Accidentally bonded siblings bred! What now?

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JennyLou

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I purchased two young does (sisters) and a buck (unrelated) from an experienced Standard Rex shower/breeder back in March. I was just starting in rabbits and didn't know a whole lot, but was told you could keep does together and they seemed happy to have each other's company. Almost a week ago we noticed one of them chasing and incessantly humping the other. I took the culprit out of the hutch and, low and behold, there was a mound of fur in the corner of the hutch in the morning and 7 kits. So I checked the "sister" doe to find that their parts didn't match and she was a he.
We lost one of the kits, I believe she was sitting on it while feeding the rest, but the rest are doing great and the doe is a very attentive mother. It got cold, so I brought her and the kits inside.
Here's the issue...
The poor mister who used to be the sister hasn't been eating or drinking much and is so expectant whenever we are around. Just comes up to the front and sits on his hind legs like he's asking where his beloved is.
Of course, I don't want to breed these two together.
My concern is that I now have a pair of breeding bonded siblings. Will the doe accept a different, unrelated buck? I don't need this unexpected buck for breeding and will have to sell him. Will the doe fall into a depression and/or refuse to ever breed again? She is such a great new mother, made a beautiful nest, carefully jumps over it instead of walking on the babes, checks on them and covers/uncovers it according to temp and they have round little bellies. I'd love to breed her to the buck I first intended to. I never knew that rabbits mate for life!
Does anyone have any words of wisdom for a novice?
 
Does don't need any kind of bonding to breed, they just have to be in the mood.

Your doe is probably happy to have him away from her kits, to be honest, as their instinct is to hide them and to stay away to not lure predators back to the nest.
 
Ah, well, the dreaded Sex Change Fairy strikes again :x

They aren't bonded as such, he's just horny. No problem selling him, she'll have other things on her mind for the next months. And when she's in the mood most aren't very picky about the buck.

One of the less cute things about bunnies is that there isn't much that gets a buck more horny than a doe giving birth, sometimes they don't even wait for her to finish... :?
Be prepared to seperate the kits at 4 weeks, if you removed the buck after she kindled quite likely she is already pregnant again.
 
Rabbits don't mate for life, so no worries about her mating with the other buck.

Humping another rabbit isn't necessarily an indication of gender. Frequently does will hump each other as they try to determine the pecking order in the herd.

He may just be lonely, bunnies like being near other bunnies. You could put the brother next to his sister, although make sure they can't manage to mate through the wire walls. Or put him next to the other buck. Pretty much as long as they can see and smell the other bunnies they feel part of the herd.

'Bonding' is over rated, IMHO. Most females will get along with each other and most bucks. Most bucks will pretty much get along with most does. 'Bonding' between two bucks will probably only last until a female shows up, then they will most likely fight.

I think a lot of this 'bonding' is from where people want the bunnies to be friends without any initial fighting. If you put a whole pile of bunnies together, most of them will get along with each other. There will frequently be one or two, however, who want to be 'top dog' and those two will get into a scuffle. If one has room to run away and hide, they will work it out to where one gets to be top dog and the other runs away. If there isn't enough room for one to allow the other to 'win', then the loser can be injured or even killed.

Keeping a couple pet bunnies is one thing, but when you start breeding, all of a sudden there's a whole lot more bunnies and they get put in different hutch spaces for a variety of different reasons. If you add in 'but they're a bonded pair' into the criteria for which hutch they should go in, it will get really complicated really quickly. As a breeder, you'll want to (at least temporarily) match them up in different pairs so you will be able to breed better bunnies. So, if you're gonna be a breeder, don't worry about 'bonding'.

We keep all the does together in one or two big hutches, depending on how many there are. Except for the ones in the nesting sites. There's usually at least six bucks here and they all live by themselves but right next to each other with just a wire wall between them so they can still visit thru the wires. But, that's just what we do, you'll find out what works best for you and it will probably be different.
 
JennyLou, you've been given excellent advice already, so I won't repeat it, but it would be a very good idea for you to get some practice at sexing rabbits.

If you Google how to sex rabbits you will find lots of information, including photographs and videos.

This site looks like a good one:
https://www.raising-rabbits.com/sexing-rabbits.html

Even experienced rabbit breeders get it wrong sometimes, but knowing what to look for when the rabbits are still not sexually mature will definitely reduce problems.
 
The male not eating is of greater concern. It's probably not from being separated from his "beloved," as male rabbits will mate anything... Including each other if they get the chance. It could be stress from the move however.

If he feeling better today?
 
...There's usually at least six bucks here and they all live by themselves but right next to each other with just a wire wall between them so they can still visit thru the wires.
I watched a YouTube video where they said you need to keep a divider between bucks because they will pee on each other. So mine are right next to each other but cannot see each other and I feel kind of bad about that LOL. Is it okay to have them in cages right next to each other and they won't pee on each other? The last time I had rabbits I only had one buck so didn't have that problem. Thanks for any info.
 
Ah, well, the dreaded Sex Change Fairy strikes again :x

They aren't bonded as such, he's just horny. No problem selling him, she'll have other things on her mind for the next months. And when she's in the mood most aren't very picky about the buck.

One of the less cute things about bunnies is that there isn't much that gets a buck more horny than a doe giving birth, sometimes they don't even wait for her to finish... :?
Be prepared to seperate the kits at 4 weeks, if you removed the buck after she kindled quite likely she is already pregnant again.
The Sex Change Fairy came and blessed both of my first two rabbits
 
I noticed this thread is over a year old but came up again and I'm wondering how everything turned out. It's not a big concern that siblings bred unless they have faults that can be reinforced in the kits.
 
Most bucks will pretty much get along with most does. 'Bonding' between two bucks will probably only last until a female shows up, then they will most likely fight.
What do you think about two bucks living in the same area, no dividers, with no females around? Can that work long term? I have a friend who is buying two of my junior bucks and just wondering what advice I can give her.
 
If they are pets, I would suspect that your friend might want to look into neutering them which may resolve some issues.
 
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