not be sharing the same pen for very long, in any case, without a 'mishap' occurring. I suggest it is time to split them up, or take measures to prepare to be in the bunny business. (I have 64 rabbit holes (cages) and believe me, it doesn't take long to fill them up if you don't 'manage' your bucks and does!)  Hope this helps. Steve


Steve, thank you for your quick response.  The only thing I did not mention is that she is spayed and we are looking to neuter him.  I have not yet checked as to what age I can do that to him, but our intentions are ASAP. Will this help and are they going to get along well enough to be in the cage together?  Is seperating them inevitable?  Noctural as they are does not bother us.  We just dont want to lose the great attitude of our largest rabbit by having her annoyed.

Answer
Jerry, Yes, that is a useful bit of information. Now that you have explained that she is spayed, that even makes the explanation earlier more viable. He knows what he wants to do, and she wants none of it! You are actually going into territory I have not personally encountered before with rabbits but animals basically express the same behaviors regardless of species (and I'd extend that comment even to people!). Getting him neutered now would NOT be a bad idea.

I used to castrate young goats within the first couple of days, as they healed very well at that early age and had no idea what they were missing. (Of course, I have also castrated them at 18 months with no ill effects, except they had sexual identity by that time, but I have never done a rabbit at any age.)

If I were a betting person, I'd bet that he'll lose the instinct to breed within a few weeks/month after neutering, but I would get it done as early as the vet will do it. Other animals often get into an instinctive breeding mindset if they are allowed to mature, and even if they are later neutered, the mind is already programmed to be a pest to the females. I appreciate what you are seeking to do, and feel that it is doable, with a large probability of success.   Best Wishes, Steve