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Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A New with house bunnies – help?!

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    • Annabel93
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        Hello, I’ve just signed up to this forum as I’m desperate for some on advice from experience rabbit owners!

        I’ve had my 3 bunnies (Bill, Ted and Rufus) for about a month now. They’re about 3.5 months old. Basically my problem is that for the most part they are litter trained now – they live in my bedroom and get shut in a cage at night which has a tray in that they use, and I have 3 trays around my room for when they’re out and about. They’re not 100% with the training as there is still the odd poop on the floor but the majority goes in the litter tray and they never pee on the floor.

        BUT they have a thing where they all get desperate to get on my bed so they can use it as a litter tray?! I’ve started banning them from the bed by clapping when they come up and guiding them off, then praising them when they get down (is that the right thing to do?). But as soon as I leave the room – even just to go to the loo or something, they all hop up and pee and poo all over it! They get shut in their cage when i’m out for a long time but it would be such a hassle to get them iin every time I leave the room for a minute.

        Does anyone know why they do this andhow to stop it? They’re all un neutered males btw.


      • Valkyrie
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          If they are 3.5 months old than their hormones are probably kicking in and this sounds territorial (because of their persistence). Just because they are bonded now doesn’t mean that they won’t start fighting once they hit puberty; in all liklihood they will start fighting soon and will need to be housed separately until after they are neutered. One of the few things all bunny owners agree on, whether they are breeders, house bunny advocates, or traditional/livestock keepers, it is that you never house unneutered males together. They will fight and they can kill eachother.

          You should start calling local bunny savvy vets now and booking their appointments. After they are neutered, they will have to continue to be housed separately for one month while they go through the hormone changes and their incisions heal. Most vets won’t do the surgery until they are 6 months old, but I have heard of some doing it sooner. My bun was done at 5.5 months because his hormones kicked in and he started humping my cat. You will also need to figure out how you will house them for the next 3+ months (maybe you can build or get a three story bunny condo to save space? You can install ramps once they are neutered and rebonded so that they have a large area even when locked up).

          After they are neutered, they probably won’t feel the need to mark their territory anymore. Their litter habits usually overall improve after neutering. That said though, I did have one bunny who would always pee on soft things like blankets and pillows, but he wouldn’t hunt them out. Because all three of your buns are doing it persistently, my money is on this being territorial and no training can help you yet.


        • Annabel93
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            Ah ok – they’re all brothers, is that still an issue? I was planning on neutering them anyway but I didn’t realise they would fight since they get on so well now. The lady I bought them from said they should be fine because she has the dad and uncle of mine living together and are both unneutered – according to her the girls tend to be worse together?

            I do have ways I can house them all separately fortunately but that’s not what I was hoping for

            Thanks for the info though.


          • Dobby
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              I don’t think it matter if they are all siblings. They will still mate, fight, etc.

              And I have read that girls tend to be more territorial but the boys still like to defend their turf.


            • Hazel
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                Separating them until they are fixed and healed for a month is the thing to do. Not only because they will probably start fighting, but also because rabbits that young are VERY difficult to sex correctly. They might not all be males, so you don’t want to risk any oops litters.


              • Valkyrie
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                  Bonded unneutered males are not impossible, but it is very very rare. In my 20 years of experience I had one pair of bonded, unneutered males and that was a complete accident (long story lol). They usually don’t feel familial bonds like us.


                • Annabel93
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                    Hm, I guess I should listen to you guys then! Don’t want any fights or babies.

                    Thanks so much for the advice!


                  • Annabel93
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                      One other thing – should I separate them immediately or only when they’re a few months older? It seems a shame now as they seem to really enjoy each other’s company – they sleep in a little pile and they groom each other etc.


                    • Valkyrie
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                        Personally, I wouldn’t wait for an incident to happen and one of them to be seriously hurt so I would separate them at least at night and when you are not home. A fight could also damage the bond they have now and make it harder to reintroduce them after surgery. But if you are confident, you could still let them out together for supervised play time.


                      • MoveDiagonally
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                          Male rabbits can be neutered as soon as their testicles drop which can be as early as 12 weeks (3 months). You might be able to get them done sooner rather than later. Remember that once you separate them you probably won’t be able to just put them back together without going through the bonding process.

                          Here’s some bonding info:
                          https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx


                        • Annabel93
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                            Thanks guys. I’ve booked them in to be neutered in 2 weeks time (when they are 4 months old) as that’s the earliest my vet does it. I know no one was trying to scare me but the idea of having one of them killed by the other D: My boyfriend tried to reassure me by saying if that were to happen then at least we could make him into a stew!


                          • Valkyrie
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                              Ah yes…the stew jokes! I have been victims of those my whole life! For some reason my uncles and older cousins thought it was funny to tell a 3 year old that they were going to eat her rabbit. It doesn’t bug me as much anymore and I can even joke about it too. When my 50-some year old cousin asked about my new bunny I told him that he would love her because at 5 lbs she could make a nice size stew. He was speechless that I turned the joke around on him!


                            • Muffinluv
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                                Not the dreaded stew jokes! 0_0 My mom always jokes around whenever she makes muffins saying, “Oh don’t worry I didn’t use Muffin this time, you can still have him till next time.”

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                            Forum HOUSE RABBIT Q & A New with house bunnies – help?!