Deaf Bunny Bonding?

[waponiiwoo]

Hi! I’m new to sharing my home with a bunny but I must admit that I’ve quickly become a “bunny person.” I have a 7-month old Holland Lop doe named Anka who is silly, sweet, and also deaf. I’ve been giving some consideration to adopting another bunny for her. I spoke to her breeder and learned a bit more about her parents – dad is a sweetheart, mom is sweet but has a big personality and definitely prefers boy bunnies. Anka takes after her mother in most ways – lots of personality but not super snuggly. She wants you around but doesn’t come and ask to be petted very often.

Anka has been spayed and gets along alright with our dogs. She hasn’t behaved in a territorial way with either of them, but they obviously don’t speak her language. They sniff each other once in a while and otherwise ignore one another.

 If I were to adopt another Holland Lop, I’ve assumed that I need to seek out a younger buck. But, are there issues I should be aware of with bonding a deaf bunny with a new bunny? If any of you have gone through this, I’d love to know what you’ve learned and I’m open to advice. Thanks in advance!

[LBJ10]

Leopold (Holland) is deaf and Wooly (Jersey wooly) is not. They had a quick and easy bond. Leopold is very bossy, but that is probably just his personality. Wooly is more timid and submissive. I credit their personalities for the easy bond. I don’t think Leopold’s inability to hear affected their ability to bond at all. A lot of bunny language does not involve sound, after all.

It’s quite clear that Leopold has benefited from having a friend. Wooly is his ears. Wooly has shown him how to interact with us. Their friendship really is a beautiful thing to watch.

Really, the only issues we’ve had with Leopold’s deafness had nothing to do with bonding. It more affects our (humans) ability to communicate with him. You can’t tell him “no”. Wooly certainly understands what no means, but Leopold can’t hear you yelling at him. You can’t squeal at him if he bites, he doesn’t know the difference. Therefore, most “corrective” measures have come in the form of redirection. Leopold often has to be physically removed from whatever undesirable thing he is doing and redirected to something more desirable. There was a lot of repetition involved with this. Leopold also did well with “time out” when he was being really naughty. All that involved was removing him from the situation for awhile so it would break the cycle of him returning back to an undesirable behavior over and over again.

Both of my boys are 8, by the way.

[waponiiwoo]

Thank you! Great insight.

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