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What is your opinion on single house buns?

What is your opinion on single house buns? (bondable neutered ones)

  • Housebuns don't need a bonded friend as they get plenty of human company

    Votes: 2 2.6%
  • Housebuns don't NEED a bonded friend but it is preferable to have one

    Votes: 37 47.4%
  • Housebuns should have a bonded friend unless it is unviable financially/they are bun-agressive

    Votes: 36 46.2%
  • All efforts should be made to bond a bun. If you cannot give bun a friend you should rehome them.

    Votes: 3 3.8%

  • Total voters
    78

nessar

Warren Veteran
There is a poll (will do it now), and give your reasons below if you like.

Now I know some rescues will rehome single buns to be housebuns, sometimes even if they are likely bondable. If any rescues have this policy can you say why as well?

I have a bunny that may, for various reasons, remain single for a long while now. Don't want to give details yet as dont want to sway your judgement, some of you probably have a vague idea why anyway.

So I am asking what your feelings are on single house bunnies in general, I'm not talking about ones that HAVE to be single through not being able to be neutered/behavioural issues etc.

If there is an option you'd like me to add to the poll, just say :)
 
We have Oscar as a single house bun currently because when I got him I didn't know that rabbits should be kept in pairs. He seems happy enough and is very fussy in the evenings, giving us face licks and pulling at our jeans if he wants attention from us.

We are getting a female to bond him with, and as much that I am excited about getting him some company, there is part of me that is worried that I will lose the loving side Oscar has towards us... Not sure that helps you at all really :oops:
 
Charlie was single for almost 2 years... He was still a happy, healthy bunny. I don't think it's bad if you can spend a lot of time with them. Still think a pair is better though
 
i think single housebuns are fine as long as they have never known the love of another bun.

single and never bonded = cant miss what they never had so :D

single after losing a partner = :cry:

eta - i would feel guilty having a single pet and working full time though... Ralph our single dog goes to Ste's sis while we work i would never leave him home alone so i doubt i would leave a single bunny home alone either.
 
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I had my first Pumpkin as a single house bun for around 8 months... her and our cat were best friends :)
I then came on here and realised that buns should have best friends. So I got her Dexie. Unfortunately she became very ill with an abscess in the base of her ear and then with meningitis :( So... Dexie was all alone. But, he got mega aggressive and annoyed. Now he's happier with friends :)

Tbh.. Pumpkin was happy on her own (I think) But then, she was really happy when Dexie came too...

I'm not too sure about it all but I guess it depends on the bunny :D But, I think house bunnies can be just as happy on their own dependant on their personality :D
 
I don't think Jack was unhappy as a single house bun' but he did get lonely. He would rattle the baby gate for attention..... and went crazy with happiness when I got home from work to see him! :love:

If I could have had the house bunny-proofed so he could have free-ranged in the whole house whenever we were in it would have been better I think as he could have been with us in the living room etc. rather than upstairs as he was. He's definitely happier in a pair though - I couldn't be there with him 24/7 which was what he needed really.

Don't think I'd have had so strong a bond with him if we'd not had him as a single house-bunny though I must say. If he'd gone straight outside with Hollie (he came to us first then Hollie was bonded with him a couple of months afterwards) I think it would have took a lot longer to bond with him if we ever did properly.

Jack says outside's fine and he loves his lady but he misses the radiator! :lol:
 
I think single housebuns can be happy enough on their own if they get a LOT of human interaction and attention. I always feel however that if an animal lives in the wild in groups then its best it has at least one friend of its own kind.
 
I think single housebuns can be happy enough on their own if they get a LOT of human interaction and attention. I always feel however that if an animal lives in the wild in groups then its best it has at least one friend of its own kind.

This.

I also think it's different if there is someone who works at home or doesn't work and therefore is at home most of the time to someone who is always out or always at work. But wherever possible bunnies need bunnies.
 
We had a single bunny for 8 years, and he was our best friend :( Really miss him.
Both o/h and I worked at home a lot, so he had a lot of company, and he was very very special.
I would generally say that all bunnies should have a friend unless they absolutely can't/ won't be bonded.
 
