My first pair did not like each other at first. They had a good first date, but then after that they would fight immediately in bonding sessions. I eventually did bond them after about 3.5 months, and they were madly in love. LOL

So, yes, most bonds are possible, they just take more time. Not every pairing will work out though, and sometimes it may not be worth the stress.

Can you describe your situation a bit more? There are a number of things you can try with bunnies that are harder to bond. Experimenting with the location and size of the bonding area is a good first step. The more difficult the bond, the more important it is for the location to be very unfamiliar.

More pre-bonding can also help, as it gives them time to get more used to each other without the stress of the bonding sessions.

Additional detail on your situation is important — spay/neuter status of both rabbits, time since the spay/neuters, how long they’ve known each other, the history they have with each other, living conditions… many things impact the success of a bond, in addition to actual rabbit personality incompatibility.

Details aside, yes, there are some rabbits who simply will not be able to bond to some other rabbits due to personality incompatibility. In those cases, accepting this and establishing two separate enclosures and a rotational free-roam schedule is recommended to allow ownership of both rabbits while keeping them safely from each other, since a bond is not possible.

For information on bonding rabbits, please see here: https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/

So, odds are high that it will work out if you are willing to put some time in. There are rare instances of bunnies that just hate each other or don’t like other rabbits, but this is pretty rare. There was a large survey done by the UK rabbit welfare association that found that around 95% of attempted pairings between male and female buns (neutered and spayed) DO work out (https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-care-advice/further-reading/owner-rescue-centre-and-veterinary-professional-experiences-of-rabbit-bonding/). My first pair I mentioned actually was a similar situation (a friend could not keep her bun, and I had been thinking of bonding mine anyway). I also had NO idea what I was doing at the time and made some mistakes early on that I think prolonged the process. But I did eventually bond them and they were very happy together (they are the pair in my profile pic).

Are both bunnies castrated? Both should be for a stable bond to form.

It’s also important to make sure you have good temporary housing set up to use while the new bun is settling in, you do some pre-bonding (side swaps while they live as neighbors, and do the bonding sessions. I’ve observed that a lot of times when bonds don’t work out, it’s more because of rushing on the human side than anything wrong with the bunnies. Having a set-up you are comfortable with during the process takes a lot of the pressure off and things tend to be less stressful.

Ok gotcha! I wasn’t sure if you had bonding experience before. I think that would also increase the chances of success, because you have some experience. 🙂