General query about introducing / bonding rabbits

Dear All,

We (I, with the help of my Mum) used to keep several rabbits and guineas many years ago, but since this was almost 15 years ago :shock:, I consider myself new to the game once again, so have been doing a lot of reading up online just to make sure that I'm still on point with the important stuff.

One aspect of bunny keeping that I'm currently very interested in, is that of introducing a new companion bunny to my Arnold.

Now - all those years ago, we had our own bunnies, we would sometimes take care of friends rabbits when they went on holiday and we also occasionally winter fostered for a local petting barn / activities farm that closed to the public over the winter period. There was gender appropriate segregation when neutering / spraying had not occurred, but otherwise everyone (the bunnies) just boarded down together and they seemed happy. There were no fights, I don't recall much in the way of aggression. Of course some bunnies were more "bonded" together than others, but generally everyone seemed to get along nicely enough.

So I am intrigued now when I hear that the "normal" experience of introducing / bonding new rabbits together is a difficult one.

Perhaps the ease of my earlier experience was a product of that fact we were lucky to have so much space that we could dedicate to them? So they could mingle, but also escape from the madding crowd as they pleased.

Or am I confusing the concepts of introducing rabbits and bonding rabbits?

I'd be interested to learn more about people's experiences with introducing new bunnies to their existing fluffy friends - was it straight forward, was it really difficult? I can see from some of the message boards that some have even had sleepless nights!

I hope to find my Arnold a wee girl-friend soon, but need to be as prepared as possible, especially if this is going to turn out to be a awkward affair (at least for the first few blind dates!)

Thank you in advance.

(Currently typing this to the charming sound of leaves being nibbled - Naaawwww!)

Hello there and welcome. Generally speaking most rabbits will squabble/fight on meeting another bunny. It's mainly about hierarchy and territory. Territory is very important to a rabbit as territory = food and shelter. Unneutered boys will almost certainly fight, as will unneutered girls. You might be lucky and get 2 neutered boys to settle down together, not quite as easy to get 2 neutered girls but not impossible, so the best combination for a happy pair is boy/girl with both neutered.

In your particular case, as you already have a male rabbit and are considering introducing a female rabbit it should be much easier as the other way round. Boys don't tend to be as territorial as girls and so introducing them in a neutral area should go quite well. The boy possibly will chase the female for a while (up to 3 days) and by that time she will be feeling a lot happier and confident and won't keep on running away. Real fighting should be stopped but always try to end a session on a good note, if you choose to do "dates". I don't do dates, once together I aim to keep them together.

Naaawwwww! I love that!

Personally I'm a huge fan of letting my rabbit choose their next partner (by letting them have a date at a rescue centre) & when this has happened I've found bonding easy.
I've never struggled with male / female pairs but my trio was quite hard work & certainly took a lot longer. There are so many different bonding techniques & which one you use may well depend on your personal circumstances (available free time, neutral space) & your bunnies personalities.

Good luck - I'm sure your current rabbit will be very grateful - although that may not be evident initially :lol:

Thank you for your responses

Certainly looking forward to our new addition when I find her. I think my boy would certainly benefit from company of the same species.

Will be a slow process though for the moment, I've never been one to really rush in to anything, especially not this important - I really like the idea of involving Arnold in the decision of who gets to come home with us