Some qus. on multi rabbits

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 11sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 16 years, 12 months ago by skibunny8503.

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- 03/03/2009 at 10:53 AM
  skibunny8503
  Participant
  1338 posts
  I found a bunny that I really like (hoping Archie likes her too) and have a date set up on Saturday. The woman read the application I sent her back and I told her about Archie and said there wouldn’t be a problem with us adopting her. If everything goes well then they’ll bring her down to our house later to check out the house and make sure everything is ok and leave her there. So I’ve been looking up how to bond rabbits and am going to clean out the office to make room for another cage (ha, what room?!) and am going to organize the spare bedroom as our “neutral territory”. I’m a little nervous because I’ve never done this before so I hope I did all my research and bond them ok. Maybe I’ll be lucky and it’ll be love at first sight haha!
  
  So hoping everything goes well and they bond well, I had a couple questions on what to do with multiple rabbits.
  
  Do they share a litter box, or should I get another one? I’ll have one for her when/if we get her (his old square one that will be disinfected) but if I need 2 for both of them, then I want to get another cat litter box because he loves digging in it.
  
  This is probably a dumb question, but 2 rabbits can live in the same cage right? As long as they get along.
  
  Should I get 2 bowls for pellets and to put veggies in? Or can they share?
  
  Oh this isn’t really a mult. rabbit question but the woman said when they got her (have to ask how long ago that was) she was really thin and she still has soft poo every now and then. Any advice on how to help her gain a little more weight and stop the soft poo?
  
  I can’t think of anything else right now but if anyone has anymore info on what to expect let me know.
- 03/03/2009 at 12:58 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  How exciting for you and Archie!!!! Where are you getting her from? What kind is she?
  
  i don’t know a whole lot about bonding, but many members here do, i’m sure they’ll be able to help you out!
  
  Keep us posted on the process!
- 03/03/2009 at 1:05 PM
  skibunny8503
  Participant
  1338 posts
  She’s a mini lop just like Archie. http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=12762354 
  
  We’re all excited but I’m kind of nervous too.
- 03/03/2009 at 2:19 PM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  she kinda looks like she’s got some lion head in her!!! love the B&W spots!
- 03/04/2009 at 6:55 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  Bonding is going to be an individual experience for you. No two buns react to it similarly, but you have things working to your advantage. It is easier to bring a girl home to an exisitng boy. They are both neuter/spayed, of course. You have an area for neutral territory (some people allow their single buns run of every square inch and there is no neutral territory left). You are bunny-dating, which will go a long way to showing you how they might be able to interact afterwards. As long as you don’t give up, even if there might be some set-backs, I’m confident you will be successful. My two buns on the first day of bonding and the 21st day, were like night and day. You just have to be diligent!
  
  Two rabbits can definitely live in the same cage after bonding. Think of it as their getting married. The bonding period is like stressful, sometimes violent courtship (LOL!), once they are tentatively bonded you leave them together in the cage for 2 weeks straight, like the honeymoon period. And then they are together in their cage, allowed in the house, wherever else, that is married life.
  
  You will have to switch them betw/ their cages every night. You leave everything in place, food dishes, litteboxes, toys, blankets, and ONLY switch the bunny. So if Archie can only use a cat litterbox, you might get another one now, since he’ll be using her box every other night.
  
  Mine share two medium size cat boxes. Other people use just one box with their pairs. I found two work better for us, and they have a double xpen, so it’s not like they are denied space. One box doubles as their hay trough, so that’s another reason I use two. Both buns will use each box.
  What you can do if you’re concerned is, after bonding, give them two boxes and see if they’re using both or just one primarily. If they are gravitating towards one, try removing the other and they might not even notice.
  
  Food bowls don’t matter too much as long as they are not aggressive about food. I have two pellet bowls and two veggies bowls and I divide them up equally betw/ the two. Even when there are two bowls sitting there tho, they will often eat out of the same one. With pellets, this means they have to take turns reaching down for their next bite or their heads will hit ;o)
  
  Can you ask the woman what her diet is now and what they’ve done medically to find the cause of her soft poo? Soft poo, as you know, can be diet-related. I would think that getting her on a good, healthy, consistent diet will be your best way of fixing her poop and she might gain a little bit of weight. I wouldn’t suggest you try to fatten her up, just let her reach her ideal weight over time.
  
