Getting my bunny a mate before I get my hens

[swiftchick]

Ok, I have a 9 month old male bunny living in a makeshift hutch in my chicken coop. I plan on getting my hens in a couple months, if not sooner but I wanted a bunny friend for our current bunny before the hens so that they are bonded and the hens will walk into an established pair. Questions...

Every had bunnies and chicken?

Will my female baby bunny (5 weeks) be ok if I don't have the male neutered?

How long should I keep them separate?

Should I let them have babies once?

Would it be safe to have 5 wk old pellets in there with a pregnant bunny?

OK, I'm so new to all of this. I'm a city girl

 

[ozu]

Will my female baby bunny (5 weeks) be ok if I don't have the male neutered?
no it will not be okay. neutered males are very crazy with their hormones and 5 weeks is way too young to be with another older bunny, nevermind away from the momma (it is recommend they are separated at 7 weeks min)

How long should I keep them separate?
you need to bond them- this can take a couple weeks to a year. look up bonding rabbits. this will be best if they are both spayed and neutered, if not, it will be virtually impossible.

Should I let them have babies once?
no, the female will be at a much higher risk of cancer and not rabbits do not do well while pregnant. you should never breed a rabbit just to breed. you should only breed if you are breeding for meat or you are breeding for show. plus, if she gets pregnant, you will HAVE to separate the boy because she will likely attack him and he could get her pregnant while she is feeding the one litter, which will put a huge strain on the girl's health

Would it be safe to have 5 wk old pellets in there with a pregnant bunny?
i would think not, pregnant rabbits can get aggressive with other animals and rabbits, especially after they give birth. chickens are brutal- it is likely they could kill and eat the babies (if they will kill and eat mice, they will do it with baby rabbits)

 

[swiftchick]

Ok thanks. I think I'm just going to stick to the one bunny. The hens will keep him company after they have had the introducing period anyway. Thanks so much.

Do you think that the unspayed bunny will be ok with the hens? He's really sweet

 

[ozu]

he should be okay! if he's still friendly after starting puberty, he should stay that way (6 months is puberty) but it's likely he will spray to mark his territory at times! neutering bunnies does help prevent cancers and enlongate the rabbits' life, but some people have no problems. he hasn't met the hens yet has he? sometimes they can get territorial with other animals/people so i would watch to make sure first that he doesn't attack them and they don't attack him!

 

[swiftchick]

I haven't even gotten my chicks yet... Tomorrow!!! I'm excited. I think he'll do well. After more reading and such. Thank you!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I'm glad to read you've decided not to get your bunny a room mate. Rabbits are very territorial and can be quite aggressive when it comes to their personal space.
You may want to be careful when you let your bun run with your chickens tho. I have Silkies and a male Netherland Dwarf. I occasionally put Lucky, the rabbit, into the chicken run so he can get some exercise. Usually he is pretty well behaved. He would run around and scatter the chickens when I first started putting them together. Once they got used to him, he started nudging them to make them move. Now that they don't move, he plucks a feather, or chews them. I've also caught him humping them as well. Needless to say, he's not allowed to be in the chickens run unsupervised. When he starts being naughty, back in his hutch he goes. Females will do all of that stuff as well, so keep an eye on your fuzzy lady.

I also wouldn't put them together until your chicks are big enough to defend themselves if they need to. I don't know how old your chicks will be, but at the very least they'll need to get over the stress of moving and get used to their new home. Having to deal with a bunny might make that especially stressful.
They may be perfectly fine together, who knows. My rabbit is a pretty mellow guy, but he still acts like a turd occasionally....

Food luck

 

[swiftchick]

[/IMG]

Our chicks are here!!

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Super cute! What breeds did you get?

 

[swiftchick]

2- Rhode Island Red
1 Cuckoo Moran
1 Plymouth barred Rock
1- Americana
2 Buff Orpington

But both my Buff died & the Americana! I'm so sad now on of my RIR is sitting down & not standing sleeping & I'm getting scared!