Looking for a new bunny friend

[Anastasia]

My baby rabbit coconut unfortunately passed away a couple of weeks ago  She was bonded with my rabbit peanut who was going through her stages of grieving (going to coconuts favourite spots and waiting). I have been spending plenty of time with her every day but have noticed that she has transitioned from sad to bored quite quickly, and I can tell that she is ready for a new friend. 

I have been keeping tabs on rabbits at rescue shelters, however the city I live in is relatively small so there was only one pair of bonded rabbits available for adoption. I cannot afford three rabbits so I continued to check for just the one. They updated their site today and there are two rabbits available but are 1 year old. Peanut is 5 years old and I read that rabbits only get along with others around their age. Is this true? Peanut is extremely easy going. Also, I asked my vet if it is a good idea to bring peanut to the shelter to go on ‘rabbit dates’ to meet a friend (she is de-sexed, vaccinations are updated and updated on flea control) but she said it wasn’t a good idea because she will not meet the rabbit in a home environment, so it will be hard to tell if she will get along with them or not. What are your thoughts? 

Sorry for the abundance of questions, this is the first time I have done this as I had gotten coconut and peanut as a pair and I want to do this right and make it as easy for peanut and my potential new bunny as possible 

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

No, that’s is not true. I had a bonded pair (Sadie and Chi before Chi passed away.) Chi was 4 Sadie was 4 months. Sadie and sassy have become friends now, they’re a month apart! Good luck!!!

[tobyluv]

I’m sorry about the loss of Coconut.

I once bonded a 10 year old (male) rabbit to a 1 year old or younger (female) rabbit that we found on the street. My rabbit was already neutered and we had the new female spayed. My male lived for around 2 more years, and he was closely bonded to the female who was so much younger than him. There are some advantages to having rabbits that are around the same age, such as they have the same energy levels and it’s more likely that they will live out their lives together, but age isn’t that important. If you would like to get a rabbit who is closer to Peanut’s age, you may have to look at shelters and rescues outside of your area. One of the rabbits I adopted in the past was at a shelter that was more than 2 hours away from my house.

[Asriel and Bombur]

The main problem is with bunnies that are drastically far apart in age. Like 9 years old and 1 year old because the young bunny could become bereaved very early on and you’d want to start looking for a new bondmate again. The only advice everyone here will tell you is just make sure both bunnies are fixed, you give the new bunny one month to settle in, another month of prebonding, then you can begin bonding in neutral territory. It’s the best idea to honestly take her to a shelter to speed date and find out who she’s most compatible with.

[DanaNM]

Sorry for your loss of Coconut

Age doesn’t matter really, it’s all about their personalities (as others have said).

Your vet is partially right that not all bunnies will behave normally at speed dates, but they can help you rule out bunnies that will definitely NOT work (some bunnies just do not like each other!).

It can be nice to try to match ages, but you never really know how long they will be with us (even with the best care, things can happen beyond our control), so unless the gap is huge, I wouldn’t stress about it. If you fall in love with a senior bun and your bun gets along with him/her… then you might decide to go for it. (I’m biased though, I recently adopted a 9 year old bunny man and wouldn’t trade him for all the 1 year olds in the world because he is such a sweetheart).

You might go to the shelter and meet the buns that are available, and pick out 2 or 3 that you might like to adopt. Then when you bring in your bun, you can have Peanut meet those buns. If none seem compatible, then you can bring her in another time when there are more eligible suitors.

. . . 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.  

[Anastasia]

Thank-you all for your lovely replies! I have read them but have not gotten around to replying until now. The precious young buns I was looking into were already adopted. However, a lovely mini-lop was available at the time (biscuit!) and I adopted him. His age is unknown (between 1-7) as he was picked up as a stray so it makes me feel better now that I know rabbits can bond with any age! He was from a reliable shelter so he came de-sexed, vaccinated, up to date with flea control and microchipped and absolutely loves peanut! So far they have been extremely interested in each other with their cage side by side which I am so gad about as I decided to not bring peanut to the shelter with me- the car ride was far too long for a rabbit stuck in her little carry cage and travelling (even a short ride to the vet) stresses her out way too much and ultimately I thought her interaction with any rabbit may not have been genuine and may be out of frustration

I greatly appreciate all your replies! Thank-you so so much!!

[DanaNM]

That’s wonderful, congrats on the new bun!

. . . 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.  

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