flemish giants need a lot of space, at least an xpen just for him. i have a double xpen that measures 4×8 feet. that would proably be a good size for a bonded pair with a flemmie, but he’d still need a lot of outside pen exercise time. i want a flemish so badly, but i wouldn’t have enough room in my house. i would say that if you don’t have at least small room to devote to the bunnies, not sure that would work out very well. food is going to be very expensive also. i guess think about it… keep in mind they’d have to be housed separately during the neuter/recovery and then bonding process.

I want a flemmie one day too but unless I discover a place around here that sells good bunny pellets in bulk that won’t ever happen!  I can’t imagine the amount of pellets one would go through!

And..Tucker eats about 2 cups of greens a day and she is 3.8 lbs.  Drue is about 6 lbs so he’s not even twice her weight but he eats about 3 cups of greens..and could easily eat more then that and keep his weight.  He also goes through a TON of hay and he eats twice as many pellets as Tucker does.  I’m thinking a flemmie must need about 6 or so cups of greens a day, 1/2-1 cup of pellets a day and I can’t even imagine how much hay!

Also with little buns you can always build up..which is what I do so that they get extra play room.  With a flemmie..I would think if you were to build up there’d need to be a wide area for the actual jump up and then A LOT of support to hold that weight.  With Drue being 6 lbs or so he already makes a “POP” noise when he bounces up sometimes just because of the force against the NIC cubes.  And that’s WITH a 1/2 inch dowel supporting it too.

oooh. very good point on the condo thing. i had not thought of that. yeah, i think they need a lot of wide open horizontal space first and foremost…

Yes the food bill would really go up.  When we added honey Bunny who is 8 lbs I was surprised at how much he could eat.  Also I have to change his litterbox every other day  no more than 3 days.   Not only the food greens hay would go up   the litter too.  If you can handle it great. He sounds like a really wonderful bun.

And the size of the poops too.  You would have lots of fertilizer for your garden.

how “safe” would it be to put them together in what respect? safe as far as him being healed from his surgery, or do you mean something else?

After his spay the hormones take 4-6 weeks to die down.   I must say it is not all that easy to find a bun a good home.  With his size you would have to be real careful someone doesn’t want him for food.  Being a big rabbit and all he is pretty meaty you know. 

Well looks like you are giving it some thought.  this definitely isnt’ an impulse purchase.  Thats great he is laid back.  It is fun to notice the difference between buns personalities.   However you decide to go I wish you and buns the best.

Him being laid back he may not run around as much as your present bun.   I notice HB being very laid back he doesnt’ seem to care about the size of the bathroom.  He seems content.  When I let him in the kitchen he explores a litte gets comfy and settles into a big stretchy  nap position. So perhaps your flemmie won’t be all that active being laid back.

I’m so excited for you! Flemish giants are the best! We have two at my shelter, babies and they are growing like elephants.

The good news is behaviorally they are generally very laid back, and sweet tempered. I wouldn’t worry about size in terms of bonding. It’s attitude and behavior not size. Rupert is easily three times as big as Kahlua. In terms of hurting her I don’t think a larger bunny has a harder bite, but if your careful during the bond not to allow circling or aggressive humping I’m sure it’d be fine.

For food he’ll definitely eat more though, and he’ll need room for sure! Maybe once you bond you can think about free range or building a nice large condo? Also a plus is you’ll easily be able to tell their poops apart and that’s great for health monitoring! Keep us posted on what you decide, and I’d love to see some pics of that boy if you can!

I posted in a thread a while ago about maybe getting a Flemish Giant to bond to my Mini Lop.  So I thought about it for a bit.  For me personally- it was not the “intake” (food qty and cost) that was an issue- I was more worried about the “output”.  If a Flemish Giant pees on the couch or carpet- how big are their bladders?!  I thought a Mini Lop was bad enough.  Ironically enough- I ended up with a Holland Lop and the few times she has peed on the couch (bonding/ territory reasons)- the amount is so small it is easy to deal with.  (We keep the buns on blankets on the couch- and sometimes my Mini Lop pees so much it soaks thru quickly.)  Penny, the Holland Lop only pees a small amount- so that is a relief for me- as that is the one thing that really makes my hubby crazy-is the peeing (poos are easily handled by the dogs- yes, gross- but they having a shoving match to get to them first).

And in size comparison- I would actually think your smaller rabbit would have an advantage in fighting- as it would be able to move much more quickly than the larger rabbit.  Of course it depends on personality and which is more aggressive/dominant- but smaller would probably be more agile.

i’m not trying to discourage you from helping this bun, but i don’t think those measurements are large enough for a flemish giant, let alone for two bunnies. the smallest size i would recommend for one average size bun (5 pounds) would be 2×4 feet. with a bonded pair, you’d want to double that so the smallest would be 4×4 feet for two *average* sized buns.

think about the litterbox. you are probably not going to be able to get a litterbox that is large enough for a flemish to be able to sit in and lay down in, so you could use one of those “under-the-bed” storage containers (those are maybe 16 inches by 30 inches— rough estimate!) the litterbox alone would take up the majority of the space in the closet. that leaves little space for running or laying down…

when i got my second bun, average sized lop mix… my costs all (at least) doubled. double litter, double hay, double pellets, TRIPLE VEGGIES!!! this is not to mention vet care. they get monthly nail trims at the vet. i had to purchase the extra supplies and new things for the bunny room (large rug, two xpens). and also a second carrier that was large enough for both. these things all add up. this was in addition to Max’s adoption fee, in your case you wouldn’t have an adoption fee, but you’d have to pay for neutering.

i understand what you’re saying: well it’ll be better than what he has now, which is true. ultimately it is your decision. please let us know how it goes and what you decide to do.

Glad we could all be of help and offer information to you about the big bun.  You may be better with a smaller one as you said.  I know the litter can really go fast with a bigger bun.  I use newspaper for HB and a bunch of hay.  If I put litter over the newspaper he eats it.  So thats what I do and he pees a whole lot. 

I dont’ use litter for HB  either cause I would be going thru litter like mad.  So yes with a flemmie that might be too much for you at this time. HE will be ok.  Someone with a better situation will come along and take him in.

I want more buns too.  But I haven’t the room and to spay another one etc. Gets expensive after a while.

Hubby was in Tampa and a breeder of angoras lives there. Ohhh I wanted one so bad still do but not right now. IN a couple of years maybe. I have to appreciate what I have and love them and give them the best care I can.   Besides another bun would be too much to clean up after.  Sometimes we just can’t do it and thats ok too.  

With your decision of getting a smaller bun thats great I wish you the best on that endeavor too.