House Rabbit Community and Store
What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.
The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.
- This topic has 1sd reply, 2 voices, and was last updated 10 years ago by
.
-
-
Hi,
So I posted a couple times asking questions about rabbit care for two holland lop females (2 months old). I keep reading that it is better to bond rabbits, but since I’m getting them as youngsters who haven’t hit hormone rage yet I feel unnerved by the fact that they may fight when they hit adolescence. Of course I will spay them as soon as the time is right, but now I’m having second thoughts of getting 2 rabbits at the same time since I will become a new bunny owner who has minimal first hand experiences with rabbits… I’m concerned wether they would end up bonding well after spaying or end up absolutely hating each other or even worse, fighting each other and seriously injuring themselves… I can afford two rabbits including all their vets, food, and everything, so money isn’t a issue. I’m more concerned about the possibility a bond never forming or failing to bond.What are your opinions? Do rabbits do okay on their own? (I’m usually home almost every afternoon and all evening) Please help, I’d really like to get a pair but I don’t know if I can handle separating and re-bonding them later on after their spay surgery has healed. I’d be so disappointed if the bonding never works out in the end
-
Hello, rabbits can do well on their own if you have a lot of time to give them. If you are someone who is not home very much, and can’t spend much time socialising with your rabbit I would recommend having two that can be bonded.
I had just one rabbit, but I am home a lot and he had 6-9 hours of free time outside his cage every day with me in the same rooms, interacting with him etc and just being around him. You can obviously have less time than this available and have it still be ok, I’m just home a lot and my work hours are such that it worked out well for bunny play time
If you are concerned about the trials of first time rabbit ownership, and bonding, you could always just get one rabbit now, and when you feel more confident with care, behaviour and handling etc, perhaps then you could look into getting a second one. Whether it’s a youngster that you get spayed yourself, or an adult that you adopt already spayed from a rescue (they also do bunny dates to see if your rabbit and the one you plan to adopt will be compatible). If you still want to get two bunnies, I won’t put you off doing so because it sounds like you’re getting yourself well prepared. From things I have read, bonding can be both a breeze, and an absolute nightmare, and you never really know what you’re going to get. I just like to let people know that things may not work out from the get go so that they don’t go into things with unrealistic expectations.
At the end of the day, if it worries you and you don’t feel quite right about it at this stage, by all means just get the one, it sounds like you’re home enough, and providing plenty of toys in the cage will keep bunny occupied when you’re not around. You’ll also get a handle on bunny ownership and have a better idea of whether you’ll be able to handle the bonding process
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.