minimum requirements?

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mstori

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Hi!
as you know, my older boys fell out, (stevie and comanche) so i got 2 babies (neo and ash) to bond them with, seperately. Well as the babies have been ill (last check up at the vets this week) I have been advised to maybe not seperate them now? Because of their age and the fact that they have bonded together now.
If i didnt then are my hutches big enough?
I have 2 two storeys.. They are both just slightly bigger than:

3 1/2 ft x 1 1/2 ft and 4 1/2 ft x 1 1/2 ft

The original idea had been obv to have 1 adult and baby in each. Now i wondered if i block off the top of the bigger one, is it big enough to have say Stevie in the top, comanche in the bottom, and neo and ash in the smaller one together.. then when the fiasco of the baby bunnies is over, and my Oh lets me, see if I can bond them with 2 babies, or should i stick with my original plan? I'm confused.. all i keep thinking is if i try and it doesnt work, i really dont want 4 seperate boys, when the 2 babies get on so well, its different if they were to fall out at a later date of course.

Any help greatly appreciated!

Tori xx
 
The two babies get on so well just now because they are babies; that is no guarantee that they will get along when they hit 6-months old and their raging hormones begin to hit off of each other. At least with an older boy, when the babies hit that raging hormone stage there will be some rumbling, chasing and squeeking but not a hormonal explosion.

I would go with your original plan, personally. It does mean that, if in 6 months time you DO end up with four separate boys, the introduction of two new boys means that you can do a piggie-jiggle and hopefully end up with what I'm assuming is your next-case scenario: six boys in pairs of two. But for now, do what you were going for and try four boys in pairs of two younger-to-older.
 
Thanks, Its so hard to know what to do for the best isnt it.
I have a 3ft x 2ft hutch as well.. is that big enough for one, if everything did go pair shaped?
Its empty at the mo, and too small for a rabbit to live in.. Didnt know if i should keep it or not, or if it was any good for putting in the shed when i get one, for the bunnies, as a sleeping area, if no good for piggies.
I know its 4ft x 2 ft for 2 piggies..
xx
 
imo (i may be contradicted here) but if there's enough room for them to popcorn, with space for food bowls, toys and shelter, then they should be fine.
the best person to judge if the space is big enough is you; try them in it, and if you think they seem cramped them arrange for them to have bigger housing =]
 
I had the rabbit in when she stayed at my exes, just to sleep, as she has the run of the house, so too small for rabbits to live, but it seemed ok for one piggie. Think i will keep it as a spare just in case.. in 2 minds to try to break the babies up.. and bond them seperately with the older boys.. oh decisions! xx
 
sorry if this makes no sense, i found your post hard to understand
could you give the older boys the two storey hutch, keep the babies in the smaller one, and then get them a larger hutch when they get older if you think they're outgrowing it?
 
sorry, probs me..lol
I have 2 two storey hutches.
I have the younger boys in the smaller of the two.
My older boys that fell out are in the larger one, blocked off so they have a floor each.
I got the younger boys to split and try and bond with the older boys. When i got them home and they were still under quarantine, one of the babies showed symptoms of ringworm, (and then an eye and chest infection) so they have been under treatment for that for the past 4/5 weeks.
Now, I have the predicament of what to do..
The 2 younger boys are really bonded now. Do is split them? My OH wont let me get any more :( That would have been my ideal thing.
So at present my older boys are still living seperately.
I have a 3ft spare hutch, (neutral territory) so if i did try and split the babies to bond with the older boys, and it didnt work, I could put one in the 3 ft hutch or block off a level again, in the hope that my OH may then let me try to shuffle them around and try re-bonding
Hope that makes sense..its hard to type what i mean :))
 
imo (i may be contradicted here) but if there's enough room for them to popcorn, with space for food bowls, toys and shelter, then they should be fine.
the best person to judge if the space is big enough is you; try them in it, and if you think they seem cramped them arrange for them to have bigger housing =]

See, my 2 girls are currently in a Nero 3 (which is technically too small for them going by what I have been told) but they are both extremely happy. There's room for everything they need plus popcorning and running about. They only have an argument once in a blue moon so to me they are happy.

However, I am on the lookout for a bigger cage to make them even happier!
 
not sure on sizes, but deffo wouldnt split the babies as they'll probably always get on, whilst they may get on with the big boys, it may all change with teenage hormones! x
 
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