Rabbit Number Two?

Freakinfreak said:

I'd like to apologize in advance for my mega-posting spree, but as mentioned before I love learning things and am hungry for information!

So, trawling through the posts on RU, it's a general consensus that two rabbits are better than one.

A couple of thoughts...

1. Expensive? I am currently out of work and although one rabbit is expensive, we at least have everything already sorted for him. I am paid for my last bit of work on the 5th and this will cover vaccinations. I should like to hope I'd also be working by then. However, Neo seems in very good health and I worry that a second bun may be riddled with complications - costing the earth! We'd like to consider insuring him/them, but the other view is to put away what it would cost us in insurance into a separate savings account and use this if needed. If not needed, well... it pays for something else.

if you adopt your second rabbit form a rescue, they should already be vaccinated and neutered so wont need vaccinations again for a while. insurance is only a few pounds a month (i think mine is £14 for 2 buns) and then you would be convered for emergencies etc as long as you have the savings for the excess (i think mine is £50)

2. Space? We currently have the run for Neo, and the hutch, but feel that this is not enough room for two buns! It's quite a 'one bun set up'. Due to current space, unless we got permission to throw the dining table away into a skip (will consider asking this on the weekend but bit of a sensitive subject) we couldn't really justify having two! If there is a go ahead with getting rid of the table then the only issues are really point 1, 3 and 4!

as long as you have the minimum requirements according to the RWAF (6x2x2 hutch with attached 8x4 run) its the same requirement for one or two rabbits, one needs just as much space as 2!

3. Clash of the rabbits? Neo is so chilled and a pleasure to own, we are worried about introducing a bun that will essentially ruin his good nature! We would go for a spayed female as supposedly male/female bonds are best? How do you choose the right rabbit? I'm assuming one close in size/age/breed is a good idea?

size, age and breed dont matter, the only consideration would be if they were significantly different in age you may be more likely to end up with one going a long time before the other, but that said anything can happen and you never know! a good rescue will allow Neo to 'date' several potential matches and will help you select the one he is most likely to successfully bond with

4. General panic - the thought of bonding scares me, however as I am not working, now seems the right time to do it - no need to book off holiday!
I would also be at a bit of a loss at the thought of them not bonding at all and having the separate issue of then having to rearrange everything to enable extra room for a single. We'd then want to try and introduce another rabbit to Neo, therefore ending up with three rather than two.

lots of rescues will bond for you, and then you'd be able to just keep an eye on them for a while at home. rescues also sometimes offer a 'swap' if they dont get on - it sounds a bit mean but all bunnies find the right home then

5. Location? Where would I get a second one?!
I haven't got anything wrong with rescuing a bun, and my local P@H is full of my friends, that is how I know the truth behind the adoption section and whether they are old stock or not. I suppose there are many possibilities but I worry about the health aspect and what rescues do and don't tell you.

i wouldnt rescue from pets at home in your situation, simply because they dont offer any of the benefits i've already mentioned

6. Permission - after a 3 hour chat with my partner's Dad and Step-Mum about respect, we now need to run everything by them before we do it, even though we are renting from them and it doesn't effect anything. Yep, I know, bit of a nightmare but hey. They may say no...

7. Future? We don't know how long we will be renting this house for, when it comes to an end, they will either be coming back to live in my bedroom with me (probably only space for a 6x2ft playpen, no hutch) or into the partners room which would have more space but depends if the parents want to let us or not (can we say controlling).

again im not sure if it makes any difference whether you have one or two rabbits, if anything having 2 rabbits in a smaller space for a limited time would at least mean they have company and can entertain each other

8. Time? Does it matter at which age we were to introduce a bun to our Neo? It may be more responsible to wait and see were we are in a year, in that case he would only be 18 months old.
i dont think it matters no, the only thing is the sooner you bond him the sooner he has a friend!!

