How unlikely is a male/male bonding? (both neutered)

[Quartz]

I keep reading somewhat conflicting opinions on different rabbit info sites.  One shelter in the UK that does LOTS of introductions claims that male-male is only going to be successful if it’s 2 siblings who were friends growing up, then they need to get neutered at the same time, and quickly placed back together after recovery.  Also that male-male pairs have a higher chance of suddenly falling out with bad fights later on.  Other sites say that male-male is not as easy or likely as male-female, but still a possibility.

I have a neutered 3 year old male bun, and it just so happens that most shelter buns I’ve liked so far have also been male.  We’ve gone on a bunch of bunny dates so far over the past year, and some have been very much inconclusive, some a definite “no” from one or the other bunny.  I think I made a mistake on not adopting a particular female bun a few months ago–she seemed to be getting along with my bun quite well during the dates (but she got adopted by someone else while I was making up my mind).  Now there are 2 boys I absolutely adore.  I would be glad to adopt either of them.  

It seems like with my bun, he only has strong reactions to females.  With males, he mostly pretends to ignore them and eats hay/other food, grooms himself, etc.  He’s not aggressive toward them, which I think is a plus.  Both of the other males were more interested in meeting my bun nose-to-nose.  No signs of aggression from either pairing during the dates.  Seems like there’s potential.

Am I just deluding myself thinking it will work out if I try pairing my male rabbit with one of those neutered male buns?

Anyone here who’s seen a lot of introductions or who has successful non-sibling male pair, could you reply with your experience, please?

[Mikey]

Had a trio of males for about a year, only had to split them because one has major health problems/is disabled. The other two boys are still bonded together. Bombur and Blue bonded within a week or two, Badger bonded into their pair in about a month.

Bonding matters only on personality, really. If you have one dominant bun and one submissive bun, and both have friendly personalities, they should be able to bond fairly well.

When working on bonding, ignoring one another, eating, and grooming themselves is a HUGE plus! It means the bunny(s) dont feel threatened in the slightest and shows potential for creating a strong bond

[Quartz]

I’m just worried about the supposed high likelihood of fighting later in life even if they end up being friends at first. I’m confused about conflicting opinions on different rabbit info sites about rabbit pairing.

I should add that my bun is 3 years old and quite laid back, not at all aggressive, and the new bun I’m looking to adopt is 1 year old–shy but seemingly quite nice too, not very energetic.  Both neutered sufficiently long ago.

[LBJ10]

My boys love each other. They’ve been together for 7 years, not a single fight. They’re the best of friends.

[Quartz]

I see there’s also a success story here: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/159204/Default.aspx

Anyone else?

I just don’t understand why some shelter info pages say that male-male is fine, and others say that there’s a likelihood of fighting in the future and not advised.

[Author]

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