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Controversial I know..piggies and rabbits as bonded pairs

bissli

Alpha Buck
Just thought I'd find out what you all think about this. My local pet shop had a litter of piggies and a litter of rabbits for sale (boo!) but slowly all the baby rabbits, apart from one were sold. In order to stop the baby from getting lonely, they put it in with the piggies and when I first saw them together it was a bit upsetting as the bun was getting annoyed with the piggies and their noise and was running from them a lot. Anyway, I went in there the other day and there's only one baby rabbit and one piggie left and they seem to really love one another. They were curled up together and looked so content. Although normally I know it's not ideal for piggies and rabbits to be kept together for various good reasons - on this occasion I think it would be sad if they were separated and hope they go to a new home together (I'm even thinking of taking them on if they're not homed shortly). What do you think?
 
I wouldnt keep them together. Im am frightened enough by the thought of my buns fighting when they are eventually together. They usually do get on when they are young I think, but as they get older and hormones kick in the bun will probably just hump the GP. Also if they did fight the GP is likely to get very hurt
 
Eek! It's a big no-no and the RSPCA say so too.

Rabbits and pigs would never encounter each other in the wild, and have different body language and communication so can't 'talk' to each other like they would to the same species. They have different dietary needs, and don't 'know' which food is theirs but will tuck into what's there. An accidental binky or deliberate kick from a rabbit will seriously injure or even kill a pig. The same goes for humping, which happens even with neutered rabbits because it is a dominance thing. If the rabbit is an unneutered male, their friskiness can cause horrific internal injuries and possibly death.

There are always people who say they have had a rabbit and pig together with no problem BUT it is not worth doing because of the risks when there ARE problems.

Rabbits should be with other rabbits, and guineas with other guineas. The rabbit and guinea pig will be much happier with creatures of their own kind.
 
Sillyrabbit, yeah I really hadn't thought about hormones and puberty, you're totally right. They're only babies so there's no way of knowing how they'll react to one another when they reach puberty.
 
I know the advice is no, but I have 5 buns and 7 pigs together, and have had no problems, just happy animals. The buns often groom the pigs which is rather sweet. The buns are all carefully bonded to the pigs outside the shed then they go in together. There are lots of pigs sized only spaces they use, and to be honest my pigs prefer to be in dark spaces whereas the buns go outside. As for the food, mine are fed mostly on hay and fresh fruit and veg, plus trays of grass and have never had any dietary probs with either the pigs or the buns. Plus any bun or pig coming in i assess carefully to see if they will fit the herd. So i know the advice is no and lots of people on here disapprove, but with enough space and the right setup it has always worked for me.x Jess
 
I had two rabbits and two guinea pigs living together in the large bunny run (9' x 6' enclosure), and they always seemed to get along very happily, but my piggis are now getting on a bit, so they now have their own hutch, as they were finding it difficult to get around the run, and I was worried that one of the bunnies would accidentally hurt the piggies.
Bunnies are also very clean animals by nature, whereas piggies aren't (generally!), so I think it can't have been very nice for the bunnies to live with the piggy mess.
 
I have to side with the NO option, its not fair to ever keep guinea pigs and rabbits together, ever. As far as I am concerned, its too late when a pig has its ribs broken by a bunny binky or a rabbit is blinded by a scared gp.

Theres also the fact that they cannot communicate, and rabbits are all too often bullies. In my view, its irresponsible to expect two different species to get along, and should anything happen it is not the rabbits nor the guinea pigs fault, purely the owners, particularly if they are fully aware of the dangers and ignore them. Accidents do happen, and in this case, is 100% preventable.

rant over
 
I agree with the no argument, but as with everything I guess there are exceptions which do work.
 
my rescue bun and piggie were kept together by the previous family. they did seem to get on well. but while i was sorting out their housing i kept them both inside and getting to see them most the day i realised that ok they look happy enough (they snuggled up sometimes) but noticed little things. benji (bun) never lay down, kept trodding on oscar the piggie and was thumping his foot an awful lot cas i think he was unhappy. oscar used to pinch alot of the veg and benji refused to take it from my hand back then. also benji wouldnt eat pellets only piggie food which was no good atall for him. i seperated them when the housing was sorted and benji is a different bun totally. he eats pellets now, doesnt thump his foot, lets you handfeed him and must be so much happier because ive seen him laying down alot of the time. i didnt like doing it cas they had been together since they were little and did look sweet at times but i was worried sick benji wasnt getting the right diet and that oscar may get trampled to death. i think both are far happier now i have seperated them
 
I did do it years ago, I had a dwarf lop girl (Josie) and Geri (ginger piggy!) They were fine together for about 3 - 4 months. But I think in the end, Geri annoyed Josie so much, she kept attacking her. The attacks got worse and worse, so I had to separate them. Jo was so much more relaxed, and happier to cuddle, and Geri was the same.
I have been told that buns get annoyed with piggys peeing and pooing everywhere, as that just isnt in a buns nature to be unclean, and then the dietry etc.
I know it can work for some, but I would worry far too much x
 
I am also of the NO thought on this matter. Each year I take a number of piggies in who have either deformed limbs, obviously broken limbs or have had to have a limb amputated after having lived with a rabbit. Some hormonal rabbits will hump piggies others are appear fine and leave the piggies alone. However the thing which needs to be considered is that part of the normal nature of rabbits is that they thump when they are frightened often to tell other rabbits that danger is present, this is quite normal for them to do. If they are frightened they will not stop to thing that a piggie is tucked up close to their hind legs, it is an automatic response ... they will just thump, if unfortunately a piggie is there they may get broken limbs, broken ribs, internal injuries or even die.

I am very aware that there are always people who say they have had a rabbit and pig together with no problem BUT it is not worth doing because this is all part of the normal behaviour of rabbits which is not done intentionally. This is why I don't believe that rabbits should be kept with piggies if we are risking their health on a daily basis. It is too late when a piggie is injured by a bunny binky or a frightened rabbit.

This is without taking into consideration the different nutritional needs of rabbits and piggies which is another story :wink:
 
I agree. I'm on the NO side.

I used to work in a pet shop and they kept both the piggies and buns together. I was shocked at the amount of times i had to seperate them. Piggies weren't able to get to the food, no matter how many bowls of food were put down. And there were injuries caused sometimes. One poor piggy had his leg broken and another an eye injury. When the old manager left i quickly sorted the situation and seperated the buns from the pigs. The difference in both the piggies and buns was amazing.

I keep both piggies and buns, and i could never imagine mixing them. I know how territorial both species are, and its hard enough to bond them to their own kind.
 
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