AHHHH!!!
I wish I was a bit more... 'go for it' and didn't have to analyse every single tiny bit of situation. Though, maybe it is the best way to be!

I look forward to your suggestions and hope for some input.

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Confused_bun said:

In regard to the where to get a bun and the possibility of ending up with two single buns-
Firstly i would get from a proper rescue not the adoption centre in pets at home. The rescue should be very honest about any health problems the rabbits have had (the one i got my buns new partner from recently, were very honest about whether various buns had had to have a dental when under GA for castration/spay, they were also very honest about which buns had had other problems that may reoccur (i.e. One had problems with its eyes that had responded well to treatment but they felt bun could need treatment again in the future). Ultimately a rescue doesnt want you to adopt a bun and then yake it back later on because its got health problems that you dont want to treat (rescues make you sign to say you'll return bun to them if you no longer want it).

A lot of rescues will also bond your bun for you - this is definately the best option (i've bonded once before and wouldnt want to do it again - it can be very nerve racking and scary). This also means if you first choice bun doesnt bond with you original bun then they can try another bun, until they find one suitable for your bun.

Also size/age/breed dont actually matter to the buns thats more just about your preference (for example i've got two netherland dwarf crosses - not because my original netherland dwarfx needed her new friend to be the same but because me and hubby like small uppy-eared bunnies).

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Freakinfreak said:

The bonding sounds good, how does this work?
Will I turn up with him the morning and choose which wifeybuns I like the look of and they put him in with them?

Or does he stay there for a while?
Or do I bring her home with him?

I don't know if I could deal with him not being at home with us for more than a day :shock:

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Freakinfreak said:

The bonding sounds good, how does this work?
Will I turn up with him the morning and choose which wifeybuns I like the look of and they put him in with them?

Or does he stay there for a while?
Or do I bring her home with him?

I don't know if I could deal with him not being at home with us for more than a day :shock:

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Freakinfreak said:

Good news with the sizing then, if the worst came to the worst I'd have to go back to a single bed in my room to give them as much space as possible!
Seems weird that the size is the same for 2 as it would be for 1, but 2 take up more room?!

In your experience how do the rescues do this? I don't want to leave him there for long or I'd miss him, and be terrified something would go wrong and I wasn't there :shock:

Sorry, I tried to quote elmoandfern but it didn't work - so answers here on a postcard :lol:

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Freakinfreak said:

Who do you have your insurance through and what does it cover?

Good news with the sizing then, if the worst came to the worst I'd have to go back to a single bed in my room to give them as much space as possible!
Seems weird that the size is the same for 2 as it would be for 1, but 2 take up more room?!

In your experience how do the rescues do this? I don't want to leave him there for long or I'd miss him, and be terrified something would go wrong and I wasn't there :shock:

Sorry, I tried to quote elmoandfern but it didn't work - so answers here on a postcard :lol:

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Freakinfreak said:

The bonding sounds good, how does this work?
Will I turn up with him the morning and choose which wifeybuns I like the look of and they put him in with them?

Or does he stay there for a while?
Or do I bring her home with him?

I don't know if I could deal with him not being at home with us for more than a day :shock:

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Rabcat said:

My 2 buns went away for 4 days to be fully supervised whilst bonding but I am so glad they did as I didn't have a clue! I had to then follow their instructions regarding space when they first come home and I monitored them almost constantly that weekend.

If you look on the rescue websites then talk to the staff they will be able to advise you further regarding each girl bun and will be able to tell from body language etc which they think would make the best match when the bonding starts.

This is the rescue that bonded my buns and although they are not near you it will give you some idea of what happens etc http://www.fatfluffs.com/info/

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Confused_bun said:

You'd go and pick out a bunny (i picked first and second choice buns), they then home check you and arrange when your bunny will go in for bonding. It can take as little as overnight or it can take a week. My bun was gone 6days - i really missed her but called everyday to check on her and we visited on day 4 to see her - the rescue is ok with this as most people really miss their buns whilst they are there.

