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Brother and sister pair = not ideal?

Wellington

Young Bun
I posted on here recently about a pair of sister bunnies we had adopted who weren’t well-bonded. Eventually we made the difficult decision to take them back to the rescue centre as they clearly weren’t happy.

We have previously had male/female but non-related pairs, and the bond was really strong and a delight to all of us. Getting a pair of sisters was against my better judgement as I know they are prone to bickering, but I was bullied into it by my children ;)

Since then we have been waiting for a male/female pair to become available, and we have now been offered a brother and sister pair. However, I have read that siblings often don’t bond as well as ‘husband and wife’.

We will only have two rabbits, and as I’ve said, the bond between our previous rabbits was incredibly strong, they adored each other, and this was one of the things we loved most about them. A strong bond between our two bunnies is really important to us (and obviously them!)

What would everyone advise? Get the brother and sister pair, or wait for a non-related male/female pair?
 
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I would happily get a brother and sister pair. Have the rescue said anything on what their bond is like? I've never had any rabbits that are really closely bonded tbh but I've never thought they're any less happy.
 
Thanks. Sorry, re-reading my post it sounds as though we returned the other two because they weren’t head over heels in love. It was worse than that - Clover kept nipping/biting Hazel to the extent that Hazel had scabs on her back, and she developed a leg/paw injury. We couldn’t identify the cause so it may or may not have been inflicted by Clover to be fair. Hazel was scared of Clover and cowered if Clover came near her, and waited until Clover had finished eating before venturing near the food bowl. We talked it over with the rescue centre, who have been absolutely brilliant, and they thought Clover was probably territorial and didn’t like sharing her new-found space with her sister.
 
I have had 3 brother/sister bonded pairs and all were amazing. I have also had bonded brothers who had an amazingly strong bond.
 
I have had/have a number of brother/sister pairs and usually they are very happy. I assume this is because hierarchies are already sorted out while with Mum so the female accepts that the male is the dominant one.

With 2 sisters always one is the dominant one and bullies the other bunny. The bullying will be from mild to excessive depending on the bunnies. Even when mild bullying occurs, the situation isn't ideal.
 
I can't imagine why siblings would be more likely not to bond closely. I would think the opposite. I have had two brothers who bonded closely.

I don't think you need be concerned about them being siblings. In fact I'd say it was preferable.
 
I can't imagine why siblings would be more likely not to bond closely. I would think the opposite. I have had two brothers who bonded closely.

I don't think you need be concerned about them being siblings. In fact I'd say it was preferable.

this tbh. I don't think a bond will be defined or not as good because they're siblings, if anything I think it would help. providing both are fixed, I don't see an issue. if anything as they've been together from birth, the bond would likely be stronger imo!
 
Phew, that’s really reassuring, thank you. I must admit I was a bit surprised when I read it in some rabbity online article - I’d never heard that theory before. I am happy to conclude it’s nonsense then :)
 
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