While many rabbits do love the company of their own kind, there are some rabbits who prefer to be the sole bunny in the house. Not all rabbits are going to get along. When you bring a second bunny into your home, there is always a possibility, although it is slight, that the rabbits will not get along, will never bond and will have to be kept separated for all of their lives. Fortunately, that doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. There are members here who have never been able to bond their rabbits, and they have to keep them apart forever, or they might have to re-home one.

If your bunny gets a lot of attention and you and other family members are able to spend a lot of time with him, he may be perfectly content to be the only bunny in the house. If you do think about getting a companion for him, he will have to be neutered if he isn’t already, and the new bunny will have to be spayed or neutered, with several weeks passing for the hormones to abate, before you can start the bonding process.

Many pet store personnel are clueless about rabbits and their care. It’s doubtful that the owners or clerks would listen to you, but you could try to speak with them and tell them the reasons why Guinea pigs and rabbits shouldn’t be housed together, or give them some kind of printout about that.

When we decided to get Thor a wife, we contacted a breeder who let us bring him in to pick her out. The breeder had 3 sisters (2 grey and 1 ginger) who were 4 weeks old and up for sale. We took the little man there and placed him in a basket with each of the girls. He tried to sit on both of the greys but when we put the ginger in with him, they “kissed” and snuggled. I sometimes think he regrets his choice since she bosses him around and is 3 times his size. Both are fixed so there are no worries there. They are like night and day in personalities – Thor is social and Sif is antisocial unless you have food.

Um, apparently rabbits get depressed and lonely and don’t live a long healthy life if they don’t have another rabbit to be their friend?

Well my male single bunny was 17 when he died.
Whoever told you that tosh shouldn’t be keeping rabbits. Rabbits are just fine on their own if they have always been alone.

Rabbits are social creatures so yes they generally are happier with a bun-friend.

I have a single male rabbit. I had two single male rabbits for a few years, they wouldn’t bond. When the younger rabbit passed, the other rabbit became noticeably happier. So all rabbits don’t match, and a single rabbit can be happy if he gets lots of attention and company from his humans.

But if the rabbit is left alone most of the time, it’s not good, they are social creatures, as Sarah says. They get lonely and under-stimulated. I nature rabbits live in colonies which provide “safety in numbers”. The ideal is more than one rabbit, two rabbits can form an incredibly strong bond. It can be a difficult process to find the right match, though. You can’t just put two rabbits together, you need to do bonding.

Posted By bam on 1/31/2018 4:16 AM

I have a single male rabbit. I had two single male rabbits for a few years, they wouldn’t bond. When the younger rabbit passed, the other rabbit became noticeably happier. 

That is just how Finn was when his sister Patience passed. It was almost like a relief when she died 

I believe he just tolerated her. But with my new bunny Myrtle, he can’t wait to get to her. 

I think weather a rabbit is happier single or in pairs — it wont kill a rabbit being single or shorten its life. Unless of course they where already bonded and the partner dies. That can cause depression in rabbits. But if your rabbit has always been single then it wont do them any harm at all. 

I have a single rabbit. I like to think that she is happy as a free roaming rabbit with plenty of toys and attention when she wants.

Generally speaking, rabbits are happier in pairs. The key here is happiER… they can still be happy and live a fulfilling life as singles, in my opinion. Though I do plan to get another rabbit when I have the space and means to properly bond. If I gather correctly from some of your other posts, you’re still a high school student and you depend on your parents for resources for your rabbit. Sometimes you’ve mentioned them making a bit of a fuss about the financial aspect of just the one bunny you have now. So, some things to consider if you were to get a second bunny is:

1) Both rabbits have to be spayed/neutered if they are to be bonded and living together. While there are rare instances of an unaltered rabbit getting along, this is not suggested as the vast majority do not fit this scenario. So neuter/spay of both rabbits is pretty much non-negotiable.

2) If you currently keep Rain in a cage, you’ll need twice the size for two rabbits. Initially, they will have to be housed separately in two DIFFERENT cages. You can’t just divide the one cage (some people do this but it is incorrect). So that is another investment to consider.

3) Bonding takes a lot of time and patience. Some bonds can takes months to achieve. So you will have to set aside time outside of school/social time to dedicate to bonding the two.

4) Cleaning schedules will have to be more frequent with two, because 2x the poops and pees than with one bunny.

Now, it isn’t my intention to sound mean or chastising. I explained all these things because, in my opinion, you have been pretty rational about taking advice and acknowledging your mistakes in the past. I just want to make sure that you absolutely understand everything that would go into a second rabbit, and your parents would have to be completely on board to finance the additional expenses of a second rabbit.

Hope I haven’t offended you. Just trying to be the voice of reason here.

For my own part, from the moment I started seriously considering adopting a rabbit, I always looked at getting a bonded pair because I’m out of the apartment for 12 hours or more of an average workday, and I learned early on that single rabbits are often (not always, of course) more prone to loneliness, frustration and boredom if left by themselves too much. Bunnies, being social animals, are generally much happier when they have company nearby at all times, and they’re generally happy to have company of their own species.