Sizing wise 6x2 with a 8x4 run is the smallest area a rabbit can properly stretch their legs in and hop around plenty, so adding in a second doesnt effect the space really.

The rescues are really good at bonding, they have vast experience. They know when its just rabbits sorting out the pecking order and when a real fight is about to break out better than most. I think your bun is far less likely to be injured when a rescue bonds than when you try yourself. No rescue would leave them together unattended.

Also it gives you chance to properly neutralise the house, whilst they are gone.

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MissSherwood89 said:

The good thing about rescues is that they will be able to tell you which buns would be the best match for yours. My Princess Mylo is away bonding at the moment (since Wednesday 12th :shock, we actually chose a different bun at first but his foster carer advised that another little boy she was looking after was much calmer and so may be more suitable for Mylo as she as quite skittish, whereas the boy we originally wanted was quite feisty (we tried to bond her with a feisty boy last year and it failed miserably). She was spot on, they're getting on perfectly and are coming home tomorrow

Still feel a bit bad about the boy we originally picked but we had to put Mylo's happiness first, last thing I wanted was to send her away then stress her out more with a boy who would most likely have scared her.

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Freakinfreak said:

Thank you for the link, it's nice to know what would happen! I assume it's like going to a good bra shop, they look at you and can decide what bras would be best for you, then you try them on until you find the right one :lol:

Do they come and visit? Would it make much difference if we left increasing the space/making the space more decent for when Neo was gone? I wouldn't want them to look at the space and say it is too small!

This would allow us to neutralize the items we added (including new vinyl floor and playpen panels, toys and bowls and litter trays, etc) and also enables us to move the hutch out of the room and sterilize things as much as possible - so much easier if he wasn't there as the space we are using is literally the only available space, anywhere else and he'd not be able to go into a run between the time of starting the new set up and him going to the rescue otherwise.

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Freakinfreak said:

How did you go about finding a nice rescue that you felt you could trust?
Do they charge much?

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Freakinfreak said:

Oh that's a long time, I'd have to get a sleeping bag and stay there with him :lol:

How did you go about finding a nice rescue that you felt you could trust?
Do they charge much?

Thanks

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MissSherwood89 said:

We really wanted to stay with her (we're missing her like crazy!) but we know it's all going be worth it. Because Mylo's last bond didn't work, Foster Carer just wanted to make extra sure they'd be ok together before letting them come home.

Last time we wanted to adopt from Barnsley Animal Rescue which is a fair distance away from us so when the bond failed we had to take him back which made us feel awful. This time we wanted to keep it as local as possible so Mylo could be sent for bonding (she's not a great traveller). Adoption fee is only £40 but we're going to give bit extra just for all the help they've given us

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Freakinfreak said:

Is she home yet? How did it go?

Spoke to the boyfriend and I think getting a second bun is going to be a no for now, the house we are staying in is his Step-Nan's (she's not living there, we are the only people in the house, long story she broke her hip and is living in his bedroom at his Dad and Step-Mum's house, so we swapped and she's never coming back now) and they're quite... restrictive, we had a 3 hour 'chat' about us being disrespectful (apparently) so we think mentioning another rabbit so soon after this 'chat' is a bad idea.

We hope for him to have a wifeybun by the time he is 1 though, and he should be a bit more chilled out with us and a bit more confident. He will have been with us for 6 months when he's 1, so hopefully we'll have a good relationship at this point!
We will also have more of an idea of how long we may be at this house, or by then we may be renting somewhere else and feel a bit less controlled and able to decide things for ourselves!

I need to stop looking at rescues now though in case I find the 'perfect' bun

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MissSherwood89 said:

They came home Saturday and have been perfect since day one. Literally can't stop watching them!

It's a shame about your bun, we're so lucky my OH's mum is very lenient, especially when it comes to animals. Hopefully one day soon things will change for you!

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