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A new rabbit or a trio?

Duchannes

New Kit
Hi all,

Apologies if this subject has been exhausted already but I am in need of some advice.

I had two bonded pairs of rabbits, both m+ f pairings, and unfortunately one of my females passed away.

I am very sad about this still, she was my first rabbit and such a sweet character. She was only 18 months old. I love all my rabbits dearly but she was my favorite and i loved her the most. Its why i am having such a hard time in making the right decision for her partner.

He is very social and lively and i know he needs a companion (regardless of him being a rabbit). I see him watching my other pair during the day and he just looks so sad when he watches them, its heartbreaking.

My other pair are newly bonded - about 3 weeks now - and get along great. My males are both rescues and the rescue have offered to help me bond them to a trio. They explained it would be difficult (they both know my males) and i have done my research about trios too. I personally am not comfortable about the risks with bonding a trio to my pair but, i am also not comfortable getting a new female. BUT what if the trio works and its the best decision???

In an ideal world, i would bring in my male and make him a house bunny while i decided my next steps to at least give him as much human contact as possible while i figured this out.

I am also concerned that i didnt show my male the body. When i called the vets to ask them what i should do, they did say its personal choice and the vet i spoke with said he has personally, avoided it as he believed it caused stress to the remaining. So i am also worried i have caused my male even more stress by not allowing him to grieve.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated because i have absolutely no idea what to do :(
 
If you took up the rescue centre's offer and worked on bonding the trio in neutral ground, at least if it didn't work out, then revisiting getting an additional female would be wise back up plan. In addition, talk to the rescue centre about helpping you bond him with one of their females. Again you'd have a neutral territory and the option to try him with any females they have. Be careful with bringing him in at this time of year, if he acclimatised to indoors, then it could be a hard winter when you put him back outside. They often do not fair well with the drastic temp drops.
Good luck and I hope you find something that works for your bunnies.
 
Sounds like a good offer from the rescue. I would go for that I think. There are a few people on here with successful trios. Good luck.
 
I am so sorry you have lost your rabbit. She was only young. I personally like my pairs, going down the trio route would mean the 2 boys would have to accept one another, whereas I think it would be less stressful if you found a new female friend. It shouldn't be difficult introducing a female to your male as males are not usually very territorial. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
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