Question on new companion

[Addicted]

I want to get a buddy for my 8-9 week old mini lop,I’m going back to the person that i got this one from because i know the babbies are used to dogs,and that is a must.I know about two weeks ago the bunnies that they still have there got along with the one i have now,Will they remember and not fight?..And at what age should i get them fixed?

 

Thanks

Jason.

[Scarlet_Rose]

Jason, I am not all that sure that they will remember your bun and you will probably encounter mixed reactions. Male rabbits can be fixed as soon as the testicles descend at about 3 months old, females are spayed at about 5 months old. You’ll want to keep them separate (if you get a male/female bond) when the male is three months old to prevent an unwanted litter and prevent pet overpopulation. same sex pairings are usually more difficult so you may not want to set your heart on that. It can be done, but usually it is more difficult. Have you located a bunny savvy vet nearby?

[Addicted]

I have not found a bunny vet yet but it Shouldn’t be hard,When i bought the bunny they were housed together, Can’t just get one that was with this one before then get them fixed when the time comes?after all they were already together for a while?

[Scarlet_Rose]

They can be together if they are the same sex, if different, separate them when the male is 3 months old, that is when they sexually mature. Femals rabbits can go through a false pregnancy and in which case will nip and drive the male away and adversly affect the bond. Rabbit savvy vets are not always easy to come by.  You may want to start looking now, especially at the cost of spaying and neutering.  Here are some good places to start:

http://www.rabbit.org/vets/index.html

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/vet.html

Normally it is best to wait until after you rabbit is fixed to bond because of the issue with having to separate them when the male sexually matures and while one or the other or both heal from surgery.

[Addicted]

Hmmm,this is getting complicated,I just want to get one of my Buns sibblings that i know is good with dogs.What do you think my best route would be to bring one of these guys home?…I almost bought one tonight,good thing i waited to talk here!

[MooBunnay]

Unfortunately – for some reason – introducing two rabbits is a bit tough – who would have guessed?

Since your bun is still fairly young, I think that introducing them would be easier than two adults. What I would recommend is bringing your bunny back to where you purchased it from, and introduce the two bunnies to see which one gets along with your bun the best. In my experience, young bunnies are much easier to introduce than older bunnies – I bonded a very young rabbit a couple months ago to another young rabbit and they instantly bonded – it was so sweet! So I think your best chances of getting a companion bun is right now, so I would spend just a little extra time picking out the bunny that gets along with yours best.

Regarding the spaying and neutering – the reason that it is soo important to do this is because buns can get pregnant as soon as they hit three months which is really unhealthy for the female rabbit to get pregnant that young. Its so likely, that I probably shouldn’t even say your female CAN get pregnant, but that your female WILL get pregnant as soon as she and her companion hit sexual maturity. Because it is so easy to not really know exactly when your bunnies hit their sexual maturity, as well as because it is SO frequent that male buns turn out to be females and vice versa – its really much safer to keep two buns separate until they are spayed and neutered.

I do hope that you consider a companion for your bunny though – they are really very happy in pairs, and it would be very nice for your bunny to get to have a sibling around (though the sibling thing doesn’t stop the males and females from mating…) I think you have the best chances right now of making a great bunny pair!

[Addicted]

That would be no problem bringing my Bun to see the siblings to see which one is the best for it,But with the ammount of pets i have now(11) i only have room for one cage.

[MsBinky]

Why do you want a second bun?

The best bet is to get the opposite sex and make sure they are separate if they are at an age of reproduction. Two females can work also. However, usually 2 males often are much harder to bond. Keep in mind that both buns need to be altered in order to help with the bonding. Especially as they will hit that "terrible bun" (teen) period.

Also, you need to be able to keep them separate during the process if it’s not an instant bond. If you can cool, if not, maybe getting a second isn’t the best option.

[Gravehearted]

I would not count on being able to house the two bunnies together right away. Even if they’re from the same litter, that does not mean they’re bonded. If you have no way to house the rabbits separately during the bonding process, I would not recommend bring home a second rabbit. And certainly if they’re opposite sex (which is generally the easiest to bond) you will have to separate them until they are old enough to be fixed. Often rabbits from the same litter often need to be separated as they reach sexual maturity – since brother and sisters can really harm each other fighting or just being too humpity on litter mates.

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