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Reply To: Bonding Older Rabbits

02/15/2021 at 9:09 AM

DanaNM

Moderator

9064 posts

5 isn’t too old. 🙂

Dating could help to see if it might be an easier match, but if that’s not possible, it would probably still be worth a shot (assuming everyone is spayed and neutered?). Some pairings are easier than others, but it’s rare that a pair is completely impossible. My first pair was with my bunny and a friend’s bun that she could no longer keep. I opted to try bonding them and it was a really hard process (about 3 months), but they ended up madly in love (they are the pair in my avatar). The fact that the other bun was previously bonded might help a bit, as at least he has lived with other bunnies.

“love at first sight” is about as rare as “hate at first sight”, and both are very rare, prob less than 5 % of pairings. Most pairings fall somewhere in between, where there is tentative interest, followed by a period of sorting out the dominance hierarchy that can be days to several weeks long. There can be some scuffles that need to be prevented/stopped. If they hate each other at first sight (immediate aggression even in a neutral space), I would not attempt that pairing unless I had a really good reason to.

I do think that most bunnies are happier with companions. There is the rare bun that is very hard to match, so having a backup plan for if things don’t work out (or it takes a long time) is a good idea.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.