Owning Multiple Buns

[anneNjoerule]

 I was just wondering how many bunnies everyone has and why they chose that particular number. Those of you who have three or more buns, what’s that like? Why do you have so many? What are the benefits and the drawbacks? If I added any more buns to my clan I would want to know how much more work it would be and what not. 

[Monkeybun]

I have 3, one single boy and a bonded pair of girls. It’s interesting organising play times, as Moose likes to torment the girls. We have to make sure he can’t get to them when he is out. Eventually we will get a fourth to bond to him.

[Beka27]

I have a bonded pair. I have no energy or space or time to have multiple exercise routines, therefore I don’t want (cannot have) more. The chance of a 3rd bun successfully getting into a bonded pair is not very high. When it works, it takes months of individual bonding sessions. Not for me, at least not right now.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I have three non-bonded bunnies. I have to admit it’s a lot of work (and expense). Cleaning and exercise time takes up a lot of my day. I don’t regret getting 3 but it is a lot of work. I have not yet had success with bonding any of my buns. Stormy (mini-rex) was my first bun…I wanted one of each…an uppy ear and a lop ear and when I seen Bindi I couldn’t resist scooping him up. Then I started getting into animal rights and realized how many bunnies need homes…I wanted to rescue a third bunny. I had been in touch with the shelther for a couple of months and the only bunnies they had were too small for me to accommodate. I came across Olivia in a very unfortunate situation in a pet store and I had to help her.

If my 3 or even 2 of them were bonded it would be much less work. As it is now I have to give them all separate run time, have 3 cages and litter boxes to clean. Even just grooming and nail clipping takes up some time. Especially when they are all shedding at once!

How many bunnies do you have now, Anne?

[Kate Monster]

I have two. When I went to adopt a bunny from a shelter I had in my mind that I was going to adopt one, but add a second one soonish because of my schedule as a grad student. Somedays I have all the time in the world to spend with a bunny, and others I can’t spend any time at all and on those days I would feel so incredibly guilty that I’d probably fail all of my exams to spend time with a lonely bunny. But when I got to the shelter and saw Kate and Spence cuddled up in their toyless pen, and found out how long they’d been there, and how many times they’d been adopted and dropped back off, I said: “Mine!” and took them both home. I’m happy to have the two, they entertain eachother when I’m busy or gone. The adorable cuddling makes me happy. I would like three, as bunny cuddles become exponentially cuter based on the number of bunnies involved, but I feel over invested in their bond and would be inordinately sad if I accidently broke it trying to bond them to a third. And if the bonding didn’t work, I don’t have room in my apartment for everyone to have their own space. Maybe someday if I have two floors and could take a good, long slow time bonding three, while having lots of room for everyone to have their own space if it doesn’t work I’ll add a third.

[Elrohwen]

I have a pair and I don’t have a desire to get more. I’m only home for a limited amount of time each day and organizing exercise times for multiples would be challenging and nobody would get much time out and that wouldn’t be fair to my current pair. I’m not opposed to fostering in the future when we have a house and more room, but I wouldn’t take on more permanently. I wouldn’t mind having a trio, but bonding two was hard enough and I don’t have the time or energy to try a trio.

[peppypoo]

Posted By Kate Monster on 03/14/2011 05:57 AM

The adorable cuddling makes me happy. I would like three, as bunny cuddles become exponentially cuter based on the number of bunnies involved
 

Haha, that made me giggle! Now I’m imagining a graph of cuddling cuteness vs. # of bunnies .
 

Tammo and Remi were/are single buns; my parents had talked about finding friends for them, but in the end didn’t for whatever reason.  Maybe i’ll be able to talk my mom into adopting another one though. My boyfriend and I are in the process of finding a friend for Peppy for exactly the same reasons as you.  We’re busy students and sometimes I feel terribly bad for Peppy when the deadlines start stacking up and there’s nobunny to play with her and give her attention.  Plus, when she’s bored she lays down and puts her head down in the most pathetically sad-looking way; I know it’s probably just anthropomorphizing, but we decided that it was time to get her a boyfriend.

