Hello, I'm confused!

Hi everybody - this is my first posting, but I've been reading this forum with much interest.

2 weeks ago, we had to have our 10-year-old mini lop boy put to sleep, which was very upsetting. We swore, though, that we wouldn't keep another bunny alone and decided to buy 2 females to keep each other company. We're going to see some mini lop babies tomorrow, and I had intended to buy 2 females. BUT, this afternoon, I saw a beautiful female lionhead at the garden centre - she is such a personality, I fell in love with her! So, my question to put onto here was going to be to ask whether we could house females together of different breeds?

But now I am a little confused, because I didn't realise you should have females spayed, even if kept with another female. I hadn't budgeted for that. In which case, if we have to pay out to have females neutered, would we be better in getting one female and on male? We only have one hutch though!

Thanks!

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your boy. I'm currently about to get a boyfriend for my rabbit too. I think it's perfectly fine to bond two different breeds from what I know. However, it is important to get them spayed, not only for behavioural reasons but also for their health. I'm not 100% sure but I think generally male and females get on better together but i think you also have many happy pairings of females. However, I noticed that you said you only have one hutch... I think you need another hutch or cage because you can't just put them together straight away. Hope this helps.

Hi Roxanne - thanks very much for your reply. What if I buy one male and one female or two females from the same litter? Surely I could put those both in together? (That's certainly what I was going to do!) We took our dear departed's hutch to the tip and bought a new, big hutch today (with run) and it cost a lot of money - no way could we afford to buy another one - nor do we have room!

I'm afraid I don't have much experience with that hopefully someone else will be able to help. I'm guessing that you could put them together but eventually as they get older you will need to get them spayed so they didn't end up fighting?

Hi, how about going to your local rescue?

They will vaccinate, neuter/spey and bond them for you.

I agree - you're in a great position to rescue some bunnies and it will work out cheaper initially! There are loads of gorgeous bunnies if you look on www.rabbitrehome.org.uk

Hi there and welcome to RU.

Hope you find it useful and fun being on here.

Firstly I am sorry you had to let your last bun go. Very sad.

Im curious to know why you would rather buy a pair of bunnies rather than adopt some from a rescue.

If you go to a reputable rescue, the bunnies you take would already be vaccinated and neutered and you would be asked for a donation towards the cost of vets bills/neuter etc. This is normally far less than the bill you would face if you buy animals from a pet shop.

If you go to a reputable rescue, the bunnies would already be bonded or related and you could then house them together straight away. If you choose two singles then the rescue should bond them for you.

If you buy some bunnies you are actually adding to the over population of rabbits because some more would be bred to fill the place of the two you purchase from the shop/garden centre. There are so many in rescues that need help, and if you are wanting younger rabbits, there are plenty of them waiting for good forever homes.

All bunnies should be neutered whether they are male or female, regardless of how or with who they will love, so I would absolutely recommend rescuing some. The worry will be taken away from you and you will be doing some bunnies a great service.

Bunnies can be bonded regardless of size, age, breed, sex, although the easiest paring for non litter mates is male and female.

Please don't buy some!

Helen

Hi

Well, of course, we have thought about this - and I have looked around - but have decided to buy young rabbits. I'm sorry if that makes me sound awful.

We've had 2 rabbits in the past (separately), both males, both bought, neither were neutered, neither were vaccinated (pig ignorant here - didn't even know there were vaccinations for bunnies!) and both lived to ripe old age (for bunnies) .

So, my question was, can I house a mini lop female with a lionhead female (both only babies)?

Guys, I'm still upset after the loss of our bunny, I don't need a guilty consience. I'm trying to do things properly.

You can get young bunnies in rescues.

Well then yes, I hope so, as I'm about to bond my shop bought dwarf lop to a baby rescue lionhead!

There seem to be lots of pics on here of very happy couples of different breeds.

I'm sorry if my post came across as guilt tripping - it wasn't intended that, way, I just wasn't sure if you were aware that rescuing rabbits might be easier. So my reply was in response your comment about budgeting, rather than the main question.

Hi Starlights - Yes, I know you can get young bunnies at centres, but there aren't any in the two counties I live close enough to! I'm having the same problem with kittens! (Still don't have one - but that's another story!!)

Hiya - no worries about the 'guilt-tripping', sorry, I'm just a bit confused!! I hope you succeed well with your bonding! Do you have to introduce them gradually then? I was under the impression, from other stuff I've read, that there shouldn't be a problem with young rabbits?

Ooh, I just want 2 happy bunnies!

Well my current bun Gregory is 2 and I had him neutered last week. Twombly, the baby I am resucing is a couple of months now and is being speyed this week. I am driving down to Solihull in a few weeks to get Twombly and they will spend a bit of time together at the resuce and hopefully get on ok, then travel back home in the car together.
I think the main thing for bonding is that they are both neutered (plus females need to be done anyway for other health reasons, and it makes boys much better behaved) and are intorduced on neutral territory if they have not met before.

