Two male rabbits

[Shannon]

Well I have not gotten any rabbits yet. I am still reading up on them and also I am still buying supplies, rabbit proofing the house and building a huge cage/home for them. My question is: how successful is it usually to get two male rabbits to live together? Both fixed of course. I am asking because someone I know, knows someone else who no longer wants their rabbit. The poor thing has been in his tiny cage for so long because the people got a dog. They want to give it away, supplies and all for free. I would love to take him but I don’t want to jepordize anything with the other rabbit that I said I would take. He is still waiting for me to finish rabbit proofing. He is also male and will be fixed.  Who I am also getting from someone who doesn’t want him.

I have printed out all the pages from rabbit.org and I will read them this week. There are also some good pages on how to introduce them, go slowly etc. etc. What is your feedback on this situation?

[bigsis7]

It reallly depends on the attitude of the rabbits. It can be done and sometimes is very easy. Make sure you quarentine first though. I have succesfully bonded 2 male ferrets with only a few problems, but bonded them in a week. Not rabbits, but close ;-). I know lots of people who have bonded male rabbits together, so it’s really up to you.

[JK]

Good question!  I was told by the rescue here that it is often a lot easier to bond 2 males than 2 females for sure. I am seriously considering adopting another male so I would like to hear other comments.

[Beka27]

females are *typically* more territorial than males, so 2 males is *theoretically* easier than 2 females. this being said, there is no way you will know until they are both neutered and allowed to heal, then introduced. every rabbit and every bond will be different. i think if you stick to it, you can make it work, but realize it might take weeks or months of everyday sessions. and they might not bond. if you are willing to keep them separately forever if they do not bond, you should go for it. it sounds like they both are in major need a good home.

this is the best bonding article i have found… i read it every day while i was bonding my two. http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

IMHO I would never say that two rabbit’s could or couldn’t bond because of their sex. It depends alot on their personalities and also, how much time and patience you have to bond them. TBH I would say if you have the time and patience, any two rabbits can bond-but you need to be prepared should they not bond for a long time, if it all.

[LittlePuffyTail]

I agree with Beka27. If you are willing to keep them both seperate, being the worse case scenario, you should get them. I have 2 male fixed rabbits and I don’t think I will ever be able to bond them, although I may still try. My Mini-Rex is very aggressive with other rabbits and my Mini-Lop is just a big sweetheart so I fear the Mini-Rex will be much too aggressive for him. I think it also may depend on the age of the rabbits too. Stormy’s been a lone rabbit for 4 years and is pretty set in his ways, I don’t think I will be able to change him.

But if you can yo help 2 rabbits in need, go for it!! Wishing you lots of luck in your decision!

[GrammyB]

Are these the two that you talked about earlier this month? A Dwarf/Dutch mix & a 14 lb. Lop?

Are they both fixed?

[Sarita]

Yes, 2 males rabbits are possible to bond but it still takes your total committment. Recently one of my friends bonded 2 neutered males. Her current male was older and mellow and I suppose that helped as well.

[Shannon]

One of them is the same that I spoke about and the lop I decided against getting. I still have no bunnies yet because I am rabbit proofing my house first. The other is a new one that was brought to my attention by a friend. He is fixed. The other one the dwarf/dutch mix is not fixed but I will be getting him fixed as soon as I get him in August.

[GrammyB]

I am so glad that you are doing a lot of research & home prep. before you bring them home. Beware though, even with all that prep they will find something you missed, ours always do. 😉
I agree with the others, this isn’t going to be easy. Are you doing this by yourself or do you have help?
Plan to keep a neutral area for your bonding sessions, we used a hallway that nether one had been in.
An x-pen, whether you buy one or make one out of NIC shelving grids, will be very helpfull in the bonding proses. We use NIC’s to block off anything we don’t want the buns into.
You may want to make a condo for them out of NIC’s too. We put bun #2 in the bottom level of our condo, no shelves until they were bonded.

[Shannon]

Yup I am sure with rabbit proofing there will be some things I miss. And I do have help. My family which consists of two other people will be there. I am prepared to keep them seperate if they don’t bond. I do have a neuatral space for them to bond. And I am prepared for the time commitment it will take or the chance that they will never bond.
How long do you quarentine and how? Also is there anything that you are looking for when you quarentine?

[GrammyB]

What do you mean by quarentine?

[Beka27]

quarantine? after adoption, or after neutering? if you are getting one before the other, i’d suggest you take the first one to the vet ASAP for a full health check-up. and then the same with the second when you get him.

[Shannon]

Posted By bigsis7 on 07/16/2008 7:50 PM
It reallly depends on the attitude of the rabbits. It can be done and sometimes is very easy. Make sure you quarentine first though. I have succesfully bonded 2 male ferrets with only a few problems, but bonded them in a week. Not rabbits, but close ;-). I know lots of people who have bonded male rabbits together, so it’s really up to you.

Well bigsis7 says make sure you quarentine first. So before I get the second rabbit I should quarentine hiim. Keep him seperate from the first because he might have a sickness or something. Which is fine, I don’t mind quarentining at all. I can make two seperate cage things. But my question is how long do I quarentine?

Don’t worry I plan on being a responsible pet owner in every way I can!  The first rabbit that I am getting is already fixed. He is five years old and littered trained. He will be coming home with me sometime in August. I will try to build trust with him and do anything I can to make him not scared. I can’t imagine how it will be like because he will have been in his cage for so long. The owners say that his cage is in a room where he doesn’t really come out a lot because they got a dog. Then after a week of getting him used to his new home I am taking him straight to the vet. I don’t want to traumatize him.

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