Keeping bunnies together

[Tanith]

I'm seriously thinking of taking on 3 baby bunnies. I have kept rabbits before so not a complete novice. However, it was years ago, he was on his own and I'm reading up on modern rabbit keeping.

My problem is that the books insist that only females can be kept together: males and females don't get on and 2 males are disastrous!

The babies are, we think, 2 males and 1 female.

Is this out of the question and will neutering the males make any difference at all? They are currently together and are used to being handled every day.

My plan was to get a triple hutch (ie 3 separate hutches) and a separate communal run.

Rabbits physically need to be kept in groups of more than one, and as they are littermates they'll be fine staying together, take them to the vet to check and they can book in for neutering (they'll all need to be done). Male/female (neutered and spayed) is the best partnership. The trick to keeping trios together is always keep them together (take them to the vet together, etc). As they go through adolescence they will develop a hierarchy, this will be demonstrated by occasional scuffles, chasing and lots of humping. All of this is ok but if they fight they will need to be split, in which case I'd keep a male and female together. So don't separate them into different hutches, they will be fine together in the same accommodation. A shed or playhouse with attached run is best for a trio as they'll need a fair bit of space. good luck. There is an excellent forum on www.rabbitrehome.co.uk with lots of good advice and stories.

Thank you for all your advice - I feel much more confident about keeping them all together.
The current owner has spoken to the vet regarding their neutering ops and their injections and I'll start looking for suitable accommodation. At the moment, they're almost old enough to leave Mum and I have a large single hutch they can stay in until I find a hutch or shed big enough.
I'll take a look at the website you recommend, too - many thanks for all your help!

The hutch I was looking at is a triple hutch that converts easily by closing or opening the levels. It might be just the thing, or too small for them - Daddy is one of the giant breeds although Mum is a medium size.

If he's a giant I'd put them in a shed or playhouse and permanently attach a run. Probably be cheaper/same as a triple hutch and much nicer for interacting/cleaning out as you can go inside with them. One level is usually better for groups as if you have different storeys there is a risk they'll get territorial.

I have had lots of rabbits, i currently have 14! Normally, as adults they start to fight and it can get rather bad. The mixing of sexes provokes this. If you have them neutered and sterilised very young (6 months ish) this will really minimise it. however, as they get to around a year old especially when spring hits, you may still get fighting it just depends on the individual rabbits. you may find seperating one of them will solve it, so two will still live together. Thats the worst that would happen though- needing seperate hutches. Good luck x