Can You Keep Rabbits Together in the Same Cage or Hutch?

If you are considering housing a couple of rabbits together in the same hutch or cage, there are some important guidelines you should follow to make sure neither rabbit will be injured. I used to raise dwarf rabbits in outdoor hutches, my girls have had a couple of rabbits as house pets, and our family has also taken care of several rabbits for a short time in our home. I will give you some easy to follow guidelines on how and if you should put rabbits together in the same hutch or cage.

Baby Bunnies in the Same Cage. Baby bunnies are the easiest to house together, are quick to bond, and will already be bonded if they are from the same litter, but they will grow older, so it does matter what sex the baby bunnies are. The following guidelines on housing male and female rabbits will also apply to the babies as they get older.

Do Not Put Two Unfixed Male Rabbits Together. First, do not house two unfixed males together as they will often try to kill each other. I had two males that weren't neutered actually chew through the wooden walls of a multiple hutch so they could get at each other to fight. Unfixed males should always be kept in their own cage or hutch.

What About Two Unfixed Female Rabbits? Two unfixed females may be okay, especially if they are put together when they are very young. If they are older, you will have to take steps to see how they get along as one will sometimes try to dominate the other to show who's boss. Female rabbits that aren't spayed can also be very territorial and quite aggressive towards any other rabbit that enters her cage, even her own offspring once they have grown up and "moved" out. It is best to use the "neutral zone" method listed below when introducing two unfixed females.

Do Not Keep an Unfixed Male and an Unfixed Female in the Same Cage. If you intend to breed your rabbits, only keep the male and female together for a short time to breed. It is best to not put them together in the female rabbit's cage since she will feel territorial and may be aggressive toward the male, seeing him as a threat instead of a mate. You can place the female in the male's cage to mate and then return the female to her own cage or the female won't have a moment of peace.

Do Not House a Rabbit that Has Babies with Any Other Rabbit! The first reason is because the mother rabbit will see any other rabbit as a threat to her babies and will often attack the other rabbit to protect them. The second reason, as sad as it is true, is that other rabbits will often kill the baby bunnies, especially a male rabbit because he wants the female to go into heat again so they can breed, which won't happen while she's nursing babies. I know it seems twisted, the male kills the baby bunnies so he can make more baby bunnies, but not everything in the animal world makes sense.

Spayed and Neutered Is Best. If you want to house a couple of rabbits together, it is best if they are spayed and/or neutered. Once rabbits are fixed, it can be possible to house a couple of males or females together and usually works great to house a male and female together as it is often "love at first sight".

The Neutral Zone. It is always best to introduce the rabbits you want to house together in a neutral area, not the cage, to see how they will get along first. This is even more important if one of the rabbits you want to house together already lives in the cage or hutch as they may feel territorial. If there isn't any conflict in the neutral zone, then you can put your bunnies in the cage together, but keep an eye on them for a while to make sure they continue to get a long or you could end up with one or both rabbits seriously injured.

If the friendship between two rabbits seems iffy, I recommend that you take it slowly. Keep the rabbits in separate cages for now and get them out to spend some supervised time together in the neutral zone on a regular basis. They may just need some time to warm up to each other and before you know it, they're inseparable.

Don't Force Them to Live Together. If two rabbits get along great in the neutral zone, but not in a cage together, don't force it. Keep them in separate cages and let them be together out of their cages. Some rabbits are just territorial about their cage and you may not be able to do anything about it.