Bonding a baby bunny to adult

[BazziBun]

Today I was surprised with a baby bunny. I do not know the sex of the baby bunny yet nor the exact birth date. I hopefully will by tomorrow after my vet appointment. Anyway, I think it’s a she, and possibly just a few weeks old. She is adorably cute. Although still hard to tell, she seems pretty reserved in nature. She is calm and accepting of touching. She is not acting particularly curious, but she might just be a little stressed (she did just come home today!). 

I would like her to eventually bond to my adult female holland lop, Bubba (2y). Bubba is a pretty loving and happy rabbit, however she has displayed some dominant behavior before with her stuffed animal. Bubba has a stuffed animal that she loves. She carries the thing around with her and grooms it everyday…and on occasion she also mounts it. LOL. Anyway, Bubba has been pretty accepting of all creatures and people and has never displayed aggression towards anything. She is also incredibly affectionate and loves to lick me for hours. 

I would like some advice on when and how to bond my two bunnies. Anything helps! 

P.s. Baby bunny needs a name! I don’t mind suggestions! 

THANKS

[tobyluv]

Is Bubba spayed? Before bonding is attempted, rabbits need to be spayed or neutered and recuperated from the surgery. Of course, the new bunny would not be spayed yet if it is only a few weeks old. If Bubba is spayed, you could try bonding her now with the bunny, but when the bunny matures and her her hormones kick in, they would have to be separated until the bunny was spayed. Rabbits can fight and severely injure each other, so you have to follow the proper bonding procedures. You certainly need to make sure of the sex of the new bunny if Bubba isn’t spayed, or you risk the chance of an accidental pregnancy.

Here are 2 good articles on bonding:

https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx

http://rabbit.org/faq-bonding-multiple-rabbits/

[BazziBun]

Thank you for the advice!

Bubba is spayed so thankfully I won’t have to worry about that. 

Baby bunny turned out to be a BOY! His name is Poe.  I asked the vet for bonding advice as well and she gave similar advice…

As I brought Poe home Bubba immediately noticed his smell (she was sniffing the air constantly!) but she didn’t seem bothered at all by it. They are housed in the same room but separate enclosures and she kept about her business eating hay, playing with her toys and even flopping, stretching out and sleeping. 

Right now Poe is in a raised enclosure so Bubba can’t reach him when she is hopping around the apartment. When I let her out of her enclosure she seemed excited: running, binkying and just being silly. 

Is this a good thing? Are these all good signs for an eventual bonding?

P.s. Thank you again for the reply, this is the first ever forum I have joined so I’m excited to be part of it. 

[tobyluv]

It’s good that Bubba is spayed, and since it’s usually easier to bond a (spayed) female with a (neutered) male, it’s good that Poe turned out to be a boy. It’s also good since males can be neutered at an earlier age, so you won’t have as much of a wait until he can have surgery. You do have to wait 2-4 weeks after surgery before bonding is attempted.

I think it’s a good sign that Bubba seems happy and not stressed or jumping at Poe’s cage with aggression. Whether or not that really means the bonding will go smoother, is yet to be seen. Maybe I have been lucky with the 4 pairs of rabbits that I have bonded, but mine have all been quick and easy. Just a little humping, chasing or growling might have occurred, but never any fighting. I have found that it’s good to have an x-pen to bond rabbits. I and my husband get inside with the two rabbits. That forces them to be near each other, but we are there to intercede if there are any problems.

Welcome to Binky Bunny! I hope that Bubba and Poe will bond easily when the time comes and have many happy years together!

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