Girl bunny meets boy bunny = angry girl bunny

[KudzuJungle]

Gibby has been lone bunny all her adult life.  I’m not sure if she would remember being in a litter of bunnies as a baby, but she has never seen another rabbit that I’m aware of, after she left the litter.

 She’s a little over a year, dwarf lion head.   I introduced a dwarf male (not a lion head) to her today.   I had the male in a cage and I set the cage down in front of Gibby.  She opened her mouth as wide as she could and tried to attack the male, through the cage holes.  I think she was able to bite his face, but the cage kept her from getting a hold of him.   He tried to attack her back.

 I took the cage out of her site and put him in the kitchen.   I brought him back after a while, but not within her reach.   She stomped her feet, ran under the couch, stomped some more.  Then she came out, stared him down, stomped, ran, hid, stomped some more.  Repeat.  Repeat.  

I have him in the kitchen, where she can see him from a distance.  She stares him down.

Obviously, she doesn’t want a friend.   The plan was to breed the two dwarfs so the owner of the male can have the babies.  I don’t want either of the bunnies to get hurt.  It’s not worth it to me.  I just thought Gibby was lonely and wanted another bunny.   Aren’t they social creatures?   She seemed content to have me and my husband as her “people friends” but I thought she needed her own kind for true company.  Obviously, I’m wrong.  I can take the male back any time if this is a bad idea.

Suggestions?

[LBJ10]

Hi Kudzu! The topic of intentional breeding isn’t allowed here on BB. You’re new here, so you may not be aware of the rules. Looking at this from a “bonding” perspective though, what you’re doing isn’t going to accomplish what you want. You want Gibby to have a companion. Bringing a strange male to her territory isn’t going to provide that to her. In order to bond two bunnies, both need to be spayed/neutered. They cannot form solid bonds with each other if hormones are in the driver’s seat. Gibby sees this strange male as a threat and she probably feels she needs to defend her territory. This male probably just has one thing on his mind. If they did happen to like each other, it would be unfair to introduce them only to take Gibby’s new companion away.

If you want Gibby to have a friend, then I would suggest having her spayed. Wait until she’s healed and her hormones are settled. Then take her to a shelter or rescue to meet potential friends. The new friend would need to be spayed/neutered. If she seems to like a bunny, then you can adopt it and bring it home to start the bonding process. Bonding two bunnies can take a lot of time, depending on the individuals involved. That’s why we have an entire section dedicated to bonding bunny to bunny.

[KudzuJungle]

I didn’t mean for it to sound like this is for breeding to sell the rabbits. The owner of the male is my uncle, who keeps rabbits as pets. Nothing more. He wants all the babies. I want a friend for Gibby, but I didn’t understand her behavior. Now that I understand, it would be cruel to introduce them. Gibby is very upset that I have the other rabbit. They don’t like each other at all, but they stare at each other from a distance. I actually feel bad for Gibby because I thought she would be very happy, and when I saw her open her mouth that wide, it startled me. I actually told my husband not to pet her because I think she’s probably mad enough to bite us.

Thanks for the info about bonding. Are rabbits happy to be alone or is it worth the effort to find a friend for her?

[Bam]

Desexed bunnies are often very happy to have a friend. But it’s as LBJ says, it’s often not so straightforward and easy to bond two bunnies. If your bunny has lots of alone time, I think she’d benefit from a companion. If on the other hand you spend lots of time with her, the need for a friend is less pressing.

Some shelters offer bunny speed-dating, and thats often very successful because the bunnies get to choose their own partner. Bunnies of course have criteria that us humans can’t even begin to understand. Your bunny needs to be spayed first though and healed, or it won’t work out.

[KudzuJungle]

She spends all day with my husband and me. She gets a lot of attention from us.

[LBJ10]

No worries KudzuJungle. From what you’re telling us, I think your best bet is to have Gibby spayed and then wait for her hormones to settle. It’s advised to have females spayed anyway because of the high risk of reproductive cancers. At that time, you can see if she is content with being a solo bunny or if you think she would benefit from a friend. I highly recommend picking out a bunny that she likes though.

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