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(Copy and pasted from my response to you on Reddit)

If you cannot provide neutral territory to bond them, you cannot bond them, especially now that they have repeated instances of getting and fighting at each other. I understand rabbits can be very motivated to escape and get to each other, but it is very much the owner’s responsibility for the…[Read more]

Yes, don’t obsess! What I tried to describe is just normal cleaning in prep for a new bun or buns. I use Virkon bc its readily available here where horses are common as “pets”, but it could be overkill.

We’ve been having some spicy hay (power cord) issues here lately, if you know what I mean. Other than that, things have been pretty great. The weather has been hot though. We were out of town for a week and apparently it was REALLY hot while we were gone. But even for Labor Day weekend, it’s in the upper 90s.

Yes, I wouldn’t be too concerned. Just clean anything that you’re going to reuse, but I wouldn’t obsess about it. Most bunnies have Pasteurella. They are exposed at a young age and it becomes part of the microbiome in their sinuses.

It might not hurt to try. Although they might get upset if they are used to having a large area 24/7. Do you have exercise pens or baby gates that you could use to make their spaces smaller?

Thank you both for your answers. It’s interesting because I’d never looked too much into the variations of hay.

I’m starting to wonder if perhaps I’m just not getting the right hay for them as I’ve always got the same Timothy/Meadow mix from the pet shop they came from. It seems there are far more options online so I may test out a few different…[Read more]

It’s definitely admirable to try to help someone who had an “oops litter”, you just have to be sure you don’t end up with another “oops”! haha

I think taking one of them and then trying to bond later would be a good compromise.

I can’t really think of one, but if car ride seems to work, you can always try that? I would say it’s a calculated risk though as the stress of being in a car could cause the rabbit to become more withdrawn. That being said, pestering a rabbit to move even though they don’t want to tends to be very successful as opposed to just trying to massage…[Read more]

As mia says, hay is very variable. Most hays are harvested several times per season. First cut hay is thicker and “stemmier” and crunchier, second cuts are softer, some seed heads have formed, third and fourth cuts are softer still and more leafy. Buns are often particular to a certain cut.

To further complicate matters, hay quality also varies…[Read more]

FYI, not all orchard is the same. There are some with texture that’s closer to timothy and some that’s incredibly soft. I’m dealing with a very sick bun and I had to go and poke sealed bags of orchard to find the softest ones. A company I order from actually said they’d be willing to send samples from different lots for the bun to try if…[Read more]

It is believed that most, if not all, rabbits have pasteurella multocida in their nasal cavity, but only some rabbits get sick from these bacteria. (There are however several strains of this bacteria and some strains are more likely to cause disease than others). Most buns’ immune defense manages to keep the bacteria from multiplying so much that…[Read more]

Thank you guys so much for the great advice. I would never buy from a breeder, but I know someone who had an accidental litter who was looking to get rid of some 8 week old rabbits. Going through a rescue is a much better idea, so I’ll either do that or just get one of the 8 week old siblings and try to bond them later in life. Thanks again you guys!

@BunnyLass568 that’s so lovely! Bonnie recently has been letting me pet her a lot more regularly and actually enjoying it!

I’ve given up on trying to bond a trio and Bonnie and Cooper seem very happy to be just the two of them again. In a couple weeks I’m going to take Myra on some speed dating to find her a companion.

The end of summer is sad…[Read more]

M-F pairs do tend to be the most likely to bond statistically, and I’ve found this to be the case in my own experience as well. Even siblings will start fighting at puberty, so getting two same sex babies is not recommended. Plus baby rabbits are very often mis-sexed. So, I agree with Wick that adopting a pair of babies is the most complicated due…[Read more]

I agree. If he hasn’t had a thorough oral exam since this has started, then I would definitely talk to your vet about it.

It is the general belief that M-F bonds are the easiest, then F-F, and M-M are the most difficult. That doesn’t necessarily mean M-M bonds can’t work, and also doesn’t mean all M-F bonds work. It’s a lot to do with individual rabbit compatibility.

The typical route is to either adopt an already bonded pair of rabbits, or start with one and then…[Read more]

Thank you so much for the reply! Seems like that isn’t the way to go then. I would like to have two rabbits eventually as I know they do better in pairs. Would you recommend taking in 2 male or 2 female siblings instead? I know I would still need to go through the bonding process after they are spayed/neutered, but I imagine they wouldn’t need to…[Read more]