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Bonding Questions

B

Bunny_Bear

New Kit
Hi everyone,

I have the sweetest little lop rabbit called Bear who is around 6 months old and has just been neutered. He's a house bunny. I would really like to get him a friend to live with but I'm at a loss as to how to go about it. He's a little bit in love with me, and does the whole circling, honking and grooming thing, but I'm not here in the day and I worry he'll get lonely long-term. I know the basic ideas of bonding, and have tried it before, however it failed spectacularly and I'm nervous about how I go about this again.

My first choice was to take Bear speed dating, and I'm in the Yorkshire area but I can't seem to find many rescues (just, at all) that do this so I've ruled this out for the time being.

My second idea was to adopt an adult female rabbit that had a sweet temperament (but having owned sweet natured rabbits before that I couldn't bond I know this wouldn't be a sure fire success). But, most rabbits I've seen up for adoption don't seem to be spayed, which would mean adopting one without being able to introduce them, getting her spayed and just hoping for the best down the line.

And my third idea was to adopt a baby female bunny, introduce them now, and then separate them when she is old enough to be spayed, before re-introducing them again.

I'm leaning towards the third idea, but this is based on my assumption that it's easier to bond a baby rabbit with an older rabbit? When I really don't know if that's true.

Any advice would be awesome <3
 
Firstly I would wait 6 weeks post neuter to allow his hormones to settle.

Can you tell me a bit about how you tried to bond him before?
 
Hi and welcome to the forum :wave: your bunny sounds a lovely little chap. Yes a little friend would be good for him, I'm sure. If you were to adopt an unspayed female, it might be better to wait until after she was done, and her hormones had settled down, rather than have to split them up, and go through it all again. Alternatively, there might be someone, or a rescue in your area, that offers bonding services, and will do it for you. I'm sure others on here will be more familiar with your area, so might be able to offer more help. Good luck !
 
Amy104 said:
Firstly I would wait 6 weeks post neuter to allow his hormones to settle.

Can you tell me a bit about how you tried to bond him before?
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I was going to do this, although I was hoping whilst I wait out the 6 weeks, a new friend could acclimatise to their new surroundings and they could see each other. Or would you say even introductions through bars are off limits until the full 6 weeks are up?

I’ve never tried to bond Bear before.

I previously had a mixed giant lop male who was also a sweetheart. I tried to bond him with a little female lionhead, but I didn’t dare go past the first stage of bonding as he was attacking the carrier she was in even in neutral territory. I ended up emigrating and the woman I rehomed him with bonded him with a giant rabbit.

I also had another mixed lop lionhead who was a sweetie, I tried to bond him with the little girl lionhead. They had cages next to each other, were introduced on neutral territory, they got to the point where they would sit and eat with each other but she was just not having him anywhere near her territory and got quite nippy with him. After emigrating he was rehomed with a girl that insta-bonded him with another lionhead.

On reflection... perhaps the issue was the female lionhead I was using as a bonding partner... she was even nippy with me and very territorial of her hutch/space.
 
I was going to do this, although I was hoping whilst I wait out the 6 weeks, a new friend could acclimatise to their new surroundings and they could see each other. Or would you say even introductions through bars are off limits until the full 6 weeks are up?
Click to expand...

Some bunnies are fine next to each other, others will get quite stressed and frustrated they can't interact so that really depends on the bunnies.

I tried to bond him with a little female lionhead, but I didn’t dare go past the first stage of bonding as he was attacking the carrier she was in even in neutral territory. I ended up emigrating and the woman I rehomed him with bonded him with a giant rabbit.
Click to expand...

Did you have 1 bunny in a carrier and 1 loose?

introduced on neutral territory, they got to the point where they would sit and eat with each other but she was just not having him anywhere near her territory and got quite nippy with him. After emigrating he was rehomed with a girl that insta-bonded him with another lionhead.
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You'll need to neutralise everything with White vinegar so that the bunnies are starting afresh.


Basically the way I do it is:

Small neutral area, no litter trays etc just hay everywhere.
Both bunnies loose - only seperate if essential. Minor nipping chasing etc is all fine.
Increase space gradually.
Neutralise final living space with vinegar.


If you get an unspayed older female you would be better off getting her spayed and bonding 6 weeks after her spay.

If you get a unspayed young female you will need to wait 6 weeks after his neuter before bonding. Once bonded you will need to be really careful that once she reaches maturity she doesn't harrass him and jeprodise the bond. You'll need to time getting her spayed really carefully.

Neither option gives you a better chance than the other, it really depends on the bunnies.

Whilst your bunny really needs company you need to have a plan in place incase it doesn't work out as planned.

A rescue would be a much easier option so hopefully someone can recommend one in your area.
 
Amy104 said:
Some bunnies are fine next to each other, others will get quite stressed and frustrated they can't interact so that really depends on the bunnies.



Did you have 1 bunny in a carrier and 1 loose?



You'll need to neutralise everything with White vinegar so that the bunnies are starting afresh.


Basically the way I do it is:

Small neutral area, no litter trays etc just hay everywhere.
Both bunnies loose - only seperate if essential. Minor nipping chasing etc is all fine.
Increase space gradually.
Neutralise final living space with vinegar.


If you get an unspayed older female you would be better off getting her spayed and bonding 6 weeks after her spay.

If you get a unspayed young female you will need to wait 6 weeks after his neuter before bonding. Once bonded you will need to be really careful that once she reaches maturity she doesn't harrass him and jeprodise the bond. You'll need to time getting her spayed really carefully.

