Introducing another bunny

Emrys is getting neutered on Tuesday and hopefully the. If all goes well I will be starting to look at getting a girlfriend for him. They will have a new cage which is going to be 2 dog crates put together and obviously when all is good will be allowed to roam upstairs and in the garden.
What do I need to do about introducing 2 buns to each other? Keep them in separate cages until they are comfortable with each other? I'm planning on obviously getting a female, ideally quite young and a small breed. Will it matter if she isn't spayed before she goes in with Emrys, or is that something I will have to do before bonding?


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Always nice to get your bunnies paired up & easier on all concerned if you get a rescue bunny who is already spayed, rescues may help with bonding too. Apart from my trio bond I've never had to separate my buns, they've all bonded pretty quickly, I believe this is because they have "dated" prospective partners first. Some people opt for large space bonding, some small, some approach it gradually, some in one go. The bonding threads on here are good to read. By the way, Emrys will be fertile for some weeks after his op so definitely not advisable to put him in with an unspayed doe. Good luck

Espeada said:

Emrys is getting neutered on Tuesday and hopefully the. If all goes well I will be starting to look at getting a girlfriend for him. They will have a new cage which is going to be 2 dog crates put together and obviously when all is good will be allowed to roam upstairs and in the garden.
What do I need to do about introducing 2 buns to each other? Keep them in separate cages until they are comfortable with each other? I'm planning on obviously getting a female, ideally quite young and a small breed. Will it matter if she isn't spayed before she goes in with Emrys, or is that something I will have to do before bonding?


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If you're getting a female from a Rescue Centre, it's almost certain she will be spayed already. If she isn't, then please don't put her together with Emrys for 4 weeks after his neuter because he will still be fertile up to that point.

There is loads of bonding advice on RU, but as J&B says, you could ask the Rescue centre to help you. Mainly because it's so stressful to see bunnies seemingly 'attacking' one another during the bonding process - they have to establish their respective positions :shock:

I agree with everyone above. Most places I knew rescue wise will offer bonding and also I know my rabbit-exotics vet (as opposed to reptiles exotics, I get confused lol) offers a bonding service as well. She explained her process to me which I will relay as might give some ideas;

They watch the rabbits in a neutral environment for some time and if all is going well (eg happy to do their own thing, not necessarily looking for them to be best buds yet) then they are put in a carrier and go in a wee car ride. Idea is that the motion of the car breaks down the barrier because they are more nervous about the car motions than the bunny next to them so huddle. Then if all is going well, she mentioned a lot of the time they are more aware of each other by now, then it's an overnight stay.