# Getting 2 littermates... what gender(s)?



## RobnAud (Apr 4, 2010)

Hi everyone,

Just waiting for our bunnies to mature enough to be taken home. We're getting 2 littermates. Initially, we planned on purchasing 2 does because we have 2 daughters who are very girly and wanted to bring home sisters. When we mentioned this to our breeder, we were toldthere's a better chance of 2 bucks getting along because does tend to fight a bit more as they hit puberty. We were also told bucks can fight as well, but does tend to be more feisty and territorial with age. So we decided to get 2 bucks.

BUT Iplan on spaying/neutering whatever we get.. both of them. I feel it's healthier and leads to less unwanted behaviours and stronger bonding.

Since we don't have the kits yet, I still have a chance to pick their gender. So I though I'dask all of you this question... what gender littermates do you think would make the best pair to bring home... given that we will be fixing both.

You should also know that... From my reading, I keep seeing that male-female pairs make the strongest bonds, but I am extremely hesitant to bring home a doe and buck because I'm afraid the doe might get impregnated before I can get the buck fixed. I only have one cage and can't afford another one. And I really don't want to keep them separated. So, I'd like to get 2 females or 2 males. UNLES you can suggest or reassure me that I'd be able to get the buck neutered before the doe could get pregnant.


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## kirbyultra (Apr 4, 2010)

I've been told that 2 girls are quite difficult to bond unless they are littermates, then they have more of a shot at it. It's true that girls tend to become more territorial as they grow up, but if you spay them right when you start to see signs of the hormonal stages kicking in and get them spayed, they may never get the chance to get catty andunbond. I don't know about "stronger" or "weaker" bonds correlating with the gender pairing of the bond, haven't read anything solid about that specifically. But we do know the odds of a female/male pair bonding is usually more likely than a same sex pair.

But consider this: often times, when you get bunnies from a breeder and they tell you it's 2 boys, they turn out to be girl/boy anyway.... they try to sex the bunnies at a young age as best as they can but sometimes, mistakes just happen because their parts are quite small when they are that young.


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## delusional (Apr 4, 2010)

We have three boys from Cordie's litter that have lived together since birth - they've never had a serious fight, just a couple of little dominance scuffles as they 'grew up'.

We got them all neutered at the same time at around 6 months old.

I have to say that whenever scuffles or fights start between any of my other bonded bunners (though none of the others are bonded to a littermate, or a same gender pair), it is _usually_ the female starting it. I think they are generally a lot more territorial than boys, and you are possibly more likely to get scuffles or fights before you spay.

Having said that, I know that there are many people who have female pairs and don't have problems, especially after they have been spayed.

I think mostly, it will depend on the personalities of the bunnies you get. I would suggest looking for the two in the litter who seem to 'hang out' together, and keeping a close eye on their relationship in the few months before you can get them neutered/spayed.


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## grumpybabies (Apr 4, 2010)

I've had and currently got unspayed sisters living together with no fighting whatsoever, i've also had brother together but they did start fighting until i had them neutered, some then carried on living together and some had to be seperated permanently (i had 2 litters with boys in), and then i also was in the same situation and bought a brother sister combination, i got the male neutered as soon as i could and the sister didn't get pregnant but they were larger breeds so the females mature later. In my experience i would actually go for the sisters, because i've experienced at least 2 different lots of each pairing and surprisingly it was the females i had no bother with at all, even a group of 3.


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## elrohwen (Apr 4, 2010)

I would go with the two boys. For one, they can be neutered fairly early (at 3 months) before the hormones really kick in. Females can't be spayed until about 6 months, though the hormones typically kick in around 5 months - so you might have a period of fighting and aggression between two females during that time. *Hopefully* you could avoid that with boys by getting them neutered as soon as their testicals drop.

Female-female is a tough bond, even if they were sisters, and males tend to be more laid back. 

I do agree with Helen though - it's easy to mis-sex two baby bunnies and you may actually end up with a boy and a girl. I would take them to a vet and double and triple check the genders.


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## RobnAud (Apr 4, 2010)

Thanks everyone for the comments so far. I never even thought that a breeder could get the gender wrong. How naive I am! I'll take your advice and make sure of the gender as soon as I can with a vet. Great advice!


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## JadeIcing (Apr 4, 2010)

*RobnAud wrote: *


> Thanks everyone for the comments so far. I never even thought that a breeder could get the gender wrong. How naive I am! I'll take your advice and make sure of the gender as soon as I can with a vet. Great advice!


Haha ask the breeders here. They will tell you.


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## Never2ManyBunnies (Apr 4, 2010)

> I'll take your advice and make sure of the gender as soon as I can with a vet.




Just thought I would mention that sometimes even the vets can get it wrong. I took my three young rabbits (around 8-10 weeks) to the vet and he sexed them -two girls and one boy. When they were about 6 months old,they went back for spays and a neuter. I received a phone call that day that my boy was a girl! And this was witha rabbit savvy vet.


Anyway, good luck with the new babies!! :bunnydance:


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## kirbyultra (Apr 4, 2010)

*Never2ManyBunnies wrote: *


> Just thought I would mention that sometimes even the vets can get it wrong.


Also, so true! You'd think that breeders would know and vets would know for sure. But seriously the parts are so small at 8-10 weeks, it's hard to see what's poking out when you are checking.


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## kirbyultra (Apr 4, 2010)

*Never2ManyBunnies wrote: *


> Just thought I would mention that sometimes even the vets can get it wrong.


Also, so true! You'd think that breeders would know and vets would know for sure. But seriously the parts are so small at 8-10 weeks, it's hard to see what's poking out when you are checking.


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## aurora369 (Apr 4, 2010)

If you can get good pictures of the genitals, you can post them in the Rabbitry, and you can get multiple opinions. 

You can get a boy and a girl, but you must have a vet who is willing to do an early neuter. If you get the boy neuter at 3-4 months, then that should be before the girl is matured enough to get pregnant. If you vet is comfortable doing an earlier spay as well, you can get them both done at 4 months verses waiting until 6 months when they are fully sexually matured.

This is how one of our local rescues does it. They keep the litters together and neuter the boys and the mom as soon as the boys show any signs of testicles and then spay the girls a month or so after.

If a vet is good, he can tease the testicles out when they are at the early stages of sexual maturity. Rabbits are very good at sucking their testicles up into their body even when fully matured.

So, when you get your buns, keep checking their sexes at least once a week. As soon as you see any sign of a testicle, get them in to the vet for their neuter.

-Dawn


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## elrohwen (Apr 4, 2010)

Also, some males do have their testicles descended by 8 weeks. I was nervous about my first bun because I really wanted a boy, but I took him to the vet the day after bringing him home and he already had little bunny man parts, so the sexing on him was a piece of cake. It's much trickier when the testicles haven't descended yet.


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