[anneNjoerule]

I have two. I’ll start bOnding on the 15th. I guess I always have it in the back of my head, getting a third. See my first bunny, Kya should have been a single bun. I went to the shelter and socialized with all the bunnies and chose her. I was hopping to go back and do bun dates with her. Find a bunny we both liked. Instead I barely had her for two weeks before a bun in need was dumped on me. I didn’t think twice about taking her. She needed me and I didn’t want to rehome her. She and Kya so far growl at one another and she hates being held or cuddling. So as you can see, not a bun we would have picked. But she’s starting to grow on me and hopefully Kya too after strenuous bonding.
Anyway, I feel kind of robbed of choosing a second bun, silly I know.

[Beka27]

You did a very good thing by taking in a bun who needed a home. Even when a rabbit is allowed to “choose his/her own mate”, there’s no guarantee that the bonding will be any easier. If space allows, you could always have two pairs. A pair usually equals the same amount of work as a single bunny: same space, same litterboxes.

[LoveChaCha]

I have one. She is a handful

I don’t have another one due to funds, and I’m not sure how my dad would feel about me getting another bunny. I can respect his wishes. Her highness needs a lot of TLC. She is the most demanding baby ever, giving me the dirty look if I don’t hurry and pet her, and chasing her grandpa for candy (raisin).

I hope to get a better job soon. I have been accumliating my tip money for the past 3 months in case Chacha needs to be taken to an emergency vet. So I feel relieved I have money saved up for her.

[Kate Monster]

You might be surpised by the other bunny given some time. Kate doesn’t cuddle, she doesn’t even let me pet her in fact if she sees a hand coming at her she skitters away. But on her own terms she’s very sweet giving me nose bumps, licking, and climbing on me. She’s also hilariously clever and adventuresome compared to her more cuddly husbun. I love them both equally of course, but I treasure her love of climbing up high and sneaking into new places and licking of my hair as much as Spencer’s love of ear rubs.
I will let others deal with the bonding issues as Kate and Spence were bonded sometimes during their stay at the shelter and not by me. But I do think that their bond makes Kate a little more trusting of people based on his enjoyment of being pet.

[Elrohwen]

Have your two met in a neutral area yet? Many buns will growl at another through cage bars because they’re territorial, but they are usually much less so in a neutral zone. I wouldn’t take that as a bad sign just yet. Besides, if you had let your first bun choose a mate, she could’ve picked one that was shy and unfriendly towards you anyway (though of course you would’ve had some say in the matter).

Otto isn’t cuddly and hates being petted for the most part, but we adore him anyway. When I first got Hannah I was really apprehensive of her, even though we chose her, and worried that she wasn’t the right bun for us. I was very close to giving her back to her old owner, but decided to keep her a little longer. Since then we’ve fallen in love with her too and she’s a great rabbit, but I know how hard it can be to get a second when you already have such strong feelings about your first.

[anneNjoerule]

 Nope. The only time(s) my girls have met is by accident. I live in a semi small area. However the buns get about 150-200 sq ft devoted entirely to them, their own room you could say. Well I try to keep them separated for the most part but sometimes they get sneaky and go near one another’s space. This cause absolutely no reaction either way from Eden but Kya… Kya is VERY territorial she doesn’t like strange people near her pen, let alone strange bunnies. She will snarl and lunge and try to pul Eden’s fur out through the bars until I come running and take Eden away. Hopefully when they are introduced in the bathtub tomorrow this wont happen. I think the most bunnies I would ever have would be 4 and only if they were a pair of pairs or all bonded together. 

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I have two now, and have had up to four at once. When everyone is healthy everything is easy. Let me tell you I wanted to kill myself when I was doing meds and changing four times a day. I think that a big thing to realize is that when you are caring for a sick animal (which can include incontinence care, medications, force feeding, bum baths etc. etc.) it’s draining-especially with an extended illness. So you have to factor in possible work too. I’d say that is a hidden time/work/cost that many people don’t think about.

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