  I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for you! You better let us know as soon as you figure out what’s going on! ;o)
- 03/04/2009 at 11:31 AM
  skibunny8503
  Participant
  1338 posts
  Thanks Beka! I will definately go get another cat litter box because he is a digger (haven’t seen him do it in his new litter box for awhile but maybe he gave up because he liked making a mess). We might change his cage AGAIN because I can’t figure out where we’d put another litter box, so I’m going to look up other condos and try to draw something out.
  
  I told the woman what Archie’s diet was and she said that they would be on the same page then. I feed Archie timothy hay all the time, pellets in the morning, for lunch some veggies and before I go to bed another cup of veggies. I will ask her about her vet visit and will definately take her to the vet before there is any interaction between the two of them. Yeah it didn’t look like she needed to gain that much more weight, if any. I guess she wasn’t fed that much since she was really thin when they got her, poor girl! She lived in a 2×2 hutch outside with no shelter, she had poopy butt, nails never trimmed, and was chased around and hit by the children in the house.
  
  I wish I could take him to meet more rabbits but there is really nothing around here unless you want to drive an hour and a 1/2 to see just one bun. I emailed one person on craigslist that is right by me but doesn’t say what breed, if it’s neutered or gender and I emailed today a shelter an hour away from me to see a picture of a rabbit on petfinder.
- 03/04/2009 at 2:40 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  We drove 3 hours roundtrip to go get Max. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Some rescues or foster people may be willing to meet you somewhere along the way too. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
- 03/04/2009 at 6:41 PM
  skibunny8503
  Participant
  1338 posts
  Posted By Beka27 on 03/04/2009 2:40 PM
  We drove 3 hours roundtrip to go get Max. I don’t think that’s unreasonable. Some rescues or foster people may be willing to meet you somewhere along the way too. It doesn’t hurt to ask.
  
  I think if this doesn’t work then I’m willing to drive down to Pittsburg (as long as Archie is ok) at the Western Pa Humane Society, seems like they have more bunny’s there. Is it Saturday yet??!!
- 03/05/2009 at 7:45 AM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  I’ve seen some of the rescues on Petfinder in PA. They do seem to have quite a few buns. My adoption process with Max, start to finish, took a couple MONTHS to complete, so I know all about impatience. The good news is… it’s THURSDAY! So it will be here before you know it!
- 03/05/2009 at 10:17 AM
  skibunny8503
  Participant
  1338 posts
  I did see those and I mapquested one of the places in Pittsburgh (since we’ll be in Pa on Sat. anyways) to see how much more of a drive it would be. And it’s only an hour and 15 min. more to there. I’m going to call them up and ask them a few questions; like about why all the bunnies say “no kids” by them because we will probably have a kid (after awhile haha!) and my brother-in-law has kids that come over every once in awhile. And also to make sure they are house trained. I kept looking at all of them and they’re so cute!
  
  EDIT: I just called up the shelter and she said just to call before we leave and let her know we’re coming if we do decide to go.
- 03/05/2009 at 12:59 PM
  Beka27
  Participant
  16016 posts
  I think some rescues say “no kids” to cover all bases. Some people out there still think of rabbits as a child’s pet, so they want to discourage people from adopting rabbits FOR their children and returning when the child no longer is interested. They would not come back and repossess your bunny if you guys had a child. It would just be up to you of course to take responsibility and keep the bunnies regardless of what life changes may occur. Some people get pregnant and decide they have to get rid of all of their pets or else the world will come to an end, or whatever. Children and bunnies can co-exist in the same home, but the parents have to be in charge and teach them from an early age the right and wrong way to interact with the bun.
- 03/05/2009 at 1:21 PM
  skibunny8503
  Participant
  1338 posts
  Posted By Beka27 on 03/05/2009 12:59 PM
  I think some rescues say “no kids” to cover all bases. Some people out there still think of rabbits as a child’s pet, so they want to discourage people from adopting rabbits FOR their children and returning when the child no longer is interested. They would not come back and repossess your bunny if you guys had a child. It would just be up to you of course to take responsibility and keep the bunnies regardless of what life changes may occur. Some people get pregnant and decide they have to get rid of all of their pets or else the world will come to an end, or whatever. Children and bunnies can co-exist in the same home, but the parents have to be in charge and teach them from an early age the right and wrong way to interact with the bun.
  
  I totally forgot to ask the woman about that but I’m assuming that what they meant. My brother-in-law have little kids but I told my husband that I’d prefer they don’t get near Archie that much esp. the little boy he does get aggressive sometimes but the first time they met him the little girl was actually scared of Archie and the boy seemed to sit ok. My other bun wasn’t as friendly with strangers as Archie is (maybe because he wasn’t neutered).
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