When shall I introduce my bunny to a new friend

[Stormypet]

I had 2 beautiful M + F neutered/ spayed mini lop bunnies. Theyre cousin’s and one of their mum’s fostered the other so like siblings.
We live in New Zealand with a very temperate climate and no dangerous animals to hurt bunnies. Mine were in a huge hutch with a run outside and they loved each other. They didnt understand personal space. Sadly my boy died on Thursday from floppy bunny syndrome. I got so much food and water into him but i couldnt save him. Im still very very upset over it. Now my girl Storm is obviously very upset and id never consider another rabbit if it wasnt for her.
Im a foster parent for rabbits at a shelter. Before my bunny got sick, i offered to foster an 8 week old male lop. He is so sweet and had the laid back personality of the boy I lost. He loves cuddles. I considered canceling the foster but my husband said i should.
Upon meeting cookie, i thought he could be our little silver lining and we could adopt him. Course it’s up to storm.
Now storm has been inside since Thursday in our indoor cage and spending heaps of time with us. She hasn’t meet the foster bunny cookie yet. Cookie is very small still and is in our spare hutch, and wont be neutered until at least 12 weeks. Question is, i really want storm to accept cookie. When shall i start introducing them? I figured id have storm in her play pen and put cookie a distance away in his hutch then slowly bring them closer.
The other week i was fostering 2x Nz baby Nz whites, and i had them in a carrier and i walked past Storm’s cage. She was very interested, which makes me think she might accept a friend. Well this was before her best friend died. Advice needed. Never bonded bunnies before.

[Sirius&Luna]

I’m sorry for your loss.

You shouldn’t introduce bunnies unless both are spayed and neutered, but while you’re waiting for him to be neutered, you can spend some time swapping them between hutches/swapping litter trays or stuffed toys so that they get used to each other’s scents. This also helps them to be less territorial, and once they meet, they feel like they already know who the other bunny is, it isn’t a total stranger. You can also have their hutches in view of each other, but ensure that there is always double bars between them so that they can’t nip through the bars.

Once he’s been neutered, you’ll need to wait a month to ensure he is fully recovered, and has lost all his hormones (after a week of recovery, you can go back to swapping them during this time). Then you can introduce them for short periods in a neutral space, gradually increasing the time they spend together.

I suggest reading some other threads on this forum that are marked *bonded* so you can get a good idea of the process, and good and bad signs

[Stormypet]

Thank you! I will check it all out 

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