# Humping brothers but underage...advice?



## Charlotteee95 (Aug 4, 2017)

I've got brothers who are just over 3 months old and in the past 2 days or so we've noticed mounting i.e humping occurring between the two and obviously we don't want any fighting and they've been bonded since they were tiny and we've had them since they were 11/12 weeks old. 
We don't really want to separate them due to the fact it can cause them to be un-bonded and also we have one big outdoor cage an in the last few days invested in a indoor area for them (when the weather gets bad) so we don't really have two separate areas.
I'm not sure if they're testicles have dropped?
We want to get them neutered hopefully in the next 1-2 weeks. 

Any advice?
Should i be overly worried?
I don't see any aggression in them, but i have noticed they have stuck together more than usual these past few days then i have seen them. I just obviously don't want any damage to be done or bonds to be broken etc..


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## Aki (Aug 4, 2017)

They are not bonded. All babies will get along until the hormones kick in that's all. Separate them right now until they are neutered AND healed, they could seriously hurt each other. Taking two males was also a pretty bad move - being brothers means nothing to rabbits and males generally don't get along as adults. So you need to be able to separate them anyway in case they never do, which is a real possibility. Also, having an indoor and outdoor area to move them around depending on the weather is not good, you'll make your rabbits sick. Either you put them outside, keeping in mind that they need to be in something very protected from the cold, the rain and draughts (and knowing that rabbits have to be at least 5 hours out of their cage everyday, so attaching a big run to a cage the rabbits can get in and out on their own is the best solution) or you put them inside. If you don't, your rabbits won't be able to stand the cold properly because they won't be able to get used to it and properly prepare themselves for it. I think keeping rabbits outside must only be done when no other solution is available. It makes them the targets of flies (if you don't know what a fly strike is, look it up) and other insects which can transmit illnesses to your bunnies. The rabbits will also attract rats and mice. And of course rabbits have trouble standing extreme weather, heat strokes make a lot more casualties than the cold, it kills rabbits on every forum I'm on every year - they do in the wild, but they live in burrows deep under the earth and well... there is a reason why the lifespan of a wild rabbit is around 18 months.
No offense, but you sound like you should get a lot more infos about rabbits. I recommend the house rabbit society website :http://rabbit.org/


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## ladysown (Aug 4, 2017)

the rabbits humping is just dominance stuff going on. you will need to separate them at some point (easily done by adding a divider to the cage, making the area HUGE (much bigger than you'd think necessary), and adding LOTS of hidey holes. Some bunnies work it out, others never do, you won't know....unfortunately those that never do can end up seriously injuring each other (and you really don't want to go there).

as to having an indoor-outdoor area... they will be FINE. Seriously.

And not sure what's with the HAVING to be out of the cage for five hours everyday. That sort of stuff is what causes people to give up their rabbits to dubious homes or become snake/dog food. Rabbits LIKE to be out of their cage but it's certainly NOT a requirement as long as your cage is big enough to accommodate the rabbits that you have. 

I'd be moving on getting them neutered sooner than later. Add the divider to their cage now and during the full month while they are healing, switching what side of the cage they are on every other day or so, and then reintroduce them in a very neutral area. then cross your fingers and hope they work it out. I've known several male-to-male bondings.


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## Blue eyes (Aug 4, 2017)

All babies get along. That doesn't mean they are bonded. But if that humping turns to fighting (which it usually does) than that _would_ prevent them from bonding for real in the future. 

The reason to separate them now is to prevent the fighting that would prevent bonding. Once they are both neutered, they may decide to get along, they may not. But if they don't, it won't have anything to do with separating them now. It will just be their adult personalities taking over.

The caution about switching from indoors to outdoors and back again has to do with a couple things. One is the temperature change. If there is a big difference between the outside and inside temps (in a place with cold winters, for example) then switching them can cause issues. Rabbits have a difficult time regulating their body temp. So if there is, say, a 15 or more degree difference, then switching them between those two temperatures is hard on them. If they are brought inside in the Fall and kept indoors until Spring, that is fine. The problem comes if trying to do it back and forth every day, every few days or every week. 

The other caution would be the stress toward change that rabbits have. Again, this would apply if switches are frequent. If it's a couple time per year, that's not so bad. 

Once they're neutered, do bear in mind that it can take up to 8 weeks after surgery for hormones to fully dissipate. If the two are put together too soon after neutering, that can cause them to fight (hormones still influencing them) and _that_ could prevent them from bonding. So don't be in a rush to put them back together (contrary to what many vets will say).


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