Hi, I was wondering how you would bond bunnies. I currently have a rex buny Iris who i've had since May. I've always wanted to get her a playmate and latly she's been bored around my room, I thinkk she's done pretty much everything she can. I was in the petstore the other day and they had the cutest little lop bunny. I asked about it and the owner said that it had been returned and that she was going to have to give it to the shelter if no one took it. I felt so bad and have been trying to figure out a way to get it. But I realized I have no idea even where to start bonding bunnies. Iris is spayed, so I don't have to worry about it but can I keep them in the same cage? I figured at least to start I need seperate cause she'll flip if i just stick another bunny in with her (she's a diva :lol: ). Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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How to Bond
- Thread starter chibichan
- Start date
touie
Wise Old Thumper
I got Splodge to bond with Niamh but he was only 6 weeks old so i had to wait for him to grow up first, and then he was a late developer so I had to wait even longer before he could be neutered!!! They had been around each other, though not let out together for a few months before I bonded them. There had been a couple of accidental escapes and they had fought previously so I was a bit worried. I took them over to my parents and let them out together for a few hours in their kitchen and they were fine together. The next day I tried them in my kitchen (neutral ground) and left them together all night and the next day while i was at work. There was a bit of nipping and chasing but nothing too much, then they moved into Splodges house the next night and have been fine together since!!! 
hi
Well there have been quite a few injuries doing it Cheryl's way - try it very carefully, after first seeing if they attack each other through cage bars - Unless you have plenty of money for vet bills!
Most important thing is that they meet in a place where neither bunny has been before - a friend's garden, your kitchen etc. And that you have a long handled broom to seperate them if they fight - or you may get badly bitten!
If they get on great in this new place, then you need to give the hutch or cage a very thorough clean out/lick of paint before putting them in it together, so that it's a new place for the 2 of them - likewise rearrange the furniture and put a new rug down in your room to make it new.
If the only fighting that takes place is a little nipping, chasing, fur pulling and mounting, then that's not too bad
Well there have been quite a few injuries doing it Cheryl's way - try it very carefully, after first seeing if they attack each other through cage bars - Unless you have plenty of money for vet bills!
Most important thing is that they meet in a place where neither bunny has been before - a friend's garden, your kitchen etc. And that you have a long handled broom to seperate them if they fight - or you may get badly bitten!
If they get on great in this new place, then you need to give the hutch or cage a very thorough clean out/lick of paint before putting them in it together, so that it's a new place for the 2 of them - likewise rearrange the furniture and put a new rug down in your room to make it new.
If the only fighting that takes place is a little nipping, chasing, fur pulling and mounting, then that's not too bad
I'd suggest heavy gardening gloves rather than a broom. More controllable.
My bunnies were integrated in the way described, and it worked for us. I would say there were 2 stages for us.
Intro stage - fair bit of chasing and humping. Calmed down after an hour or so. Had to pop my oldest bunny into a crate after a bit as she was getting tired out before the others were, so I caged her where she could still see everything.
Second stage - for a couple of weeks after the first introduction, things were a little distant and there was still occasionally some chasing and humping, particularly between my old Boss Bunny and the Young Pretender.
After that things all got very snuggly and they all started washing each other and generally being terribly cute.
My bunnies were integrated in the way described, and it worked for us. I would say there were 2 stages for us.
Intro stage - fair bit of chasing and humping. Calmed down after an hour or so. Had to pop my oldest bunny into a crate after a bit as she was getting tired out before the others were, so I caged her where she could still see everything.
Second stage - for a couple of weeks after the first introduction, things were a little distant and there was still occasionally some chasing and humping, particularly between my old Boss Bunny and the Young Pretender.
After that things all got very snuggly and they all started washing each other and generally being terribly cute.
**Bonnie**
Mama Doe
how long does it take generally?
Alfie Kennedy wrote
It varies from bun to bun, ARC have paired up lots of rabbits over the past 4 years, some are pretty loved up within a few days, others take a lot longer, maybe months.
If you look at the links to the thread below, you can see the saga of the pairing up of 2 female rabbits Lorraine from this forum had who needed a companion. She brought them over to me last May and I paired them up for her over the weekend, as you will discover from that the two pairs were very different. With Bluebell and Sammy there was more fur flying however they were snuggling within a few days, whereas Maisie and Nibbler were more distant and tended to ignore each other but took weeks to be close.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/t...ys=0&postorder=asc&highlight=bluebell&start=0 there is also a follow up as well http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/tam/viewtopic.php?t=6967&highlight=bluebell
Janice
It varies from bun to bun, ARC have paired up lots of rabbits over the past 4 years, some are pretty loved up within a few days, others take a lot longer, maybe months.
If you look at the links to the thread below, you can see the saga of the pairing up of 2 female rabbits Lorraine from this forum had who needed a companion. She brought them over to me last May and I paired them up for her over the weekend, as you will discover from that the two pairs were very different. With Bluebell and Sammy there was more fur flying however they were snuggling within a few days, whereas Maisie and Nibbler were more distant and tended to ignore each other but took weeks to be close.
http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/t...ys=0&postorder=asc&highlight=bluebell&start=0 there is also a follow up as well http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/tam/viewtopic.php?t=6967&highlight=bluebell
Janice