Since I don’t have the large amount of time needed to do the work of bonding, that required me to look for a pair that was already bonded. That, of course, took me straight to Panda and Fernando, who had a head start of sorts as mother and son; Panda had three other buns in her litter, and if I had the room and resources I’d have loved to have adopted them all, but that just wasn’t realistic for me (happily, the other three have found their own forever home together). Since they’ve always been together from the moment Fernando and his littermates were born (allowing, of course, for spaying/neutering and the necessary separation around that time), they needed to be adopted together even if I hadn’t been planning on doing that already.

It’s a good thing that Panda is, by her nature, a quiet, rather reserved rabbit who’s happiest when she’s hanging out in one of her hidey boxes, since it’d have been a bit of a challenge looking after two active buns! I’m also very fortunate to have a source of inexpensive hay available from the rabbit rescue (Friends of Rabbits) from whom I adopted her and Fernando.

It’s a balance. It’s a very heavy point, you going to school and college, leaving Rain. Having a buddy would help with that; however, your current circumstance, the dance with your parents each time something is required, can make getting and committing to another rabbit very difficult, and end in a poor-life quality for not only the new rabbit, but for Rain as well.

Serious considerations will need to be made down the line if you foresee Rain not getting daily attention he deserves. Until then, I recommend continuing to have discussions with your parents so when your family is ready, you can more seriously consider a buddy for Rain.

I think it depends a lot on how much time you devote to your rabbit. I have had both pairs and single rabbits at different times, from the age of 10 throughout my adult life. The pairs love each other dearly and the single ones are more social with their human companions.
If you cannot at this point in your life accommodate a second rabbit then don’t feel like you have to. I think it’s the the same with children when you get to that point in life. We have 4 boys with a 5th on the way ??. Most of the time they love having siblings and learn a lot of social skills that way, but there is nothing horridly wrong with someone having only one child either. Your roll as a parent just changes according to what you have and can accommodate.
I always looked at my rabbits and their social situations this way. I was doing what I could do at the time to give them the best life. The reality was that if I had not taken them in, they most likely would have lived short lives in tiny cages and so what I gave them was a royal life, mate or no mate.
Hope this helps ease your mind ?

Breintje is a solo bun too, he’s free roam in my living room. I’m home all day because of a disability, and I have no commitments during the day. We have a lot of interaction and he seeks me out often. At home he’s quite happy to interact with me, my boyfriend and my friends. When friends come over he becomes a total slut (only for the girls though), and will hang around them to be petted all the time. He’s a happy and fun bun to be around.
The other side of the coin is visible when we’re away. We always take him to Bas’ parents when we’re there, but he’s not allowed to free roam there. Bas arranged that we could put his hutch in the kitchen so he would be around people more, but that wasn’t enough for Breintje. He became grumpy, hid in his sleeping area and refused to eat. I had to sit with him for a long time, petting and talking to him. When I put my head into the hutch he frantically started licking my face, and then went to eat his pellets.

About other buns: he’s very territorial and demands a lot of attention. When I fed the bunny from the lady next door Breintje was completely distressed about his scent on my slippers. He kept chasing me around and chinning them for over a week. I had to go barefoot each time after and wash my arms and legs before he would approach me normally again.

I think that solo buns could be very happy when given loads and loads of attention, especially when they are fuzzy little divas. The solo situation only counts for free roam, because I don’t think that an outdoor caged rabbit will get enough stimulation.

However, I advise everyone who works to closely monitor their bun’s behaviour. When they show signs of distress or loneliness, consider bonding them. There are only 24 hours in a day, of which most people sleep and work at least 16. Add in all the housework, hobbies and caring for the family, and there isn’t a lot of time left. 

Yes, rabbits thrive on interaction, but I think it depends a lot on the situation, the housing and the activity in the house whether a solo bun is happy. Bas has only had solo buns, and his previous girl lived to a ripe age of 10. Breintje is 5,5 years old and as fit as a fiddle.

It honestly depends on the rabbit. You need to know your rabbits personality, and sometimes they surprise you! I have one rabbit that had been alone since separating him from his siblings, and he attacked every rabbit in sight, he even sent his mom to the hospital when he was older. Introducing him to Lucy was a last attempt that I expected to fail, but they really hit it off! They are inseparable now, something I never thought would happen. At the same time I have another bun who is absolutely amazing with humans and little kids, and I introduced her to another rabbit and she and that rabbit fought for a while, bonded after a week, and then had a massive fight a few months later, and I’ve had to keep them separated since (which they both do great in!). Another example could be one of my boys.. he is a very sick rabbit that is constantly at the hospital and needed someone caring to give him a reason to fight. One day Clover was loose and he broke out of his cage and ran over to her. I expected him to attack her, but instead she crouched down and closed her eyes. He seemed to consider this for a bit, and then groomed her. He is boss, but when he is in the hospital she will go with him and stay with him all day. She never pushed him around and she is very kind to him. He had surgery a few days ago, and when he woke up and didn’t want to get up, she hopped over to him and groomed his ears and nudged at him. He was pretty grudging, but eventually he got up and I believe that she helped him a lot. It really depends on a rabbits personality.