I got Jeannie Feb 14th, but I’ll be moving in June…. so do I think you have time… well it depends.  I had a really easy bond (less than 2 weeks!) so at this point, they’ve been working out their relationship and cementing their bond for 2 weeks… by June I expect that they’ll be completely bonded (well, they already are… they’ve been living together for 2 weeks) and I think a new setting when I move will actually make them closer to each other.  However, if your bond takes several months, that’s a different story.  My first inclination is to say that even if they’re newly bonded when you move, the move will help them grow closer (neutral territoy!) but I know there are other BBers who are more experienced that can weigh in on this.

Some general advice for bonding… if you decide to get her a buddy now (and I say go for it!) just make sure that you’re determined to get them bonded.  Your attitude about the bonding will wear off on the bunnies, so if you’re determined to prevent them from fighting and can stay calm, you’ll have a better bonding experience.  Also… repetition, repitition, repitition!   Keep the bonding sessions short (especially during the initial sessions… 20-30 minutes), and more is better… the more frequently you can do bonding sessions, the better.  With my two, I did 2 sessions a day most days, after their intial couple meetings.

My oninion is…absolutely take the plunge now if time is allowing it! Having your Mum’s help will be great, plus you are likely near the vet that Little Bit sees so you have that comfort. i.e You may have concerns with the new bunny and want to see your vet. It just is part & parcel of having a new rabbit that your not familiar with – you worry! So having a vet you are also confident in that you can ring and talk too would be helpful in my view.

As for moving mid way through bonding – I think this is an added bonus. If you were to get a new rabbit in the next month and are still bonding by June-Aug, then a move would be just the think to help at that time. Total neutral territory. It would be like having a wild card up your sleeve.

If however, you achieve a bond before the move then that’s sweet as one less consideration whilst moving. Also, if you have a bonded pair by then, they’ll take comfort from one another during a move and settling into a new home. It will strengthen the bond greatly.

I say go for it!

Posted By Binkles on 03/12/2010 09:39 PM
Yeah I’ll be REALLY determined. What ever bunny I wind up adopting…I don’t think I would be able to release back to a rescue. I just don’t have the heart to do that at all.

Barbie, our of curiosity how long had you had your first bunny before you got a second one? And what was his/ her disposition? I know it’s really dependent on the bunny, but I’m trying to gather a vague idea of what to expect. From my experiences, I think Little-Bit will turn out to be submissive bun. Though I could be wrong of course because I do treat her like a queen.

I got Leroy first.  I adopted him Jul 5, 2009, and then got Jeannie on Feb 14, 2010.  Leroy is pretty laid back.  He’s a goof ball and loves snuggles.  When I took him dating, he was the one doing all the grooming (the only bunny he groomed though was Jeannie) so I expected him to be the submissive one.  But when I brought them home, Leroy started getting humpy with Jeannie and would nip her becasue she wasn’t grooming him.  The’yre competely bonded now, and just working things out in their relationship, so now sometimes Jeannie tries to mount Leroy! I can’t tell really who’s the dominant one in their bond, they both groom each other, and they always snuggle together.  It really does just depend on the bunnies and what they work out between themselves.

Here’s my bonding journal: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/5…fault.aspx

Maybe it will help.  I was really thorough and posted about every one of their bonding sessions.  There are videos and pictures there too.  Like I said, I had an easy bond though, so maybe reading about some of the tougher bonds will actaully be more help to you.

Good luck!  Keep us posted on what you decide to do!

I remember BunnyLiz used it for Hammer when she took him dating. Maybe give before the car ride? I think it’s a good idea that the visiting rabbit has some down-time once arriving too. Just to calm down a bit.

Any candidates yet?

I went through that too when I was looking for a girlfriend for Leroy. I found Jeannie at my local HRS and fell in love with her, but she had such a nice life in a foster home with a family that loved her that I felt guilty for wanting her when there were bunnies at the local shelter in teeny tiny cages like the one I got Leroy from.

I decided to do what was best for Leroy; however. I took him bunny dating, and he met a couple bunnies in foster homes as well as a couple bunnies from the shelter (my HRS works closely with the local shelters, so one of the HRS volunteers was able to bring a couple shelter bunnies to our date). I know that might not be possible for you to meet bunnies from both the nice facility and the other shelters, but they way I see it – ANY bunny that you adopt is a “rescue”.  When you adopt a bunny from the nice facility, it opens up a spot for a new bunny in the facility.  And of course, adoption is infinitely better than buying from a pet store (

I felt bad for adopting Jeannie, because I knew that her foster family loved her very much, but they said they were happy to see her in a permanent home. Honestly, I don’t feel like I “rescued” her per say, not like I did when I brought Leroy home from that teeny tiny 2×2 cage, since she had a VERY nice life in her foster family. But I’m glad to have her! I don’t think Jeannie’s foster family is fostering another bunny right now, but at least they now have room if they want to foster again. I’m not in a position to foster right now, but I’d love to eventually do that.

