Should I Try to Bond?

[Red]

My current rabbit is a chunky, 2 year old holland lop named Olive. She is a bit on the moody side, and can even be a little cage aggressive. She’s also super sweet though, and I love her 

My question is, do you think it would work to try to bond her with another bunny? I’m worried that she will jealous and territorial, even if the proper steps are taken in the bonding process.

One of my good friends has a small scale rabbity and takes incredible care of her bunnies, so I would get one from her. The nice thing about getting a bunny from her is she knows the personality of each of her rabbits, and many breeders don’t seem to pay much attention to that. 

Olive isn’t spayed yet, but I will obviously spay her if I decide to get another bunny. 

 Thanks!

[MountainBuns]

I mean it really depends, if she is territorial, then it probably wont go well. But its up to you???

[OnyxMoon]

Hey there! OIive sounds like a super cute bun! 

Bunnies tend to be social, and do best with a friend. However, bunnies can be perfectly happy without a bunny friend. They just need more attention from their humans in return to prevent loneliness and depression.

All bunnies are extremely territorial, the cage aggression is normal for most bunnies because to them you are invading their territory and they don’t like that. Most people let their buns out while they clean and re-organize their cage, to avoid them being upset inside the cage. So this is normal.

Not being fixed is the number one cause of aggression. Females should all be spayed because the longer they aren’t, the more likely they are to develop uterine and ovarian cancer. After age 1, its about a 70% chance they develop it. So it’s best to get her spayed even if you don’t plan on getting another bunny. Hormones cause mood swings, false pregnancies, etc. which is so stressful for them and for the humans in their lives. Hormones can still be going through them after the surgery, so bonding should be put off until at least a month after her spay.

If you are financially able and able to give the time to bonding them, and only if you are ready and up for it, i’d say go for it. I do suggest bonding her with a male, if possible, with a more passive personality if she is more high strung or opinionated. Same sex bonds are possible, but the easier ones tend to be opposite sex bonds. Although every bunny is different. 

If the proper steps are taken, including pre-bonding which is super important and the first step, and you work on really getting them off on the right foot, it could be a great thing. But again, its only if you are up for it. Bunnies can be happy on their own, with just their human(s) as companions. Don’t feel pressured into it. 

[Sirius&Luna]

There’s no reason why she couldn’t be bonded! The main thing is to have both bunnies spayed and neutered first, and to take it slow. The main reason I see bonds fail on here is due to people rushing. The other thing to consider is if you get a baby then you’ll need to wait a few months until he’s old enough to be neutered before you can start to bond. Also the gender is worth considering. Male/female pairs are thought to be the easiest but same sex pairs can be perfectly happy!

Bonding can be super rewarding but it’s also VERY hard work and can feel endless and exhausting at times. I really recommend reading some bonding journals on this forum so you can see what you’re signing up for! It’s also really useful to see how the process works and how long it takes most people. The bunny info section also has great information on the steps.

You also need to be prepared for the possiblity of them not bonding (which is possible but not super likely if you follow the correct steps), and think about whethe you can keep two rabbits that hate each other away from each other forever? Or whether you have a plan for rehoming one

[sarahthegemini]

Duplicate post.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By EatSleepBunny on 5/26/2018 6:20 PM

I mean it really depends, if she is territorial, then it probably wont go well. But its up to you???

Not true. Most rabbits are territorial. That’s why pre bonding is so important 

You need to spay her regardless due to health reasons anyway but of course that is also the first step to bonding. I don’t see why you shouldn’t try bonding. I strongly believe that rabbits are happier with a bun friend, just be aware that bonding is or can be a very long tiresome process so make sure you are prepared!

[Red]

It’s nice to hear from people who have successfully bonded rabbits, cause I don’t have very much experience in that area. I do know the general steps, and have used similar ones to introduce one of my rats to each other, but I haven’t done it with bunnies. Since I would be getting a kit and have to wait to get him fixed, is it bad to keep them in the same room before then, even if Olive is spayed? Sorry if you guys get these questions a lot, but the search function isn’t working for me so it’s hard to find applicable threads.

I know that being territorial is pretty common, I just wanted to know if it would make it more difficult to bond. Thank you all for the replies, they were super helpful.

I will definitely look into getting her spayed as soon as possible. I was thinking I needed to either way with how feisty she has been getting, and I would never want to risk her health. I was planning on spaying her before she reached a year, but we moved across the country pretty suddenly and that kind of messed our plans up. I have been calling vets though, and have a list of potential ones. I’m a little bit nervous, honestly. The first rabbit I had is the only one I personally have gotten fixed, and they ruined him with that surgery. There was supposed to be a bunny vet that did it, but they were busy so they just had their other vet perform the surgery without telling me. He was never the same after that, and didn’t live much longer. I know there are plenty of good vets though, and Olive will be getting the best of the best.

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