Gizmo is now 2.5 years old and since he was a baby, has lived with my hens. I know it's a bit frowned upon but they got on really well and the hens (especially the cockerel) were extremely tolerant of him. They often slept in the sun together. Gizmo seemed particularly attached to one of them, and they would always follow each other about. The hen would become upset and shout her head off when I took Gizmo out.
I've recently had to move house under difficult circumstances, and sadly could not take my hens with me. Gizmo has been on his own since, though he has lots of attention from me. I keep worrying that he might get lonely without the hens and was thinking of getting another rabbit for company. Problem is, when I read about all the difficulties with bonding etc, it really puts me off. I can't bear the thought of Gizmo getting hurt, or the new rabbit. He was hand reared as his mother died, so he probably hasn't got the best social skills with other rabbits either.
I've tried an animal sanctuary which is the biggest one here, and the only one that deals with rabbits but they weren't much help. I spoke to my vet and he said that I'd know if Gizmo was lonely as he would seem depressed, not playing, eating etc. He's definitely not like that. He seems quite happy, is active and spends a lot of time grazing and playing (his run is 5metres x 4.5metres). I then spoke to the staff at pets at home about it but they gave me conflicting information. They said to just keep an eye on Gizmo to see if he seems depressed but then the next staff member seemed very keen for me to take a rabbit, a young male who isn't neutered. Gizmo was neutered at 4 months.
Could anyone advise me on what to do? Would it be obvious if he was lonely? I'm only considering another rabbit for his sake, as I'm worried it might be a bit of a struggle paying for two sets of vaccinations, feed etc.
I've recently had to move house under difficult circumstances, and sadly could not take my hens with me. Gizmo has been on his own since, though he has lots of attention from me. I keep worrying that he might get lonely without the hens and was thinking of getting another rabbit for company. Problem is, when I read about all the difficulties with bonding etc, it really puts me off. I can't bear the thought of Gizmo getting hurt, or the new rabbit. He was hand reared as his mother died, so he probably hasn't got the best social skills with other rabbits either.
I've tried an animal sanctuary which is the biggest one here, and the only one that deals with rabbits but they weren't much help. I spoke to my vet and he said that I'd know if Gizmo was lonely as he would seem depressed, not playing, eating etc. He's definitely not like that. He seems quite happy, is active and spends a lot of time grazing and playing (his run is 5metres x 4.5metres). I then spoke to the staff at pets at home about it but they gave me conflicting information. They said to just keep an eye on Gizmo to see if he seems depressed but then the next staff member seemed very keen for me to take a rabbit, a young male who isn't neutered. Gizmo was neutered at 4 months.
Could anyone advise me on what to do? Would it be obvious if he was lonely? I'm only considering another rabbit for his sake, as I'm worried it might be a bit of a struggle paying for two sets of vaccinations, feed etc.
