Bonding and moving bunnies outdoors!

I have been reading this forum for a while now but have never posted so hi to you all :wave: Have found this forum very useful since getting my lovely little Jack



Jack is a 3 month old mini lop and is an indoor bunny. He is being neutered in a few weeks and once he is done we are looking at getting him a neutured girlfriend. Once we have two though they may have to live outside, still thinking about that one!

Would it be best to move Jack into a new hutch outside and get him settled before we get him a friend, or can I bond them indoors and move them afterwards?

I was planning to keep them in to start with for bonding to see if we can get away with having the two indoors, but on reading another post I am worried that if they bond indoors and then have to be moved outside it may cause a problem :?

You will have to wait 8 weeks after his neuter unless your bonding with an already neutered doe.

I would keep him in until your ready to do the bonding that way it will be warmer at night time and will also give you a whole neutral area for the bonding which you will need.

Does he have the run of the house at the moment as if your doing the bonding in the house you will need to close a room down so that it doesn't smell of him when the time comes.

If your going to a rescue for your bunny friend then most rescues will be able to help and advise you at the time.

Good luck he's a very sweet looking bun

He is scrummy - and knows it too I think?!

Hi,

Ok the simple answer is that in theory it would be best to move them outside at the same time, as this will be neutral territory for them both, which should assist with the bonding process; however there are a couple of other factors to think about.

Re homing will be a stressful process for your new bun, and personally i don't think it would be wise to subject any rabbit to moving home, and the stress of bonding at the same time, as it might all prove to be to much.

The other factor of course is whether your new rabbit is an out door or indoor rabbit to begin with.

In either case I think you would be best off keeping the new bun in separate quarters for a while after bringing them home, so they have time to get over the stress of relocating. A puppy cage is a good temporary option and will allow you to keep the buns in close proximity for a while (either indoors or outdoors) which is a good first step in the bonding process.

Regards,

Damien

Thanks for your replies

I will keep Jack where he is for the time being. He has free run of the kitchen all the time and the living room when we are home but spends alot of time running about the garden.

I can get a cage for the new bunny and put her in the kitchen with Jack. I'll leave it a week or two before I attempt to bond to give her time to settle.

Hopefully the place I want to go to get hs friend will let me take him so we can try him with a few before we make a decision.

We'll let the cheeky man pick he's own girlfriend .... speed dating for bunnies hey :lol: