randomname
Young Bun
Can anyone give me some pointers/thoughts for my new lad Jim & possibly getting him a friend.
He's around a year old, has been a lone house bunny with a family including small kids & a cat (who he adored) before he came here a month ago. He's never even seen another rabbit He is very confidant & people friendly, loves being stroked & cuddled, seems fine with being picked up even - never met a more soppy bun as far as humans go. However he chin rubs constantly, more than any bun I've ever met - he even chin rubs his food before he eats it! Seems like he might be pretty territorial. He can see the guinea pigs from where he is, & for the first week he patrolled the edge of his set up to make sure the piggies didn't invade, although he's settled down now. He's not aggressive or angry, just very alert & wants to claim everything as his own. As he's been doing this a while I doubt neutering will curb this instinct - does any one else agree/disagree?
He's about to be neutered & I'm in two minds as to the next step.
I have a bonded trio of a 10yr old neutered male & 2 neutered females of around 5-6 years old who've all been together around 4 years. Ideally he's just go in with them, but I don't want to upset the balance. However I'm also painfully aware that any day could be the last day of the 10yr old which would leave the girls behind.
I'd prefer to have one set up, but can stretch to two. I'm prepared to get him a friend, but would prefer to keep the numbers to a minimum if possible.
My options seem to be
1) wait until Zak (the 10yr old) passes & try bond him with the girls.
2) Try to bond them as a quad - but i doubt Zak will accept Jim.. but who knows? What if they all fall out?! Zak has PTSD & was bullied by another male (although he looked nothing like Jim)
3) Get Jim a friend & keep those two separate from the trio. Any thoughts as to the sex/personality/age I should look for?
Anybody got any thoughts on this? My priority is obviously their health & happiness, but I'd also like to keep the work down for myself if possible. I have only done bonding once & am not 100% comfortable doing it. Also I can't keep a failed match due to space restrictions, so if I get Jim a friend I'd have to have a guaranteed match so bunny bonding might be the way to go. I've asked at 2 reputable rescues near me, but both are downsizing & the owners are both in bad health so I don't want to add to their woes by asking them to take Jim in for bonding.
Decisions, decisions...
Edit : should also ask if anyone has any thoughts on me putting him in a carrier & placing the carrier within sight of the runs my trio uses to gauge Jim's reaction to other rabbits. It would be useful to know what he does but I don't want to upset the trio. He would be moved away from them afterwards but I'm worried the trio might start fighting between themselves afterwards. Maybe I could just do it when the girls are out, it's mostly Zak I'd be worried about reacting badly. However, that might not be the case (I tend to worry about Zak way more than is necessary) The girls could just as easily be upset by his presence I guess.
He's around a year old, has been a lone house bunny with a family including small kids & a cat (who he adored) before he came here a month ago. He's never even seen another rabbit He is very confidant & people friendly, loves being stroked & cuddled, seems fine with being picked up even - never met a more soppy bun as far as humans go. However he chin rubs constantly, more than any bun I've ever met - he even chin rubs his food before he eats it! Seems like he might be pretty territorial. He can see the guinea pigs from where he is, & for the first week he patrolled the edge of his set up to make sure the piggies didn't invade, although he's settled down now. He's not aggressive or angry, just very alert & wants to claim everything as his own. As he's been doing this a while I doubt neutering will curb this instinct - does any one else agree/disagree?
He's about to be neutered & I'm in two minds as to the next step.
I have a bonded trio of a 10yr old neutered male & 2 neutered females of around 5-6 years old who've all been together around 4 years. Ideally he's just go in with them, but I don't want to upset the balance. However I'm also painfully aware that any day could be the last day of the 10yr old which would leave the girls behind.
I'd prefer to have one set up, but can stretch to two. I'm prepared to get him a friend, but would prefer to keep the numbers to a minimum if possible.
My options seem to be
1) wait until Zak (the 10yr old) passes & try bond him with the girls.
2) Try to bond them as a quad - but i doubt Zak will accept Jim.. but who knows? What if they all fall out?! Zak has PTSD & was bullied by another male (although he looked nothing like Jim)
3) Get Jim a friend & keep those two separate from the trio. Any thoughts as to the sex/personality/age I should look for?
Anybody got any thoughts on this? My priority is obviously their health & happiness, but I'd also like to keep the work down for myself if possible. I have only done bonding once & am not 100% comfortable doing it. Also I can't keep a failed match due to space restrictions, so if I get Jim a friend I'd have to have a guaranteed match so bunny bonding might be the way to go. I've asked at 2 reputable rescues near me, but both are downsizing & the owners are both in bad health so I don't want to add to their woes by asking them to take Jim in for bonding.
Decisions, decisions...
Edit : should also ask if anyone has any thoughts on me putting him in a carrier & placing the carrier within sight of the runs my trio uses to gauge Jim's reaction to other rabbits. It would be useful to know what he does but I don't want to upset the trio. He would be moved away from them afterwards but I'm worried the trio might start fighting between themselves afterwards. Maybe I could just do it when the girls are out, it's mostly Zak I'd be worried about reacting badly. However, that might not be the case (I tend to worry about Zak way more than is necessary) The girls could just as easily be upset by his presence I guess.
Last edited: