Bonding two netherland dwarfs

[Sam]

Hey, I was thinking about getting a friend for my netherland dwarf rabbit and was just wondering, if I get a “true” dwarf bunny, will it still bond with my “false” dwarf bunny?

[Lotsoflions]

Hi Sam! I breed lionhead rabbits on a small scale and when someone suggests pairing 2 together at any stage of life I always say hey it’s possible, people have and will continue to do it but I very strongly do not reccomend it, rabbits are very territorial especially does (females) and they like their space to be theirs. The only time I house any 2 rabbits together they are siblings, the same gender, and only until 10 weeks old. You cannot make 2 rabbits bond, right from the start it will be that they get along or don’t. The reason I stopped pairing rabbits together is I had 2 sisters that were fine together since birth, one morning they were 6 months old and the 1 completely turned on the other. It happens. Another common problem is someone sexing a rabbit incorrectly, all it takes is a second, then you have more rabbits to worry about! I reccomend getting a seperate pen and housing them next to each other, also rabbits will not be friendly to other rabbits of the same breed, the chances of 2 dwarfs getting along would be the same as a Flemish giant and a dwarf getting along. Hope this helps! -K

[BanditCamp]

It depends on a few factors, you can bond almost any bunny as long as they are both fixed. You can also call your local rabbit shelter and try some speed dating to see if there any any matches for your bunny for example (basically no instant signs of agression).

For prep you also need to ensure that there’s two different enclosures for distance bonding at first, a neutral space like a bathroom or kitchen for them to do 30ish min bonding sessions you can also alternate a stresssbond and a relax bond to make it locked in.

Also depending on your buns gender it can depend on the difficulty of the bond. Males and females tend to be easiest while same sex tend to be a little bit harder but not impossible. Always read up on bonding at the top and watch a few videos to make sure tour up for the challenge

[sarahthegemini]

Breed doesn’t come into it, nor does age. It’s all about the personality.

[Mikey]

Its all about personality, and being hormone free

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Lotsoflions on 4/28/2017 6:40 AM

Hi Sam! I breed lionhead rabbits on a small scale and when someone suggests pairing 2 together at any stage of life I always say hey it’s possible, people have and will continue to do it but I very strongly do not reccomend it, rabbits are very territorial especially does (females) and they like their space to be theirs. The only time I house any 2 rabbits together they are siblings, the same gender, and only until 10 weeks old. You cannot make 2 rabbits bond, right from the start it will be that they get along or don’t. The reason I stopped pairing rabbits together is I had 2 sisters that were fine together since birth, one morning they were 6 months old and the 1 completely turned on the other. It happens. Another common problem is someone sexing a rabbit incorrectly, all it takes is a second, then you have more rabbits to worry about! I reccomend getting a seperate pen and housing them next to each other, also rabbits will not be friendly to other rabbits of the same breed, the chances of 2 dwarfs getting along would be the same as a Flemish giant and a dwarf getting along. Hope this helps! -K

Are you suggesting rabbits – which are very social – be kept alone??

[Azerane]

Hi Sam Which breed your rabbit is will not affect bonding. Giant rabbits have been bonded to dwarf rabbits, and dwarf to false dwarf and so on. Bonding rabbits is about personality, not breed or age (except for the fact that rabbits can’t be truly bonded when babies).

Rabbits do really well with company, however how well they get along really does depend on the personality of the individual rabbits. A rabbit may want to violently attack another rabbit, but then may be extremely sweet with a different rabbit. Most rabbits can be bonded if done correctly, however sometimes personalities simply don’t line up. Because of this, if you do get another rabbit with the intention to bond them, you need to be prepared to have to house them separately permanently should their bond not work out.

Bonding can be done if both rabbits are spayed and neutered, otherwise hormones are a very big factor that gets in the way.

Intact rabbits should not be bonded, as you can see from Lotsoflions experiences, often after a short period of time there is fighting and the bond breaks. 

Spayed and neutered rabbits can still be territorial and get into fights during the bonding process, but if done slowly and correctly you should be able to avoid any fighting. Some rescues let you take your current rabbit with you to meet other rabbits for bunny “dates” which will help give you a good indication of which rabbit your bunny may most likely bond with.

If you do bring another rabbit home, you will need to give it several weeks to settle in and house it separately from your current bunny. Rabbits can bite and mate through bars so that’s something to keep in mind. 4-6 weeks after both have been spayed and neutered, you can start to do short introduction bonding sessions in neutral territory (a place in your house where neither rabbit has been). Bonding may take a few short days, or it may take 4 months or more. Some rabbits bond easily, other bonds are very hard work. In the end it is worth it to see the companionship that a second rabbit brings to the first

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