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Bunny Partner Questions

Hi there! I apologize if this thread is in the wrong place, truthfully with the questions I have I wasn't sure where to put it after looking around at the main topics. I'm new here, can you tell?

I have a couple of questions about getting a second rabbit, though they aren't particularly about bonding / introductions.

1. Is size relevant? Does it matter that our current bunny, Kaz (a female lop) is somewhat large, and a new bunny we get may be quite small in comparison, is this a problem at all?

2. If it's not possible to spay / neuter both rabbits (the new one might be too young for example) is it still okay to introduce a new rabbit if only one is fixed?

3. Perhaps most importantly, we have a new, much bigger hutch ready to be built for her to become an outdoors bunny (It's essentially a chicken coop, it's big enough for two rabbits), should we wait until we introduce a new rabbit before allowing them to move into their new home together? Or is it possible for Kaz to move in, and for a new bunny to eventually move in once bonding has been established?

A quick online search has netted me some recommendations on questions 1 and 2, but I wanted to get owners' opinions as well.
 
Size doesn't matter at all. I have a french lop in with two fairly small mongrels and they get on fine. There are all sorts of size combos on the forum.

Personally I'd wait until both rabbits are fixed since you may have to separate and rebond when the new one gets hormonal anyway, but I've heard of plenty of people bond a young entire rabbit with an older fixed one.
If you look in rescue for a partner you'd definitely be able to find a neutered buck to bond with Kaz though.

Again personal opinion, but I'd wait until they're bonded to move them in to the new home to avoid it becoming her territory. You could have her live there on her own first but you'd need to neutralise the space before you put them in as a couple.

The minimum size requirements for your average pair of rabbits are 12sqft of sheltered indoor space and 32sqft of run space.
I only mention this because very few of the coop set ups are suitable for rabbits, although with modifications and a run added on they can make a great home.
 
Hello and welcome:wave:

I'll try to answer these base on my experience - but am sure more experienced owners will come in as well.

1. Generally speaking - no - size is not that important. We have a large boy (4kgs) who is twice as big as his wife and they get on very well. Another one of our couples is also going to be mismatched in size but that won't be an issue.

2. Either an unneutered male/female will be difficult when they reach 'teenager' years - their hormones kick in and they may fight with Kaz, or if you get a boy, try to continually hump Kaz which will just end up annoying her. We've always kept our buns seperate until they've been neutered and then waited a few weeks for the hormones to die down. So you do need to make sure you've got the space to have 2 single buns!

3. It is technically possible to move Kaz into the new hutch now - and then the new bun once they've been bonded. BUT - the problems with that is that Kaz may become very territorial over it - and you might end up with the bond being absolutly fine - until you try to move them into 'her' hutch..even if you do try to neutralise it. Personally I've never had a problem with moving a bonded pair into an established hutch of one of the pairs - but we've been very lucky with our bonds.

I really think that it would be far better for you to get a more adult male - if you go to a rescue they will already be neutered and vaccinated - and rescue may well do the bonding for you (and gives Kaz a chance to choose her own hubby :love:). I know babies are cute etc - but getting a rescue bun is a whole lot less stressful - and cheaper too:thumb:

Hope these answers help.
 
The minimum size requirements for your average pair of rabbits are 12sqft of sheltered indoor space and 32sqft of run space.
I only mention this because very few of the coop set ups are suitable for rabbits, although with modifications and a run added on they can make a great home.

Annoyingly I couldn't find a picture showing it to scale with anything, but this is the one we got: https://2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b...x800/cf2d63ba-566f-40ed-878e-b0c647a751dd.jpg
Opinions? I think it'll be ideal, plenty of indoor space, and a nice big open outdoor portion that could probably be expanded with a little ingenuity.
 
Annoyingly I couldn't find a picture showing it to scale with anything, but this is the one we got: https://2ecffd01e1ab3e9383f0-07db7b...x800/cf2d63ba-566f-40ed-878e-b0c647a751dd.jpg
Opinions? I think it'll be ideal, plenty of indoor space, and a nice big open outdoor portion that could probably be expanded with a little ingenuity.

