How to introduce a baby to an adult?

[Amanda Phelps]

So I have a 1 1/2 year old male holland lop. And he is the sweetest thing in the world! He is the best pet I have ever owned and I am very interested in getting another rabbit to bond him with. I just moved half way across the country with him and back at home we lived with a dog and two cats that he would play with and snuggle with constantly. Now he doesnt have any animal friends and I feel like it is time to get another bunny. He has always done really well with any kind of new animals (dogs, cats, guinea pigs, birds) but I understand none of those arent the same as another rabbit. I am hoping he does well around other rabbits too. Where I live now there is no shelters of any kind for rabbits. So adopting a rescue is out of the question. So my only options would be to get one from a pet store or a breeder. I know I wont be bonding them until the new rabbit is neutered. So should I keep them completely out of eachothers sight? Or should I put their cages next to eachother so they can become familiar?

[KittyKatMe]

I have had success in keeping the baby in the same room, as the rabbits are used to one another by the time the new rabbit is ready for bonding. That being said, I would elevate or blockade the baby’s cage so that your current bun can’t nip him/her through the bars, as that could hinder bonding later on.

[Alicia Conklin]

I don’t exactly have advice, but I can tell you what I am planning on doing based on what I have read. I have a 10 week old mini lop male and just adopted a spayed 9 month old lionhead/dwarf mix.  Right now, since she is recently spayed (only 3 days ago) I have her in the same room but out of sight of my baby bun.  After she has had time to heal and get used to us a bit more I plan on having them in view of each other with their x-pens being side by side. I still have at least a month left until my male can be neutered, probably closer to 6 weeks or so…so my hope is that they’ll get used to each other by being side by side and will hopefully have an easier time bonding because of that.  

[Love4Bunny]

Hi Amanda, if you live in the US, you could try Craigslist, or if overseas, The Trading Post, for adopting an older rabbit. Some people have success keeping their rabbits next to each other, others, not so much. It really is a bit of a gamble, because rabbits have a way of buggering up your plans when you think you’ve got it covered. The main thing is knowing what age the hormones peak for youngin’s, so you don’t end up with injuries or a hindered bond. Everything I’ve read says that bonds can change during maturity, so people sometimes end up rebonding after a rabbit is desexed. If you decide to keep them next to each other, make sure you leave space in between the cages so they cant bite each other. My first (adult, adopted) rabbit displayed territorial aggression with the rabbits I temporarily housed next to him, but my cousin’s rabbits had the smoothest bonding dynamic ever (however, that could’ve been because they started bonding in a new house (complete neutral territory)).

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