Trying to Bond Two Brand New Rabbits from a Shelter?

[Waffle65]

Two days ago I went and adopted sweet little Phoebe from the local shelter. She’s a one year old spayed mix, and an absolute sweetheart. Obviously being brought to a new home she’s been a little nervous and shy, but she seems to be settling in really well. She’s been loving exploring her crate and playpen, we haven’t started exploring the rest of the house yet, I’m waiting for her to be a bit more comfortable with me first. 

Personality-wise, she seems to be very easy going. She’s grunted at me a few times when she wants her space, but no attempts at biting or any aggressive behavior that I’ve seen. From what the shelter told me she was bought at a livestock show as a baby. The family she was with said they just did not have the time or space to give her a great life, which is why she was brought in 6 weeks ago. But fortunately her previous home sounds like they tried to care for her well, judging by her behavior she was never abused or mistreated. 

However while I was there at the shelter I was looking at the other two rabbits they had there. They had a huge Himalayan there, but she also got adopted this past weekend. This leaves little Baxter the only rabbit they have left. He’s a two year old albino dwarf, and his attitude is off-putting to say the least. When I saw him sitting there, I think that was the first time I’ve ever seen an animal truly depressed. He just kind of looks like he’s given up on life. When I tried opening his cage to pet him he was not having it. He stomped off and hid in his little hut there, refusing to come out at all. When I was leaving with Phoebe I asked the shelter and they told me they didn’t know specifics, but Baxter definitely came from an abusive home. Poor little angel was kind of in rough shape when he came in, and he’s been there a while now.  I’m sure his stand-off behavior combined with his red eyes is quite the turn off for many people who come in and see him.

Obviously hearing about his situation is absolutely heart breaking, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about him. I truly believe that if he were to be adopted by someone who is patient and experienced with rabbit behavior he would be a sweet boy, he just hasn’t had the right person come along and treat him the way he deserves yet. I would love to go back next weekend, and if he’s still there, I would love to bring him home. My only hesitation is that I’m worried he may be aggressive towards Phoebe then. I’m not sure if he would have a problem interacting with her, and take his aggression out on her? The shelter told me they do not try bonding any single rabbits that come in, so I really have no idea how they would interact with each other. It sounds like neither one of them has ever lived with another rabbit. Obviously Phoebe is my priority, and if Baxter would be aggressive towards her then he cannot come live with me. I’ve never had a rabbit that came from an abusive situation before, and I’ve never tried bonding two, so this would all be brand new for me. 

I’m worried that maybe coming to a brand new home with new people, plus trying to introduce them to another new rabbit may just be too much for these two at one time? I’m not sure, is there a certain amount of time you should give a new rabbit to adjust to your home before meeting another rabbit? I’d love to bring Phoebe to the shelter for a little ‘date’ with Baxter and see what happens, but I don’t want to push it and force anything.

[tobyluv]

You should let a rabbit settle into your home at least a week before introducing him or her to other rabbits.

I volunteer at a rabbit sanctuary. Over the years, we have had some rabbits brought to us who were described by their owners as aggressive or mean. One person even said his rabbit was an attack rabbit, and he put some protective padding on his arms before reaching into the cage to bring out the rabbit. All of these rabbits were obviously either abused or mishandled, causing them to become defensive and aggressive. After a while, in a loving, caring environment, and being around other rabbits, the rabbits lost their aggression and became sweethearts for the most part. Some were still a bit wary of people, mainly strangers, but my own rabbits are like that.

I’m not saying that Baxter would turn into a loving sweetheart and be a wonderful companion for Phoebe, because there are never any guarantees, but I have sure seen rabbits make a complete turnaround after they have been shown love, kindness and proper handling. It would be wonderful if you could adopt Baxter and have a companion for Phoebe, but there is always the possibility that it wouldn’t work. That might be because he couldn’t overcome his past treatment or it could be because their personalities don’t mesh.

If the shelter allows dating, you could try that. But you can’t always get an accurate reading from that. Phoebe might think that you are returning her and not be herself, and I have seen rabbits that acted one way in a shelter, but acted very differently once they were in a home.

[DanaNM]

This is tough…. I am a sucker for animals with sad histories. 

It is wonderful that you would like to rescue him, and I do think with enough time he would prob come around. Do you know how long he has been at the shelter? Does he approach you if you have food?

I think it would be very important to make sure he is OK with other rabbits before adopting him. Would they potentially allow you to foster him for a while to see if he settled down in a home environment? 

I had an experience with a bunny that I tried to bond with my current bunny. He had a very sad story: he had been born in the shelter (a pregnant rabbit came in), and had been there two years. He was very shy, but not aggressive. We took him on a date with Bertha, and it seemed to go well. They mostly ignored each other, he hid from her. She groomed him a bit (which I was very surprised about). 

I ended up bonding them (or so I thought), but he never showed affection towards her, and the ended up fighting after living together for 5 months with no incidents. he was just starting to be less afraid of me, but never showed any affection. 

I spoke to the shelter about him, and they said that during their monthly “hoppy hour” (a time when they let their buns play together), he often had to go on “time-out”. 