It's hard to tell the dimensions, do you know the measurements? We can work it out for you. It looks a little better than some of the coop designs you see, but often it looks larger than it actually is! And remember you will be the one trying to reach into every corner to sweep up the poops, often coop designs require you to be a contortionist to clean properly!

For a larger rabbit you would be better with a shed and aviary, if anything to save your own spine and elbows when you're trying to clean out!
 
When I say large I more so mean that she's reached her adult size, I'm rather sure she's an adult (1 year old) Dwarf Lop, but mum insists she's just a regular Lop even though Dwarf Lops aren't actually small.
She's not huge, I think she'd make good use of the space since the sides of the new hutch are about 1.1 metres high and 1.4 long for the indoor section. I'm uncertain of the width but at a guess it's close to 1m, maybe 75-80cm.

In feet those are:
Height: 3.4 feet
Length: 4.5 feet
Width (est.): 2.4 feet - 2.6 feet

That is only for the indoor space though, my guess would be doubling the length to include the outdoor section, but I'm not sure. We haven't assembled it yet.
 
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When I say large I more so mean that she's reached her adult size, I'm rather sure she's an adult (1 year old) Dwarf Lop, but mum insists she's just a regular Lop even though Dwarf Lops aren't actually small.
She's not huge, I think she'd make good use of the space since the sides of the new hutch are about 1.1 metres high and 1.4 long for the indoor section. I'm uncertain of the width but at a guess it's close to 1m, maybe 75-80cm.

In feet those are:
Height: 3.4 feet
Length: 4.5 feet
Width (est.): 2.4 feet - 2.6 feet

That is only for the indoor space though, my guess would be doubling the length to include the outdoor section, but I'm not sure. We haven't assembled it yet.

That size will probably be the whole coop as they really aren't very big. In terms of size a bunny should have the equivalent of a 6ftx2ft hutch area with an 8ft run. More is always better. If you haven't opened it yet can you take it back and replace it with a small shed or playhouse and attach a large run. It's always better to get it right first as it will save a lot of time and money.
 
I found these details:
Coop base: 4.5ft x 2.6ft
Run base: 3.2ftx 2.7ft

Height looks to be 4.2ft, which will be from the bottom of the stilts to the apex of the roof but should still be absolutely fine.

As it is, it gives you 11.7sqft of inside space (virtually at the minimum) and 8.6sqft of run space.
What I'd do in your situation is attach some board to the back and side of the run area and weatherproof the top so that you're essentially left with a really good sized hutch (20sqft of space!) and then add a large run on.
You could just add on a large run, but for a little extra effort you're left with a far more weather-friendly home for your rabbits :wave:

Make sure you add some weld mesh under the ground where the run will be, I learned the hard way that they can easily dig out, and will chew through chicken wire to do so!
 
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Size doesn't matter. I used to have a British giant and he bonded fine with a normal sized rabbit. :wave:

Also, in addition to what other people are saying, I would just buy another run, like 6 x 4 and add it onto that chicken coop and then it is definitely big enough. :)

Or alternatively, buy a playhouse and a large run. You can get play houses for around £180, I'm not sure how much the coop is.
 
That size will probably be the whole coop as they really aren't very big. In terms of size a bunny should have the equivalent of a 6ftx2ft hutch area with an 8ft run. More is always better. If you haven't opened it yet can you take it back and replace it with a small shed or playhouse and attach a large run. It's always better to get it right first as it will save a lot of time and money.

I did see a lot of pretty small coops around, but those are measurements I took myself of the indoor part based on the side panel that is unpacked (sorry, I meant to say the whole thing isn't unpacked, but some parts are)


Oh! And in response to BattleKat:

We got some thickish rectangular mesh as opposed to chicken wire, I don't think there's any way she'll chew through it, and we got some wire to attach it to the cage floor with, though a friend has suggested we use those chain-link kinda metal rings you clamp so they form rings around things. Either way the mesh we've got should serve us well.
 
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We got some thickish rectangular mesh as opposed to chicken wire, I don't think there's any way she'll chew through it, and we got some wire to attach it to the cage floor with, though a friend has suggested we use those chain-link kinda metal rings you clamp so they form rings around things. Either way the mesh we've got should serve us well.

Excellent :thumb:
 
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