Well I mean, they don’t need a bunny friend. But neither do humans really need a friend. They’re a hell of a lot happier though. And it’s cruel imo to decide that a social animal should live alone. 

Rabbits are not solitary animals. Someone that believes and spreads that information is either completely uninformed or just lying to make bunnies seem like an ‘easier’ pet.

They do need to go through a proper bonding process tho because they can be very territorial. Maybe territorial is what they meant rather than solitary. 

Most rabbits love having a rabbit companion – to groom, to snuggle, to communicate in bunny language, but there are some rabbits that prefer to be the sole rabbit in the house.

You should not get a baby rabbit for a companion, because any rabbit you get will need to be spayed first, and a baby would be too young to spay. Having both rabbits spayed and neutered is the first step in bonding.

Most rescues and some shelters have rabbits that are already spayed and neutered, or they will perform the surgery before a rabbit is adopted. If the rabbit is newly spayed, you will have to wait a few weeks for her hormones to die down before you can begin the bonding process. You could keep the rabbits in the same room, so that Jake could start getting used to her, but you would have to wait on the bonding. Even if the rabbit had been spayed earlier, you should let her settle into your house for a week or so before starting the bonding. You can do pre-bonding, where you swap out blankets or stuffed toys, to get the rabbits used to the other’s scent.

Both bonded and rabbit-pal-less rabbits can be happy. Wick is on his own, but he’s very bonded to me, so I fill in the void of having someone groom him/for him to groom, as well as snuggle and communication.

If you do not have much time to spend with your new rabbit, having a bonded pair will prevent some loneliness/boredom some single rabbits feel.

My Chewie has gone through I don’t know how many attempts at dating, bonding, etc. and has regularly had long term foster buns in the house. He still appears to viciously hate all rabbits and sees me as his other half. btw He gives every sign of being a very happy little bun.

Sounds like a great plan I think the idea of rabbit speed dating is awesome: letting your rabbit pick his own friend. I’ve also brought up the discussion on the forum: do rabbits really need to be in pairs? Opinions differ, and it seems to depend on the rabbit’s preferences as well. If people are away for work or school a large part of the day, most of us would advice to try and get another rabbit. But it’s up to your rabbit to make that choice if he wants a friend.

We have a solo Netherland Dwarf Breintje who has bonded to me. I’m home all day because of a disability so he gets plenty of attention and grooming etc. In the evening he snuggles up to me for hours on end. When I have a bad day he follows me around, so our bond is really strong. We’ve thought about it for a long time: shall we get him a friend or not? At the moment we simply don’t have the space to put a second rabbit cage in my tiny apartment. He’s also not showing any signs of depression or loneliness. He’s active, curious and approaches people for affection but isn’t overly cuddly (some rabbits become overly cuddly when they miss having a friend). He was also bullied as a baby. When my BF got him, he was in a cage with 2 of his bigger brothers. They formed a pair and he was the one being picked on. Appearantly it got so bad that he was bitten a lot: he’s missing tiny chunks out of the tips of his ears
I’ve also noticed his reaction to the scent of the bunny which I used to bunny-sit: he got quite worked up about it. Wouldn’t leave my side, and my slippers and clothing were chinned for days and days on end, trying to mark them again as “his territory”. I fear that if we’re going to try and bond him one day, he’ll be quite territorial. But that’s a decision for later on, and maybe he’ll be happier off just with human companions.

I got (rescued) my first bun, Luna 2 years ago. I decided last year to get a bond mate for her. Bonding is tough! Finally it worked! What was even more satisfying was to see my Luna doing rabbit behaviors I’d not seen before with her new friend! She stopped coming downstairs since he (Artemis) didn’t like stairs. It made my life a whole lot easier!

Jake is very lucky to have you as a Mommy