I'm don't have any expereince though, this is just what I can gather from this forum. The people from the rescue I am getting Twolmbly from have been extremely helpful - they know so much about looking after rabbits and bonding them!

scrappyfrankie said:

Hi

Guys, I'm still upset after the loss of our bunny, I don't need a guilty consience. I'm trying to do things properly.

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Sorry if this is the way our posts have come across, but the thing is you have already said that you are new to the forum and so we don't know what your experience of rabbits/rescues etc is.

I was hoping to be informative and not confrontational. Sorry if I have come across like this - not my intention, but I would still recommend trying to find some buns even if they come from a rescue miles away. Rabbit rehome has buns country wide and most rescues will rehome with a homecheck via the phone and pictures so distance shouldn't be a barrier.

In answer to your question about will two different breeds bond, the answer is that any buns can bond, but it depends entirely on the rabbits themselves and their own personalities and temperaments.

Two girls is harder, although if they are very young without hormones, then it won't be as difficult as two older girls. The will however, still need neutering as their hormones will pick up as they develop causing friction and possibly fighting. This will happen regardless of if they are litter mates or not.

Helen

Carol and Gregory and Duchess - thanks so much for your replies. I'm beginning to get a grips with it all now! I really just thought that we could get 2 girls from the same litter and all would be well. Seems NOT!

My son is outside, with the security light on, trying to build the hutch - LOL - here are LOTS of screws! Meantime, I'm trying to think of what the best thing is to do. Maybe we could buy the female lionhead and a male from the litter and make sure they were both neutered at the right time. Alternatively, we could buy the female lionhead (so cute - looks like a panda in negative and has a wonderful personality!) and, get her neutered, at the right time. Then, look around for a neutered male friend from a rescue centre? What do you think? Maybe the rescue centre could try to bond them for us?

I'm sorry I came into this conference as I did. Emotions are running a bit raw when talking about bunnies, at the moment. But if we don't get a new bunny now (at least one) then we might end up waiting forever, as we've done with cats (10 years since our last cat died and we've only just decided 'yes'!)

A lone rabbit will think he/she is in a mansion - this hutch is so big!

I wrote a poem about the bunny we had to have put down. He was paralysed in his hind legs. We tried looking after him indoors for a couple of weeks, but he used to look at us so indignantly as we tried to do everything for him (and not very well!). We hoped the vet might be able to help - but knew in our heart of hearts that we were taking him for his last journey. It was very hard.

The Waiting Room

It was Wednesday, the 10th of September,
Two thirty PM, as I remember.
"Is that a cat or a dog in the box?"
Asked a woman whose face shouted BOTOX.
But the answer was not one of her choice,
"It's a rabbit", we replied as one voice.

Joan Rivers went "oh" and started to go,
"It's just a bunny", she thought, and quite so.
But as hub fed him a yoghurt drop treat,
And I stroked his soft, warm, furry feet,
We wanted to shout, "Don't you see? He's not
any old bunny, he's Captain Bunzee!"

We took him in to see the vet in blue,
But there wasn't very much he could do,
Because the Captain was so very old,
And when we took him back out, he was cold.
He'd gone to the Big Bunny in the sky,
And we could do nothing else, but to cry.

It's so sad when this happens to a pet,
And our lovely bunny we won't forget,
But we're all in the waiting room, waiting,
None sure of what we're anticipating.
Joan Rivers, every man and his wife
Sit in this same waiting room, known as life.

scrappyfrankie said:

Maybe we could buy the female lionhead and a male from the litter and make sure they were both neutered at the right time. Alternatively, we could buy the female lionhead (so cute - looks like a panda in negative and has a wonderful personality!) and, get her neutered, at the right time. Then, look around for a neutered male friend from a rescue centre? What do you think? Maybe the rescue centre could try to bond them for us?

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Follow your heart. If you have fallen in love with the little lionhead, she is probably the bunny for you. That would be my gut reaction then get her a husband from rescue in due course. You'll be doing at least one bunny in rescue a favour that way. Do remember to spend lots of time with her while she's on her own and waiting, which I'm sure you will by the sound of how attached you were to your last bunny.

I'll soon be looking for a wife for my Frank who came into my life without warning (didn't even want a rabbit or so I thought). I have the opposite problem to you - the choice of about 6 rescues within a 20 mile radius.

Hello and welcome. Breeds don't matter one jot to buns. A rabbit is a rabbit to them. It can be quite difficult to bond though. It might be better for you initially to start off with one bun and then she is neutered to then get another bun. The advantage with a rescue is that they can then try your bun with lots of different buns and find the perfect companion for them.

However it is all your choice. I'm very sorry for your recent loss.