Introducing a baby bunny to a one year old?

[Kate]

So I HAD two bunnies, a boy and a girl.  The male is neutered and they were best of friends.  However, our female escaped our yard today and is nowhere to be found.  We would love to get another bunny so our male has a companion but am worried he may not be nice .  He just turned a year old on Jan 15 and is SUPPPPPPER chill.  

Does anyone have experience with introducing a baby bunny to a full, grown bunny?  Do they get along or do they fight? Should it be another female or is a male ok? 

[Mikey]

You dont. You only introduce rabbits after both are neutered/spayed and given two months to heal after their surgery. Then, you slowly bond them through prebonding for a month, and then moving onto neutral bonding for atleast another month.

But your first step is securing everything. Do not get another rabbit until you get their space perfectly secured! If they can get out, predators can get in. Thats not safe at all for your bunnies.

[sarahthegemini]

Agree with Mikey – secure your house and garden before you think about getting another bun.

[Sirius&Luna]

If your female escaped today, I really think you should be doing more to look for her rather than immediately replacing her.

As the others said, you can’t just put a baby with an older rabbit, both rabbits need to be neutered/spayed, and then go through the bonding process.

[sarahthegemini]

Yeah, you should try and actually find her instead of finding an immediate replacement. That’s a bit disturbing tbh.

[Kate]

Wow hahah you guys are a bunch of crazies!  Of course I am looking for her good lord.  Ya’ll are no help at all.  

[sarahthegemini]

“Our female escaped our yard today…We would love to get another bunny”…

What help exactly are you looking for?

[GarfyTheLop]

[Sirius&Luna]

I mean… we answered your question about whether you could bond a baby with a one year old, which seemed to be the help you were looking for.

I’m just confused because if one of my bunnies had escaped I would be distraught. I would not be thinking about whether I could replace her.

[Kate]

I am thinking worst case scenario … IF WE CANT FIND HER.  Its amazing how the internet misconstrues things.  I raised and showed rabbits in 4H and have a love for them so I dont like when people are saying to me that I should be more concerned with looking for her.  Its a given I am looking for her, obviously.  Worst case I cant find her, I would love to get another one.  Good grief.

[Kate]

Also, I never asked for your opinion on fixing my yard.  Obviously I am going to do that.  You guys DIDNT answer my question… you gave me some beotchy response about how i need to spend more time looking for her and or fix my yard.  Its ridiculous.  Stick to the original question. 

[sarahthegemini]

If you essentially say “we lost our rabbit, we want a new one” what are we supposed to think?

Just secure your yard before you find her or replace her. Good grief.

Mikey answered your Q about bonding. 

[Sirius&Luna]

Posted By Sirius&Luna on 1/23/2018 5:23 AM

As the others said, you can’t just put a baby with an older rabbit, both rabbits need to be neutered/spayed, and then go through the bonding process.

I did answer your question and so did Mikey.

[Deleted User]

As tempting as it is to get another bunny, you must make sure that any future new ones cannot escape. As you have noticed, rabbits are now up there with cats and dogs and require the same kind of care. they not classed as a large hamster that you just throw food at. Hence why rabbit’s owners are extremely blunt when giving advice. You wouldn’t just get another dog when one ran off would you? Put up posters, ask your neighbours, if she has just got out chances are she will still be around until a fox gets her. Domestic rabbits will not go far. Look in bushed, under garden objects, know on houses, put up posters on lampposts.
Have you thought about bringing your bun inside? Rabbits do much better indoors and cam go free range and be litter trained. But you must first neuter them.

[Deleted User]

Posted By Kate on 1/23/2018 9:36 AM

Also, I never asked for your opinion on fixing my yard.  Obviously I am going to do that.  You guys DIDNT answer my question… you gave me some beotchy response about how i need to spend more time looking for her and or fix my yard.  Its ridiculous.  Stick to the original question. 

IF you can’t find your bunny, spay / neuter you current one if they are not fixed already. Then contact a rescue to help you bond your bunny with another. You will need a minimum space of 6 x 2 plus 8ft exercise space (or whatever the min size is for 2 bunnies in your country). Otherwise your going to struggle getting the right bunny. 

[Wick & Fable]

It’s definitely easy to misconstrue online posts, and this forum is quite guilty of having members (including myself) who default to the worst case scenario; not out of assumption of who you are, but out of genuine concern for rabbits. There are many users who post and are openly neglecting rabbits, so being straight forward and including information not originally asked for is something a lot of members may do to try and intervene as quickly as possible, improving a rabbit’s quality of life. Sometimes I spend 10min composing a post to help educate a new owner, balancing tone and straightforwardness, then I reply to another topic and it comes off quite rude because I’m burnt out from “lecturing” from the past one. All those who’ve responded thus far have a history of being very caring and offering great advice/information. It’s difficult not to take offense, but they are coming from a place of concern.

Based on your past posts expressing concerns about correct timing to introduce veggies, how to litter box train, and even asking about shaving your rabbit for temperature worries, it’s clear you do care about rabbits. No one is ever 100% ready for pet rabbit ownership— it’s a constantly learning process, and being a good owner means erring these concerns and taking immediate action when you see it’s necessary. That’s important, so it’s great that you’re utilizing these online forums to formulate some good solutions and informed actions.

In terms of bonding, as stated above by other posters, you cannot bond a baby and your current rabbit together immediately. Any bonded pair will need to go through the same process, so a baby would need to grow for a bit, get fixed, recover for about 1-2 months, then the bonding process can formally begin. Unfortunately, I’m not experienced with bonding, but in terms of gender, I believe it’s easier to bond M/F, rather than same sex? Someone else can note on that specifically.

An additional question, though you did not mention it in your OP. Is your current rabbit showing any signs of grief or frustration?

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Kate]

Thank you Wick for being so kind and realizing that I am not this cruel rabbit owner.  One member said “I’m disgusting” … like are you serious?  I never said I wasnt looking for her or was going to replace her immediately.  I have a love for animals and dont appreciate being attacked like that.  Its rude and THEY ARE THE DISGUSTING ones.  

 And this morning, we ended up finding her under her cage.  I honestly dont know where she was or how she could have gotten out b/c my husband literally bunny proofed our whole yard last year before we bought them.  So maybe she was hiding in a secret spot.  Who knows but I am just thankful we found her this morning and she was okay.  

[sarahthegemini]

Don’t see any post anywhere calling you disgusting so not sure where you’ve pulled that from. And again, if you say you’ve lost your rabbit and want a new one, how else are we to interpret that? Ugh, whatever. Either way, I’m glad your bun is okay.

[Wick & Fable]

It’s difficult to know what omission of information (not stating explicitly you’re looking for her) can mean in a situation like this, so while yes, assumptions were drawn that colored you poorly, I think all parties can be understanding that we’re looking out for the betterment of your lovely rabbits. Name-calling/rude remarks, whether or not we perceive them as being “deserved” or “warranted”, do not help keep online forum communication open and safe. Your frustration is understandable, but I ask that you do not call out other BB members that way; again, historically many members are very caring and have offered me great advice and guidance with my chronically-ill Wick, the sassy little guy.

Whether you are a receiver or dish-er of the remarks, taking a less-hostile stance in these scenarios is something I think many users highly respect. Personally, I always try to commend posters who are met with a very large number of straightforward posts which point out many low-points in their current rabbit care routine, yet respond positively and make the effort to go through the responses thoughtfully and see what useful information those criticisms bring. It’s frightful that such a response can cause someone to retract and not do anything for their rabbit, in response to receiving unexpectedly negative criticisms. Again, I don’t think any BB user is out to be mean; they want to be stern to communicate the seriousness of rabbit care. Stern-ness can come off as much worse, so in your future posts and communications on BB (which I hope you continue to engage with!), try to read any potentially “mean” posts with a grain of salt, knowing tonality and inflections you read the post as may not be how the poster intended.

I’m happy to hear she’s been found. If she tolerates being handled, I recommend looking her over for potential topical worries, like bugs, scratches, etc.. It may be worth doing a vet check to listen to vitals and lung sounds if her appetite, movement, or feces look abnormal.

The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.

[Mikey]

Posted By Kate on 1/23/2018 9:36 AM

Also, I never asked for your opinion on fixing my yard.  Obviously I am going to do that.  You guys DIDNT answer my question… you gave me some beotchy response about how i need to spend more time looking for her and or fix my yard.  Its ridiculous.  Stick to the original question. 

Ill repost my reply as it seems youve missed it, as well as add a bit more information as to why you cant just throw them together. 

“You dont. You only introduce rabbits after both are neutered/spayed and given two months to heal after their surgery. Then, you slowly bond them through prebonding for a month, and then moving onto neutral bonding for atleast another month. 

But your first step is securing everything. Do not get another rabbit until you get their space perfectly secured! If they can get out, predators can get in. Thats not safe at all for your bunnies.”

You cant just throw two bunnies together. They need to be spayed/neutered and go through the prebonding and bonding process first. The reason why is because they will fight if you just throw them together without the prerequirements. Male or female doesnt matter; hormonal buns have two drives: breed and fight. 

Also, congrats on finding her! I would recommend a vet visit just to ensure she didnt get sick, hurt, or pregnant while she was gone. If she is sick, you dont want your other bunny to get sick as well.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I’m very glad you found your girl, Kate.

Since your questions have been answered, I’m going to lock this thread since it has taken on a negative tone. Let’s please remember to try to not jump to conclusions, guys, and stick to the Forum Rules.

[BB Administrator]

Thanks LPT for locking the thread — I will also relock after posting this but I wanted to also add that I understand how this misunderstanding happened.  It is always good to ask questions and not assume the OP’s message.  At the same time when anyone creates a post, it’s good to add needed detail otherwise misunderstandings like this will happen. 

Using this as example: “So I HAD two bunnies, a boy and a girl.  The male is neutered and they were best of friends.  However, our female escaped our yard today and is nowhere to be found.  We would love to get another bunny so our male has a companion but am worried he may not be nice .  He just turned a year old on Jan 15 and is SUPPPPPPER chill.”

HAD = will make people assume you feel you no longer have the “escaped” rabbit.   But in the second sentence it is noted that the female had just escaped today.  So not that long.  Next sentence shows interest in finding another rabbit and wanting advice.   There is no clarification about this.  Based on this, it would make sense for people to draw the conclusion that you just lost your rabbit, and you no longer consider it to be around (HAD) and that you are ready to find another.   This then, of course, would be concerning since the rabbit hasn’t been lost that long.     

Here are tips for  OPs moving forward – Be sure to read your posts to make sure it includes the information and the intention you want.  If someone draws the wrong conclusion based on a lack of information – try not to get defensive, see how they may come to the conclusion and then clarify.  Like – “oh, I understand why you thought that, I could have been more clear — and then explain.  No big deal.  Part of the miscommunication/misunderstanding can be at fault of all sides, including how something was explained.

Tips for replies:  Ask more questions before making assumptions and giving advice or opinions based on those assumptions — even if the OP’s post seemed to reveal dismissive or callous intentions.  Sometimes people don’t understand how it is coming off because they have all the facts and intentions in their head, but didn’t relay them clearly in a post.   It is a good idea to dig a little deeper to figure out what is really going on first. 

Helloworld!!

[Author]

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