# how to ease the separation of young sibling bunnies?



## SnowyShiloh (Aug 5, 2011)

So, Sunday is the dreaded day! I have to separate Maximus and Mabel. They will be 10 weeks old and have been together their whole lives since they're brother and sister. They love each other and snuggle all the time and get in trouble together so I know they will miss each other a lot  The plan is to separate them but keep their cages right next to each other so they can still sniff each other, and I will probably do cage swaps so they're still used to each others scent. Then as soon as Max's testicles descend, we will get him neutered and then wait 1 month before re-introducing them.

Does anyone know how to ease the transition of them being alone? Any ideas for keeping them as familiar with each other as possible during this time? I plan to give each bunny some new toys and give them both extra attention but that will only go so far and I'm sure they'll still miss each other.

Also, would it be safe at all to let them play together on the futon with 100% supervision from my husband and myself? We would be within arm's reach of them at all times and have our attention on them fully. And not let them on the floor or anything. Plus like I said we're getting Max neutered ASAP so he may not even have the chance to produce sperm before the balls go bye bye.

Thanks!


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## hillrise (Aug 5, 2011)

Sounds like you got the right plan. It should be okay for them to play around each other under full supervision--just separate them if he starts to lift his front end while within reach of her--even in the wrong direction.

Just keep in mind that I have seen a kit that was only 8 weeks old end up siring a litter (might have been younger...all I remember for certain is that the doe was 8 weeks old, and he was from another litter)--rabbits are never too young to reproduce.


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## SnowyShiloh (Aug 5, 2011)

I'm pretty sure Mabel isn't going to get pregnant today or tomorrow. She's still so little! Maximus's testicles haven't descended yet and I have not seen any mating behavior at all- if I did, they would be separated immediately! I definitely understand your concern though, I would be concerned too


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## Nancy McClelland (Aug 5, 2011)

Hutch was trying to hump everything way before his testicles showed up and then disappeared permanently. We keep ours in Hutches about 3 inches apart. That way they can see each other, lay fairly close, and socialize with out the worry of pregnancy or fighting.


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## Korr_and_Sophie (Aug 5, 2011)

Put the cages next to each other. This is so they can still see and smell each other without the direct contact. A shared wall that is mesh could be good to keep the close while preventing mating.
Swapping blankets between the cage can be good so they still have the smell of the other close by. You could get some small blankets and just use those rather than big ones. 

I would be iffy about letting them out together even while supervised. Rabbits can mate successfully in a flash. You could turn your back and they can be done. Since both are still young, a pregnancy is not really something you would want to risk and deal with. 

Personally, I would still not have them in the same cage until she is spayed and healed. It is a lot of stress to separate them now, rebond them after the neuter and have to separate them again once she is spayed. Once he is neutered and safe, they can play together, but i would hold off on the full bonding until she is done as well. This does set them up for success.


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## SnowyShiloh (Aug 6, 2011)

Kate, I hadn't thought of separating them until she's spayed. How much of a benefit would that really be? My vet doesn't spay until 6 months and with the month of healing that would be almost 5 months of them being separated. 

Would I keep them apart until she's recovered from her spay just so we don't have to worry about him accidentally hurting her while she heals or are they likely to have problems getting along before she's spayed?


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## tamsin (Aug 6, 2011)

I wouldn't risk any contact without bars between, it literally takes seconds and then you have a nightmare to deal with kits. Also, keep in mind, no testicles doesn't mean not fertile yet. They can be fertile before they drop.

A soft toy each might give them something to cuddle up to and you could swap them over instead of the whole cage.

I take it you can't find a vet to do an earlier? Girls can be neutered once they reach 1kg so 3-4 months if you have an experienced vet.


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## SnowyShiloh (Aug 7, 2011)

Tamsin, there's only one vet within 300 miles that I would trust to spay my bunnies and she likes to wait until 6 months. If we waited until the bunnies reached 1 kg, Kerensa would never get spayed because she's well under that at over a year old  

As a side note, we're going to get Kerensa and Macie spayed at the same time. I've been putting it off with Kerensa because there was no way she could get pregnant (didn't have an intact male until we got Maximus) and the surgery worries so much. Might as well get them both done at the same time!


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## SnowyShiloh (Aug 9, 2011)

The babies are separated. I felt like a big meanie but it's for their own good. They can still see and sniff each other! We're going to do daily cage swaps so they remain used to each other. Each bunny got a new cardboard box to chew up and Paul bought them little stuffed animals at the store (a horse for Maximus and a piggy for Macie). They do miss each other which makes me sad but I think they'll be okay. This is the first time I've ever had 2 rabbits that actually like each other and we so enjoyed watching them together for the past month! Here's a picture of them snuggling the other day:







Max-Max is the brown one and Macie aka Mabel is the black one


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