It seems that he just did not like other rabbits. 

I think if you can take them on a date, that would be a good first step. It won’t be a guarantee that it will work, but if they hate each other, that will tell you it’s prob not a good idea. I also think if he hides in fear from her, that also probably isn’t a great match. 

. . . 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.  

[Waffle65]

*Sorry double post*

[Waffle65]

Thank you both! Yes, it’s a very difficult situation. In a perfect world I would be able to bring Baxter home, him and Phoebe would love each other, and he would calm down. However we all know things rarely go perfectly. It did cross my mind bringing Phoebe in to see him would make her think she way being returned and scare her. I wouldn’t want to scare her like that, but we will never know for sure if she would get upset or not. My other worry is their size difference. Baxter is maybe 2 pounds at most, while Phoebe is 4.5 pounds. I’ve seen rabbits which much larger size differences bond with no issues, but I’m worried that she may intimidate him because she’s so much larger? I have no idea.

But let’s say that hypothetically I was able to get Baxter and he was just never able to bond with Phoebe, would it cause problems having two unbonded rabbits in the same house? Obviously they would have separate crates to stay in, but could they co-exist in larger areas of the house, like playing in the living room at the same time without fighting? Or is that something where you need to try and schedule completely separate times for them to be out playing? I would think with enough space they would just each do their own thing if they didn’t want to bond?

I believe that this shelter does allow for fostering. No idea what is involved with getting approved for that. Fostering is something I’ve thought about several times before, but everyone I know tells me I would make a horrible foster. They all say I would fall so in love with the bunnies that I would never let them go. I know you have to look at a foster bunny different then one you are adopting, but it sounds almost impossible to me that you could care for a bunny and spend so much time with them, only to send them off with a stranger eventually. I feel like that would probably crush me in the end. But that is always an option to look into for him. I just found out today that this is unfortunately a kill shelter, and I’m obviously terrified that they may put him down if he doesn’t find a home.

[DanaNM]

Posted By Waffle65 on 7/24/2017 5:30 PM

Thank you both! Yes, it’s a very difficult situation. In a perfect world I would be able to bring Baxter home, him and Phoebe would love each other, and he would calm down. However we all know things rarely go perfectly. It did cross my mind bringing Phoebe in to see him would make her think she way being returned and scare her. I wouldn’t want to scare her like that, but we will never know for sure if she would get upset or not. My other worry is their size difference. Baxter is maybe 2 pounds at most, while Phoebe is 4.5 pounds. I’ve seen rabbits which much larger size differences bond with no issues, but I’m worried that she may intimidate him because she’s so much larger? I have no idea.

But let’s say that hypothetically I was able to get Baxter and he was just never able to bond with Phoebe, would it cause problems having two unbonded rabbits in the same house? Obviously they would have separate crates to stay in, but could they co-exist in larger areas of the house, like playing in the living room at the same time without fighting? Or is that something where you need to try and schedule completely separate times for them to be out playing? I would think with enough space they would just each do their own thing if they didn’t want to bond?

I believe that this shelter does allow for fostering. No idea what is involved with getting approved for that. Fostering is something I’ve thought about several times before, but everyone I know tells me I would make a horrible foster. They all say I would fall so in love with the bunnies that I would never let them go. I know you have to look at a foster bunny different then one you are adopting, but it sounds almost impossible to me that you could care for a bunny and spend so much time with them, only to send them off with a stranger eventually. I feel like that would probably crush me in the end. But that is always an option to look into for him. I just found out today that this is unfortunately a kill shelter, and I’m obviously terrified that they may put him down if he doesn’t find a home.

The size difference doesn’t matter. My Bertha (9 lbs!) was very tightly bonded to my Bunston (3 lbs)! Their bonding process was long (3 months, but I think mostly due to my mistakes early on…. ), but once bonded, he was madly in love with her and groomed her constantly.

If they never bond, you would need to have them completely separate, and unable to access each other at all. So, during playtime, you would either need to have a room divided such that they could not nip each other through the fence, or allow them only in separate rooms (or have them out at different times, as you suggested). There are many folks on this forum with unbonded buns that live happily side by side, but it may not work for your living situation. Unfortunately they would not be able to share the living room during playtime if they do not bond. But, it sounds like you have a house with a decent amount of space, so you may be able to just divide the house into “his and hers” territories. You’d just want to make sure you can spend enough time with each bun so that one isn’t lonely and neglected. 

In terms of fostering, that may be a good option, assuming the first date with Phoebe goes OK, as it would allow you to get to know the little guy in a more calm environment, and buy him some time. Even if you don’t adopt him, your experience with him might help him be more adoptable. And if you do fall in love with him and adopt him, then isn’t that a good thing??? I guess if Phoebe doesn’t like him, that wouldn’t be good. 

When I was searching for a new mate for Bertha (Bunston sadly passed away about a year and a half ago), our rescue let us take Bertha on dates, and then foster the suitor so we could do pre-bonding and bonding before finalizing adoption. I don’t think all rescues are as accommodating, but they new that my primary goal was to find a mate for Bertha, so they were OK with it. 

. . . 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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