I recently bought the mini rex/dwarf dutch that iposted about pulling out its fur. I was wondering if i were to getanother bunny if it would be better to get same sex or opposite sex. Iwas also wondering if it would be good to leave them in the same cage.
Adding a bunny to the family
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TrampNPigeon
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Most often if you would like the bunnies to bondand be in the same cage you are better off getting buns of the oppositesex. Just make sure you get them fixed first! Somepeople feel though that a bunny bonded to another bunny will takelonger to bond with and not bond as strongly to theirhuman(s). My two are a bonded male/female pair and that isokay with me because that way they always have their best buddy withthem... even when I'm at work. A lot of it depends though onwhat kind of a bunny you want. If you spend a bit of time outof the house and only get an hour or two of time with your bun a day(like me) then a bonded pair is a good idea. If you spend allday at the house and really wanta special bunny friend thatgives you and only you undivided attention all the time then you aregoing to be best off with just the one bunny. Figure out whatwould work best for your situation and go for it. Best ofluck!
-Cheryl
-Cheryl
pamnock
Well-Known Member
I would wait until you see how well it works outwith one rabbit first. I've found that some people enjoytheir first rabbit so much that they decide to add another, only tohave things not work out as they expected especially if the rabbitsdon't get along-- plus there is double the work,double the smell, double the feed, double the vet bills, double themess anddouble the damage (chewing, digging, etc.).
Pam
Pam
gjsara
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good advice pam, i agree!
m.e.
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True, though I don't know that I've found the twoto be more work than one. For one, they keep eachother occupied, andare less inclined to become messy or destructive out of boredom.
Personally, I swear by bonding a rabbit with another. Unless you aregoing to be home most of the time, and can provide some closecompanionship with your bunny, then they need another rabbit. These arevery social creatures, and thrive on companionship.
As far as actually bonding them goes, yes, opposite-sex pairs workbetter and they must both be spayed/neutered. Try to find a HouseRabbit Society educator in your area. They will help you with all theins and outs of bonding.
~M
Personally, I swear by bonding a rabbit with another. Unless you aregoing to be home most of the time, and can provide some closecompanionship with your bunny, then they need another rabbit. These arevery social creatures, and thrive on companionship.
As far as actually bonding them goes, yes, opposite-sex pairs workbetter and they must both be spayed/neutered. Try to find a HouseRabbit Society educator in your area. They will help you with all theins and outs of bonding.
~M
Stephanie
Well-Known Member
What I did when I brought in a second rabbit, wasintroduce them in the car. I actually brought my first rabbit in thepet carrierwith us, so the two buns could see each other, butbe in seperate carriers. When we got home, we opened the carriers inthe bathroom, which was neutral territory, as bunny #1 (Chompers) neverwent in there. Of course, they ignored each other. Have a water bottlehandy just in case though. Spray them if they start to seriously fight.
We hada second cage for Abby (bunny #2) to start off. Both ofthe cages were near each other, but not next to each other, so therabbits could see each other. It was love at first sight with ourrabbits and after abouta week or two, we had them both in thesame cage. We didn't just shove them together though, we waited it outto see which cage they used more before getting rid of the second one.We later broke that down when we built a new cage for them. Now theyare totally bonded to each other. That hasn't changed the bond with methough, they still love it when Mommy sits on the floor for pettingsand treat time.
Good luck! It wasn't as hard as I thought when introducing Abby toChompers. She was only 7-8 weeks and he's three. Maybe it would havebeen different if we had brought in another male, but I wanted a femaleanyway. Chompers has long since been fixed, so we don't have to worryabout any babies. We're waiting until we move to do Abby, as it's goingto be an adjustment for her after a five hour drive and a whole newapartment.
Ok, long enough post, but I hope that helps!
We hada second cage for Abby (bunny #2) to start off. Both ofthe cages were near each other, but not next to each other, so therabbits could see each other. It was love at first sight with ourrabbits and after abouta week or two, we had them both in thesame cage. We didn't just shove them together though, we waited it outto see which cage they used more before getting rid of the second one.We later broke that down when we built a new cage for them. Now theyare totally bonded to each other. That hasn't changed the bond with methough, they still love it when Mommy sits on the floor for pettingsand treat time.
Good luck! It wasn't as hard as I thought when introducing Abby toChompers. She was only 7-8 weeks and he's three. Maybe it would havebeen different if we had brought in another male, but I wanted a femaleanyway. Chompers has long since been fixed, so we don't have to worryabout any babies. We're waiting until we move to do Abby, as it's goingto be an adjustment for her after a five hour drive and a whole newapartment.
Ok, long enough post, but I hope that helps!
Buck Jones
Well-Known Member
We've have bunnies that bonded instantly andothers, that required two-three weeks of working an hour a day orso. Depends upon the individual buns. House RabbitSociety provides some excellent information regardingbonding. You might access their site for more information.
Yes, two may be more work than one, but we also find they are often more fun to observe "bunnying" around.
Buck
Yes, two may be more work than one, but we also find they are often more fun to observe "bunnying" around.
Buck
