Bonding New Rabbits

[zenyah65]

Hi All,

I am new here [emoji4]

I have an amazing fixed pair of males already bonded bunnies, I believe one to be a Mini Lop? and the other possibly a Netherlands dwarf.

I am looking at getting a pair of female Netherlands Dwarfs from the same little once ready, but wanted opions and suggestions on 1) whether this would be a good idea and 2) Some advice on how to go about bonding?

I am also in the process of building a shed and converting into a house for my current rabbits.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Zen [emoji4]

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[mismatchbunnies]

Hi, first of all I would always recommend getting rabbits from a animal rescue/shelter as breeders are (in the vast majority of cases) only adding to the problem of overpopulation, regardless of if they are a ‘well established’ breeder or not. Not to mention, a lot of breeders are in it for the wrong reasons and often in it solely for the money, which often comes a the cost of the animals’ health and wellbeing.

Regarding getting two females from the same litter, I would discourage you from this also. The best combination for bonding rabbits is a male/female pair. Female rabbits can be very territorial, especially when their hormones hit a peak at a few months old, so whilst two baby females may get on at first, this may not be the case within a matter of weeks and may lead to serious fights. Also, female rabbits MUST be spayed (at around 6 months ideally) to prevent uterine cancer which is in most cases fatal. At the age of 5, unspayed female rabbits have an 80% chance of having uterine cancer. Therefore, the costs of spaying two female rabbits can become very expensive (around £300 in the UK).

If your plan would be to potentially bond all 4 of the rabbits, I would say that this wouldn’t be the best option as if your boys are already happily bonded (keeping in mind that two bonded males is often considered a ‘difficult’ bond in the first place), then you would not want to potentially upset this and ruin their bond, as it could leave you with 4 single bunnies if not done properly.

If I were you, I’d personally just stick with the two boys you have, but if you do really want more rabbits, then please go to your local animal shelter and see what they have there. Often shelters will already have pre-bonded rabbits so that you won’t have to go through the long and potentially complicated process of bonding.

 

[zenyah65]

Hi MismatchBunnies,

Thanks for your advice it is appreciated [emoji4][emoji106] I thought I would get some advice before making any decisions, and all has been taken onboard [emoji4]

Thank you! [emoji16]



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