Considering second bun - bonding questions

I currently have a spayed female Holland Lop. We adopted her about a year ago, and she's about 2 years old.
We're considering adopting a second bun and I have some questions before I go all in and commit to this.

*Since I have a spayed female, what's the best pairing, another female or a male?

*Because she's been the sole pet in our home for the last year, can that make bringing a second bun home more difficult?

*Once bonded, can they live harmoniously in the same cage? I currently have a XL dog pen so there's plenty of space, I just don't want to add another cage to my home as I don't have the space (I can temporarily though during the bonding process)

*Through my local shelter, they will let me bring my current bun to an adoption event to see if there's a bunny there she might be fond of. Would this be a good idea, better than just getting a bun somewhere myself and bringing it home?


Thanks!!

1. Likely a neutered male.

2. It could. Each and every rabbit will be different and nobody can tell you exactly what will happen.

3. Yes. But keep in mind there is the change they may never bond. Or something starts a fight and then they hate each other.

4. Yes best option. Check with the rescue to see what their "Return Policy" is if the bun you get doesn't work out with your girl. Will they let you try a different one after a few weeks if things go sour?

They're all different BUT I had ZERO (and I mean zero) problems introducing a spayed female to my male. A bit of humping for the first 3 days, nothing that seemed to bug her at all. I was all ready in my gear; oven mitts, boots, broom in hand in case I had to split up a vicious fight as I introduced them, but all they did is love on each other. I felt and looked quite silly. They are inseparable now. Together in a big cage. My rescue group allowed for a 30 day trial. Sometimes that's how long it takes to bond or to see how things will go.

Buns are complicated little beings with their own personal tastes but I have read that spayed female / neutered male works more often than not.

lily2521 said:

I currently have a spayed female Holland Lop. We adopted her about a year ago, and she's about 2 years old.
We're considering adopting a second bun and I have some questions before I go all in and commit to this.

*Since I have a spayed female, what's the best pairing, another female or a male?

*Because she's been the sole pet in our home for the last year, can that make bringing a second bun home more difficult?

*Once bonded, can they live harmoniously in the same cage? I currently have a XL dog pen so there's plenty of space, I just don't want to add another cage to my home as I don't have the space (I can temporarily though during the bonding process)

*Through my local shelter, they will let me bring my current bun to an adoption event to see if there's a bunny there she might be fond of. Would this be a good idea, better than just getting a bun somewhere myself and bringing it home?

Thanks!!

Click to expand...

I adopted Zelda from a shelter, then a couple of years later I decided to find her a bonding partner. The shelter I adopted her from insists that you bring in your rabbit for meet and greets with prospective bonding partners, and when you adopt a single rabbit they encourage you to come back and find a partner for your new bun. They also adopt out bonded pairs. If it's possible, it's a good idea to do a meet and greet first, but it's not always possible.

I found my second bunny Stewart in the want ads. He was already neutered and being given away for free, that was a bonus! I didn't have the opportunity to do a meet and greet. I built him a temporary pen with CC cubes and put it a few feet away from Zelda's pen. Once I could see that they were able to look at and smell each other, I watched their behaviour towards each other. Both stayed as close to each other as possible with no signs of aggression, so after giving Stew a few days to settle in, I put them together (wearing oven mitts, an apron and with a sprayer and thick towel nearby in case of fights). I was lucky - after a few minutes of chasing each other and Stew trying to hump Zelda (funny - he's half her size!) they settled down pretty fast. They've been buddies ever since. They live in Zelda's big pen together with no problems. Sometimes they want to be apart, then they lie on opposite sides of the cage/pen, or different shelves.

So it doesn't matter how long your bunny has been with you. If you find a bunny she can bond with, the two of them will be very happy together. But, she won't forget you and will be just as friendly towards you.

Re pairings, it's recommended to bond opposite sex rabbits, there's a greater chance they will get along. However, it's not unheard of for same sex pairs to bond as long as both are altered. I've also heard of three or more rabbits being bound with each other as a group. These group bondings should also be among altered rabbits.

I love the bun bonding stories. It's probably the biggest gift you can give to your rabbit other than having adopted them from a shelter or rescue when they need a home.

Thanks to all the info available o the net and the fact that many rabbit rescues offer a 30 day trial for a second rabbit, I felt comfortable trying it out. And I'm really glad I did! They are so much happier. And I swear my current rabbit is even more sociable with me than ever after the introduction of his new girlfriend.

I did find out that our shelter really doesn't have a return policy. They encourage 2-3 dates before bringing a new bunny home, and then they'll help me to work through the bonding process after that.

Their reasoning is that many of their bunnies have already been abandoned, so they really don't want to risk someone bringing a bunny home for a trial and then putting more stress on that bunny by returning it if it doesn't work out within the 30 days, which I do understand, but it makes me more nervous about what I'd do if bonding truly doesn't take.

lily2521 said:

I did find out that our shelter really doesn't have a return policy. They encourage 2-3 dates before bringing a new bunny home, and then they'll help me to work through the bonding process after that.

Click to expand...

From what I've seen online, bunny dates can be a very good indication of how they will get along long term. My buns got along on the first day (with some humping) but there was no aggression at all. A very good sign, and weeks later I still have had not had any incidents of fighting. Have look at this:

[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kzpJiq6JJ7o[/ame]