Well… your heart is in the right place, but the nice rescue place may have too many bunnies and not enough $$ to support all the ones they have currently. Without knowing their financial situation, I don’t think you can demand that they take in another bunny. But if they’re a responsible rescue (and it sounds like it is) then they are definitely doing what they can for the stray/relinquished bunnies in your area.

You don’t have to make that a condition. They probably have a waiting list.

Well, if you end up with an unaltered one that ahs to mellow for awhile, you could use that time to bond you to the bun

The shelter doesn’t fix them first? A reputable rescue will alter the animals before they put them up for adoption…

Some of them may have been fixed before surrendered too. On the conflict you are having over adopting from regular shelter v’s the AAR place, I ditto Barbie there. You effectively free up a place for them to take in another rabbit often from other kill shelters. You could query them on this, where they normally get the animals in from, just for your own peice of mind.

With the place that closed, do you think the volunteers are still fostering the bunnies and advertising them privately? Just wondering what happened to their rabbits before they closed down – whether they homed them all then closed or there are still some needing homes.

Frustrating!

I know nothing realistically of geography in your area so forgive me if I’m way off with suggestions.  I saw of this place in Navarre – though it sounds like the one you said closed so….. Anyway it’s called Bunnies for Adoption and the shelter/homeowner is Ann Wetzstein.

I have found some shelters use sites like kijiji. Perhaps as it’s free to post as opposed to Petfinder?  So maybe try some really open type searches on a search engine or within these type sites own search options. Open search meaning not too defining in the search terms. The wider the search parameters, they wider ranging results you get.  Only trouble with this is screening results. Hard to work out which are posted by shelters and which ones aren’t!  Perhaps add “Shelter” to your search terms? 

I don’t know what else to suggest…maybe contacting HRS or other rabbit shelters that aren’t that close and see what they know about your area?

I hope you’re able to find someone for her soon!

I wanted to recommend going to meet anybunny who is neutered. Just because that one boy has had access to the outdoors doesn’t mean he won’t make a nice bunny for you, know what I mean? Since you have such limited options I wouldn’t count anybunny out until Little-Bit has met him and given her opinion.

But how did they act around each other? My bun also tends to shut down around new bunnies, but it has nothing to do with their size and everything to do with him just being anxious.

I honestly don’t think that he could possibly be too big for her.

Just imagine monkey meeting all those big boys she met last winter…

Yeah, I’m pretty sure every bunn currently in the shelter is bigger than Otto (except the one that’s Monkey sized). Haha

How big is the other bun, and how big is Little-Bit?

I know Save a Bunny has a dutch/flemmie pair. its cute

I have never heard of a smaller bunny getting hurt from a larger one. Petzy has her Deirdra bonded with her little mini rexes. And I’ve seen flemmies paired with little buns.

Also, females are often the dominant ones, and big buns are known to be more laid back, so I think it’s likely that Little-bit would be the one doing the humping, rather than the other way around.

And even if the big bun did hump her, he’s not going to hurt her.

Definitely go and meet him!

Take her dating and let her pick. Takes the worry factor out of it for you. :0)

I’ve only had bunnies for two years but so far mine haven’t. And I haven’t seen any at the rescue either.

As far as real bunny fights – you’ll be breaking those up before they go anywhere.

As for occasionally chasing, or nipping, or whatever, it doesn’t matter at all who is the bigger bunny. Often the little bunnies boss the bigger ones around. They’re not like people who think about who is bigger to win the fight. Think more like dogs – little dogs will go after big dogs and beat them up while the big dogs just roll over like babies. Happens all the time. It’s far more about personalities than size with bunnies. And when they do have mild scuffles, it’s not about who is stronger, it’s only about who is dominant.

I agree with TARM – try dating and see who she likes. It’s totally fine if you don’t get him because she doesn’t like him, or even because you think he’ll be difficult to live with. But size is absolutely not a reason not to try him out with her and see how they do.

If size mattered, little Monkey would never get a friend