Neither option gives you a better chance than the other, it really depends on the bunnies.

Whilst your bunny really needs company you need to have a plan in place incase it doesn't work out as planned.

A rescue would be a much easier option so hopefully someone can recommend one in your area.
Click to expand...
Thanks so much for your time and advice. I did have one in the carrier and one loose, then I put her in a pen in the garden and had him loose, but it just felt far too dangerous, he was lunging at her through the bars. The other times the two more placid bunnies were together in a room they never used, but she was really rough with him... whereas he just took it :?

I suppose the lesson I've learnt here is that you need to take it really slow... but time and space is something I do have.

How neutral does the neutral area need to be? There are two rooms in the house Bear hasn't ever been fully inside of, although he has sniffed at the door a couple of times. I also have an outside area he's never been in. But then there's areas like the kitchen where he's hopped around in, but barely spends time in.

I am also hoping someone can point me in the direction of a rescue nearby! :)
 
I did have one in the carrier and one loose, then I put her in a pen in the garden and had him loose, but it just felt far too dangerous, he was lunging at her through the bars.
Click to expand...

This could well of just been frustration.

How neutral does the neutral area need to be? There are two rooms in the house Bear hasn't ever been fully inside of, although he has sniffed at the door a couple of times. I also have an outside area he's never been in. But then there's areas like the kitchen where he's hopped around in, but barely spends time in.
Click to expand...

Somewhere neither have been is best.
 
Honeybunnies re-home nationally :) I've adopted 2 bunnies and a piggy from them, all separately and the transport was very kindly done for me. I lived in East Yorkshire and then west Yorkshire at the times.

A reputable rescue will make sure the female is spayed prior to adoption. I'd say getting an already spayed rabbit would be your best option as you don't then have hormones/a spay recovery interrupting the bonding.

I use white vinegar to neutralise the areas I've bonded in. Dilute with water and wash any accessories/hard floors or spray onto/use a cloth to wipe over carpets. I use a very small space at first and put both rabbits in at the same time with a big pile of hay and veggies/forage. Only separate (with thick gloves!!) if real fighting occurs, humping, chasing, fur pulling is all normal and I let that happen. 24 hours after good behaviour (grooming, eating together, lying down) I consider increasing space slightly, adding a litter tray and take it slowly :)
 
Thanks so much!

I think my current plan is to spend the next week getting supplies ready to take on another bunny. Then if no spayed females are available, I'll get a baby female and let her settle in for a week out of sight of him. At that point he'll be 4 weeks post-op, and I'll try to have them spend the next two weeks in sight of each other before I start introducing them.

Does any of this sound like a bad idea? I'm desperate for it to go well this time, ha!
 
That sounds fine but be prepared to move them back out of sight if either of them seems frustrated.
 
You could also look at Pets at Home adoption sections - there may be a spayed girl there, and they may ring round for you. Failing that, a female that is old enough to be spayed now, get her done ASAP (eg next week) and they will be ready for bonding at the same time in 6 weeks or so. You could get her spayed first, then vaccinated to speed up the process by a few weeks, although I would rather vaccinate first. You need to leave a couple of weeks between each procedure (spay, Myxo & RHD1 vacc, RHD1&2 vacc) whichever order they are done in
 
Thanks everyone, I'll take all the advice on board and keep you posted!

jf7KPmq
 
As your boy is still very young there should be no problems introducing him to a female. I would let another couple of weeks pass then he should be fine to meet a little girl. Introduce them on neutral space. Is your boy vaccinated? Spaying can be carried out when you feel she is ready and you shouldn't need to separate them. You could take them both to the Vets together, some do this. It is consoling for the female to have her friend with her. When you introduce them, he will no doubt chase her (unless you are very lucky) for a day or so so she knows he is the boss. You can separate if you want for the first night but start early again the next day. Pretty soon you should have 2 happily bonded rabbits.
 
Just thought I'd chime in that if you happen to have a steam cleaner, you can put white vinegar and water in that to neutralise carpets.

I did the side by side living followed by small neutral pen method for both of my bonds (trios).
One of them worked straight away but with the other I had one bun relentlessly bullying the other two for hours. I was in tears absolutely ready to give up because he was twice their size and being so mean with no retaliation from them. I couldn't see it ever working. Eventually an hour had passed without him attacking them and they started to relax a little. By the evening they were all snuggled up together. Within a week they were inseparable. I never saw an ounce of aggression from him after those initial hours. When he died the other two fearlessly guarded his body and wouldn't let me near until they were ready for him to go. During those first few hours I would never have imagined they'd end up loving him so much - it can look really bleak but it's just part of the process.
 
Thank you both for the positive stories! I'm feeling much more optimistic about it all now.

I do have a steam cleaner too! I was literally thinking whether or not I could use it to neutralise the area this afternoon, glad to know it should work!
 
Omi said:
Is BARC rescue close to you https://barnsleyanimalrescue.org.uk/rehome_status_rabbit/available-rabbit/ ? Looks like she has a couple of cute does.

ETA Sory, I've read further details and neither sounds likely to be an easy bond :(
Click to expand...

:thumb: BARC is brilliant, and Angie is very good at suggesting likely matches. They also often have rabbits that aren’t on the website if she’s not had time to update, so I would recommend getting in touch anyway.

You can check on rabbit rehome in case there are any rescues near you http://www.rabbitrehome.org.uk/
 
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