Should my Flemish have a companion? Any advice on picking one?

[Gabrielle]

Sorry if I’m long-winded. I have a 6 month old female Flemish Giant named Sylvia. She is the sweetest thing and we absolutely adore her. She is perfectly litter trained and runs free for a good portion of the day (whenever I’m home and not too distracted with housework to really watch her. I don’t like her out unsupervised because I worry too much about her biting cords, eating things she’s not supposed to, knocking something over onto herself etc. I may be a little overprotective though.) I feel bad for her when I’m not home, even if it is just a few hours. She is so playful and active and I’m worried about her being lonely. She gets along great with our cats, dogs, and other animals but I’ve never exposed her to another rabbit.
Anyway my questions are: Do you think it’s better to have two rabbits than one? Does it make a big difference? If so, would you recommend a female or a neutered male (and does it really make so much of a difference that I should only look for a specific gender)? And does sizing matter? Since she is so big already and still growing, should I seek out a large breed so that they are of similar/equal size or would two giant buns feel cramped in a cage together?
If it matters, Sylvia has a very large cage. A dog could live in it, that’s how big it is.

[tobyluv]

Most rabbits do love to be with their own kind, to snuggle, to groom, and just for the companionship, but there are also lone rabbits who seem perfectly content. You didn’t mention if Sylvia is spayed or not. The first step in bonding rabbits is for both/all to be spayed or neutered, then to have recuperated from the surgery. It’s generally easier to bond a spayed female with a neutered male, but you can bond rabbits of the same gender. If you adopt a rabbit from a rescue, he should already be neutered. Some shelters will also spay and neuter their rabbits before adoption. That saves you time and money. Size doesn’t matter too much, but since Sylvia is a Flemish Giant, it might be better to get her a companion that isn’t one of the smaller breeds.

Here is an article regarding whether one should get a second rabbit: http://rabbit.org/faq-should-i-get-a-second-rabbit/.  I really love seeing rabbits have another rabbit companion, and I have had several bonded pairs over the years.

Here is one good article on bonding: http://rabbit.org/faq-bonding-multiple-rabbits/. Sometimes bonding can be quick and easy, but in other instances, it can be difficult, frustrating and time consuming.

[drwil]

Two is better than one. My cats are bonded sisters and never left each other for 12 years. One of them is bonded to my younger girl bunny. Accidentally locked kitty in the cage last night with her friend. Never have to worry about them being lonely.

If you have a local rabbit rescue they will probably let you leave her there to see if she prefers to hang out around a particular rabbit’s cage. Let your rabbit make the choice. Spayed female with neutered male is the best combination but it really depends on the rabbit.

[Gabrielle]

Tobyluv, she has an appointment to be spayed at out vet. They recommended waiting until she was 6-7 months to spay. She just finally reached 6 and has an appointment coming up. How long do you recommend we wait before we try out a companion (if we chose to do so)?
Drwil, that’s a great idea. I have a local rescue that does rabbits (not a lot as it’s primarily dogs & cats, but there’s a small animal room that usually has 6-10 buns). I’ll have to contact them. Also I love that your bun is bonded to your kitty. My new rescue kitten absolutely loves Sylvia. She never had much interest in my 3 older cats (as they are lazy and sleep all day lol). But she loves the kitten and they play often since they both have so much energy. Watching them interact and really get into the playing is part of the reason why I began considering getting her a companion to play with her like that.

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