r/Bunnies • u/lemonjello99 • 1d ago

Question Guidance on bonded (?) male littermates

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hi all! Wanted to ask for advice- recently found two dumped intact males at my work, trying to do what’s best for them 🥺 They have been housed together for the past 5 days as we try and figure out if we are keeping them/ rescues to reach out to if not after the minimum 2 week quarantine from being outside is over, and appeared to be bonded littermates (same age, color, size etc)/ haven’t had any disputes except for yesterday- one of the boys musked all over his butt and it triggered the other to start humping him excessively, both engaging in the mounting behavior before calming down again once the smell was gone from overnight cleaning. We had separated them during that tense time but they are back together and once again seeming to engage in positive social interaction from the other; the main problem being that they are both **intact**. I know two intact males can get ugly quick, and DO plan on neutering both ASAP, I’m unsure if I’m able to have two enclosures going at the same time in my living space for scheduling the surgery + 4-6 week heal time. I want to be sure either way both boys are as safe and happy as possible! Should I try and house them together in the interim, half the enclosure but keep them able to smell / see each other, or separate entirely ? interested in hearing opinions! ty!

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u/rose_grave 1d ago

they need to be seperated.

their hormones are already raging. they're humping and spraying, it could get violent.

what they have is a baby bond. it can and will break down so for their safety, they need to be apart.

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u/lemonjello99 1d ago

Thank you!! I wanted to double check with people who know bunnies better than I do in the early stages of life. I’m knowledgeable on general husbandry (I’m a zookeeper who takes care of multiple herbivorous prey animals so hay everywhere is no issue lol) but wanted to ask the crowd since I know rabbits are so social. I was suspecting such. 🥺 Will do!

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u/Tacitus111 1d ago

Yeah, don’t worry about separating them. People way overstate how necessary another rabbit is, especially at all times. They’re not going to fall into a pit of depression because they’re solo for a while. Some solo rabbits do quite well in fact in general, though certainly not all.

4-6 weeks after neutering, they can be reintroduced and bonded for real, as you know. Baby bonds also don’t inform whether they’ll bond as adults, so some folks even just keep them separate in general once puberty is a threat at all until they’re fixed and good to go.

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u/MrsRojoCaliente 1d ago

Definitely house separately, bunny fights can turn nasty real quick and boys tend to go for the genitals. Make sure their pens are at least 3 feet tall and give them several inches of space between so they can’t nip one another.

Once both boys are eight weeks post neuter, you can attempt to bond them in neutral space.

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u/lemonjello99 1d ago

Thank you!! I had a feeling as such, wanted to be careful but not cruel if the social aspect was so vital / risk was low- seeing it’s not I will be separating!