Is my bunny lonely or just content?

[lanolin12]

Basically, my wonderful free range house bunny is coming up to two years old and I am worried that he is lonely.

I am currently a student so I am home most of the day, at the moment our home is getting quite warm during the day so he spends a lot of it in his playhouse sleeping, which i know is okay because hes nice and active at night.

We tried bonding him with another rescue bun, and while she was here he was nipping her on the face alot through the bars of her pen. shaking the bars and making a lot of territorial moves in that he wasn’t aggressive but asserting dominance.

We tried bonding sessions a couple of times but she would move and he would lunge for her … and it was clearly not working out.

When we removed her pen from the living room (she was adopted by another family and has now bonded quite happily with their boy) he seemed extremely happy! he scent marked every inch of the area, used her tray and he now spends all of his time over there because we left it to be a bunny playground area.

So my questions are:

how do i tell if he is lonely? – he always comes for cuddles and attention and does lots of binkies. But surely he is missing out on having someone with him 24/7?

because he wouldn’t bond this last time, (it was the second bunny we tried to bond him with- but long story short the first bunny turned out to be a boy – vets get it wrong sometimes and she/he was very small at the time and too young to be neutered – malcs is already neutered) does this mean he might never bond? Or do i keep trying? Because its pretty heartbreaking to keep bringing wonderful bunnies in that he wont bond with.

Is there anything I can do next time we try to bond (if we do) that I may have missed trying this last time?

Thank you in advance!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Was your bun and the bunnies you tried bonding him with neutered and/or spayed?

There is really no way to tell if your bun is lonely unless he is exhibit signs of depression (less active, less interested in food). If you are spending at least several hours a day with him, he is probably fine.

Have you tried doing bunny dates at a rescue or shelter? Bonding is usually easier when the bunny gets to chose his mate.

[lanolin12]

My boy is neutered and the lady we tried him with had been neutered too.

We wouldn’t be able to do dates at the place we adopt from because there are a lot of bunnies and it’s private boarding for the rescues. Knowing the layout it wouldn’t be feasible.

We had them living side by side for about 5 weeks but as soon as they were together he was lunging at her. It’s definitely his problem.

I’m just wondering if I keep trying with different bunnies or leave him alone until he’s ready and does seem lonely? I just know rabbits love to have a bonded partner so I feel bad that he hasn’t got one

[Bam]

Not all bunnies are particularly fond of other bunnies. Bonding can be a difficult process that requires stress-bonding (like taking the buns for car-rides, putting them in the bathtub togetaher, carrying them around in a box – the idea is the bunnies will find the situation so stressful that they seek each other out for comfort and find that the other bunny actually is a nice bun after all) and it may take a very long time. And it may not work. There are people who claims all bunnies are bondable, and they may be right, but it may require a skilled and experienced human in charge of the bonding process and that’s not sth that grows on trees exactly, so to speak.

If you give your bunny lots of human company and attention, I think he will be fine. Your description of him doesn’t make me think he’s depressed. I have 2 unbonded bunnies. They do like human and canine company a lot though.

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