I don't see why housebuns should be different to outdoor buns.

Rabbits are social animals, I deffo think its preferable to have buns bonded, but some buns are better off on their own too, for instance, for health reasons, or if they aren't keen to be bonded (aggressive/gets bullied).
 
i think it depends on individual circumstances.

snowball is a single bun and i think he is happy to be :)
i spend a lot of time with him though, as does my son. if my son is asleep in my bed and snowball is out, snowball will lie next to him grooming his hair :love:

he has never known other bunny company and so doesn't know what he is missing.
whilst for a while, i was toying with getting him a friend in the future, i don't know if i ever will.
i am poor, everyone knows that. i would rather provide snowball with everything he needs and know that he is well looked after, than get him a friend and struggle to look after 2.


but i do believe that buns are better off in pairs
 
When i got mylo i never planned on getting him a friend as I thought he is inside and gets plenty of attention from me, however a year later i thought how nice it would be to see him with someone and also i wouldnt feel as guilty if i get home later than normal.

Now he has a friend and its lovely to see them together, was definately worth getting him a friend. He has been with her for for about a month now and it is nice seeing them cuddling, chasing, humping :roll: etc
 
i think it depends on individual circumstances.

snowball is a single bun and i think he is happy to be :)
i spend a lot of time with him though, as does my son. if my son is asleep in my bed and snowball is out, snowball will lie next to him grooming his hair :love:

he has never known other bunny company and so doesn't know what he is missing. whilst for a while, i was toying with getting him a friend in the future, i don't know if i ever will.
i am poor, everyone knows that. i would rather provide snowball with everything he needs and know that he is well looked after, than get him a friend and struggle to look after 2.


but i do believe that buns are better off in pairs

this is what put me off getting a friend for mylo for so long too, and i do still believe its true.
 
Bunsk was a single bun and I belive he was 99.9% happy. He slept in bed with us, an constantly sat by my OH.

As we are out during the day, he did miss daytime company, hence we got Belle. Seeing them together, I do belive they ARE better in pairs, but can be happy single.
 
see im on the fence here. dogs are pack animals, but how many people have more than one dog?? rescues dont advise you to have 2 dogs, but surely that should be the case if they are pack animals??
i think bella was really happy on her own and though she will tolerate jasper (he adores her soppy fool that he is :roll: :lol: )she doesnt seem to be a bun that needs another buns attention. she is a stroppy demanding diva what can i say :lol:
however, when they do get along and play together i can see what a proper bonded pair would be like and that must be nice to see and be a part of....

hence why moi is on the fence!

:wave:
 
I think its ideal that they have a bonded friend.

see im on the fence here. dogs are pack animals, but how many people have more than one dog?? rescues dont advise you to have 2 dogs, but surely that should be the case if they are pack animals??

Yes, but unfortunately dogs are more difficult and expensive to care for. I feel like if rescues didn't allow someone to only have one dog then there would be many more dogs being pts. I think dogs can be happy with just humans and I think buns are the same way but its certainly ideal to have 2 dogs. I have 5 dogs :D
 
I voted that they should have one, but only not if the bun in question is aggressive to other buns and wouldn't benefit from being bonded. My buns are housebuns and neutered. I will never have a lone bunny again; where I can help it. :)
 
I think its ideal that they have a bonded friend.



Yes, but unfortunately dogs are more difficult and expensive to care for. I feel like if rescues didn't allow someone to only have one dog then there would be many more dogs being pts. I think dogs can be happy with just humans and I think buns are the same way but its certainly ideal to have 2 dogs. I have 5 dogs :D

i completely agree with this, i have one dog though i did have 2 before we lost sullivan. i was just using it as an example. that though we know buns are 'pack' animals, its not always neccesary for them to be kept with others. just like dogs can be kept on their own, you jus have to put the work in :)
 
We have a few that are single buns but they are in a tandem garage where they see other rabbits and are next to other rabbits, they will get bonded when we get time. We were in the process of bonding Kenzo with Koko and Katie and the room we were using to bond them in got flooded and we are still drying it out :(
 
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