Bonding Pip to her new friend

Mervinius

Mervinius

Mama Doe
Hi all.

It's been just over 2 weeks since we said goodbye to Archie, we have had mixed advice about whether to get her a friend and I'm at a loss on what to do.

I know buns are better together normally, which is why we got a duo in the first place.

She is eating well and has stopped hiding/grieving. We've had a few mini J turns. Her version of a binky and she been exploring upstairs to get us out of bed each morning. She has company with us all evening, but we both work. I dont want her to be lonely, but also don't want to get her a friend just because we miss Archie. I want what is best for her.

She has always been in charge and the vets call her sassy, she doesn't like human cuddles and mostly keeps to herself unless food is around and then she's your best friend. Lol.

She will be 9 next month, but you wouldn't know it, oh and she doesn't have incisors so is looking a bit scruffy now Archie isn't grooming her. She likes to play with Daddy, but she tends to run away from me, if I try to stroke her.

What do you guys think?
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Unless you do not want to remain in the cycle of keeping Bunnies I would definitely adopt a friend for her

some Rescues will allow longterm Fostering- they pair up your Rabbit with one of their hard to home Rescues and will guarantee to take the Foster Rabbit back when the elderly companion passes. If the hard to home Rescue has known health problems eg dental disease the Rescue usually continues to cover costs of Vet care for pre-existing problems.
 
Seeing her reminds me so much of my shiny black dwarf bridge bunny Raven who was also labeled as Sassy. Raven was a dental bunny and was unable to be bonded with my mini rex bridge bunny, Heidi, because he ate very slowly and needed to eat pellets and some treat sticks to retain weight while she hoovered food. . I regret I did not find a way to bond them.
I would see if you could trial a bunny to be her friend.
 
I don't know what to suggest, but I will watch this thread with interest. Our Queenie is alone now since her bestie died last winter. Should we or shouldn't we get another?
 
Have you got a neutral space where you could bond her with another Rabbit? It would preferably be well away from any area she is used to. I am trying to bond an older Rabbit but she is very feisty so it's not easy with these females.
 
She is free roam in our house. So a neutral area I'd a slight issue. We do have the kitchen which she has only been in when we've had work men in, but it's been very rare. I'm not sure we are brave enough to do the bonding, but there are a few places that do it for you. Just worried about giving her extra stress by sending her somewhere to be bonded.

Is it better to try to bond her ourselves in the kitchen. Or get a rescue to do it but she's be somewhere new and scary. I wouldn't want her to think we'd given her away. She's so damn smart, i swear she understands what I say. 🤣. She can be quite menacing for such a teeny bun!
 
I'm in exactly the same position, 9 1/2 year old recently bereaved bun who's also free roam so no neutral areas. I've just been monitoring her to see how she is coping. I say give her a little time and monitor how she is before making a decision. You could try cornering off a room perhaps and cleaning it as preparation for a neutral area just in case you do decide to get her a friend.
 
Hi Everyone. So it's been a month since we said goodbye to Archie. He is still greatly missed by us! Pip is doing quite well, but she is still very skittish so we've decided she would be probably be better of with a friend. We've been in touch with a rescue and we are considering getting 2 more buns, so we have a trio situation. Would you recommend getting a female and male, so the trio is 2 females and 1 male? Or can 2 males and 1 female work?

We also had a made thought about getting a trio that is already bonded and introducing them to her. But we aren't sure about the success rate of that. It's a trio of NDs which is 2 females and a male. So we'd have 3 females and 1 male.

We haven't set a date to go see them yet, got to fit it around work etc.

Any advice is welcome
 
My personal preference would be 2 boys & 1 girl. Bonding girls scares me :).

A lot depends on personalities, though. If they have all been neutered for ages and have been / are in a bond, I find they know the ropes better and settle better with another rabbit, compared to one that hasn't been bonded before.

Your potential quad sounds interesting as well.
 
I've had two trios which are two girls and a boy, and now a quintet of four boys and a girl. It's much more about the individual rabbits than just their sex. I'd ask if the rescue can do early introductions and see how the bond looks.
 
Exciting developments for Pip. I've really got no advice - I can't even imagine what its like bonding ND's - are they extra speedy? I'd ask the rescue their thoughts, Loads of well wishes & I eagerly await updates
 
Bungenni said:
I've had two trios which are two girls and a boy, and now a quintet of four boys and a girl. It's much more about the individual rabbits than just their sex. I'd ask if the rescue can do early introductions and see how the bond looks.
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How wonderful. I'd love to see photos. I had a beautiful trio of 2 females & 1 male, i think it worked cos 1 females was happy to be submissive and the other was bossy but never malicious. They were very happy times
 
I would just go for a boy myself rather than a trio. If you put them side by side for a couple of weeks to give her time to get used to him that would probably work.
 
We've not bonded before, but decided that we will give it a go, because of Pips age etc we can't bare the thought of her not being here and worrying we've abandoned her. Rescue agrees it would be best to do it here and she will give us lots of advice.

Even though Pip is 9 she is pretty damn speedy. Lol she woke us up at 6am doing zoomies in the hallway because she wanted us to get up. 🤣

Yes the lady has a few buns she thinks will fit her personality, so we just need to meet them and choose who we think will fit her best. Tonibun can I ask why you think a pair is better? We were thinking of a trio, so when she leaves us. We still have a pair. It was so awful watching her grieve.
 
Pip has a lot of pep to do zoomies at 6am!!!😀. I hope you can find her the right partner(s), though that may mean multiple bunnies doing zoomies at 6am😂
I would concentrate on getting her the best match for now, one or two, and not worry about the new bunny(ies) being left behind when she joins Archie in the future.
 
Mervinius said:
We've not bonded before, but decided that we will give it a go, because of Pips age etc we can't bare the thought of her not being here and worrying we've abandoned her. Rescue agrees it would be best to do it here and she will give us lots of advice.

Even though Pip is 9 she is pretty damn speedy. Lol she woke us up at 6am doing zoomies in the hallway because she wanted us to get up. 🤣

Yes the lady has a few buns she thinks will fit her personality, so we just need to meet them and choose who we think will fit her best. Tonibun can I ask why you think a pair is better? We were thinking of a trio, so when she leaves us. We still have a pair. It was so awful watching her grieve.
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IME trio bonds are less stable, there is often one Rabbit who is always an outsider. There are rare exceptions though. So introducing a fourth Rabbit could destabilise the trio bond

When introducing a single Rabbit to a bonded pair/trio there is always the risk that the bond between the pair/trio will break down. Worst case scenario could be you have 4 single Rabbits who all hate each other. If the single Rabbit is a Doe then there is very likely to be a lot of initial aggression from the Does in the bonded trio. This might never resolve and can be what’s kicks off fighting between the bonded trio.



I agree with Tonibun on this one 😀

Good luck, whatever you decide to do.
 
Yes I was concerned about causing issues with the trios bond. I think if we went with a trio. We'd get 2 singles and introduce them to pip at the same time. But if does depend on their personalities of course. Rescue lady says she has lots that would be suitable for Pip, we will do what is right for her.
 
I have never tried to bond a trio so I can't give advice really.

Is there a reason what you can't just get a male bunny for her? That would make an easier bond for Pip I would have thought. I would have said go for one bunny as Pip needs stability after losing her friend but I don't know much about it.

I will say good luck whatever bond you choose to go for. I hope Pip gets a new friend(s) very soon
 
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