LibbyZ wrote:
I currently have a lovely Holland Lop doe. She comes to work with me and visits with the children. She is patient and enjoys ear rubs and munching on greens while on laps or in an ikea baby bathtub.
I have gone back and forth about trying to bond her with another bunny.
Lets talk bunny breeds.
I naturally gravitate towards mini and holland lops, but am very interested in English Lops as well. I am looking for an outgoing bunny breed. I met with some Flemish Giant breeders, went and looked at Eng Lops, etc.
As a pediatric therapist, animals in therapy have become a huge part of my practice and my life. My bunny has a wonderful set-up, loads of outside of the cage time, and is completely spoiled. She is so loved by my family and even goes on playdates with my mother, keeping her company while she works in the garden.
What suggestions do you all have as far as breeds, the idea of possibly bonding bunnies together, etc. Does anyone have mini, fench or english lop experience? Should I be looking at other bunny breeds? Suggestions? I do not make impulsive decisions, since a bunny is a big part of my life and my practice.
Any suggestions or advice is highly appreciated.
Hi! I
love Holland lops, too! I currently have a 10 month old Holland lop doe named Olive. I got her last summer from a breeder when she was ten weeks old, spayed her, and then a few months later decided to adopt a second bunny, this time, from a shelter. There was not a wide range of neutered males available, but she seemed ok with a New Zealand (mix) rabbit--so I brought him home. (You can see both of them in my avatar).
After about two weeks of intensive bonding exercises in a neutral space aka my basement (you can't just put two rabbits together and expect them to get along--rabbits are deeply territorial) they finally bonded and were able to live together in the same enclosure (X pen in my kitchen). That's a fairly short period of time--some bonds take months, and sometimes, two bunnies simply won't get along no matter how carefully they are introduced. There are also bunnies who seem to simply prefer to be the "only" bunny of the household, too.
A good resource for bonding on this website is:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12072&forum_id=17
Another excellent source is the House Rabbit Society's article:
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/multiple.html
My two cents (adjusted for inflation--LOL):
The first prerequisite for bonding is that both bunnies in question should be spayed/neutered--even in same sex pairs, hormones will cause bunnies to be far more aggressive and territorial than if they are desexed. For both sexes, you should wait about 4 weeks for them to heal before bonding (neutered males can carry viable sperm for up to 4 weeks post surgery, but that's really only a concern if you're trying to put an unneutered female with a recently neutered male). For best results, make sure you start out with a neutered/spayed pair that has had sufficient amount of time to heal.
Also, at the beginning, you really need to have two separate living quarters for each individual bunny, even if you decide to place the enclosures side by side (but far enough away from each other so they can't nip at each other through the bars--they often will do this in the beginning of bonding before trust is built up).
You should ideally have an area in your home that is rabbit proof and "neutral" (one in which your bunny hasn't spent a lot of time in if at all) to start bonding sessions. For me, this was the carpeted laundry room in my basement. This is really important since rabbits can be very territorial in areas they have spent a lot of time in. Also, you must prepare for the possibility that the two may *never* get along and bond, in which case you must be prepare to keep them in separate enclosures and have separate free-time outside the enclosures.
Bonding is usually time intensive, and can be frustrating and stressful, though the reward of two bonded bunnies who snuggle and groom each other and keep each other company is wonderful to behold. (When I first brought Simon home from the shelter, I thought I'd made a big mistake for several days, as they nipped, chased, and fought each other. It was only through a lot of patience and effort--and support from bulletin boards like this one, that I got through the process. I will most likely next time simply adopt an already bonded pair!)
When bonding two bunnies, I think it's *much* less important to consider the breeds of the bunnies than it is to take into account your pre-existing bunny's preferences--which is why it's an excellent idea to call up your local shelter to see if they will arrange bunny dates, or a nearby rescue who can do the same. Rescues especially often have bunnies in foster homes and the fosterers have spent a lot of time getting to know the rabbit and can often point you to rabbits that might like to have a bond mate.
I have no affiliation with this group, but they are in Portland:
http://www.oregonhouserabbitsociety.org/
And the Oregon House Rabbit Society (a chapter of the national House Rabbit Society) might be of help as well:
http://www.oregonhouserabbitsociety.org/
The upsides to finding a bunny friend for your Holland through a shelter or rescue is that you will most likely be able to see your bunny interacting with several bunnies and then pick the best fit for her. Some rescues even have a policy that they will allow for a different pairing if you try to bond them and despite all efforts, the bunnies aren't able to get along. This is in contrast to simply choosing a bunny you really like and leaving it up to chance, only to have your existing bunny display in no uncertain terms that she doesn't like him (or her).
The relationship might eventually work out, but generally the road to bonding is easier if you let your rabbit choose her mate. This doesn't necessarily mean that your rabbit will "fall in love at first sight" with the newly introduced rabbit--that's relatively rare; ignoring each other in
neutral territory at first is a good sign that the rabbits may get along. Aggressive interactions when first introduced don't necessarily predict the two
won't bond, but it is easier to start out with a less "charged" interaction, and outright fighting can set back bonding quite a bit--if two rabbits hate each other on first sight, I'd wager it'd be best to move to another rabbit, rather than cause more stress.
So, here's my spin on why I think it's a good idea to try "bunny dating" at a shelter or through a reputable rabbit rescue in your area (I'm in Seattle, by the way!):
If you decide to introduce a new bunny (such as a baby bunny) without a former introduction on neutral territory, you will have to wait for him/her to be old enough to be neutered or spayed (generally around 4-6months) and for his/her personality to develop. During this time, you'll have to keep the rabbits separate. This can be inconvenient for many people. And, you simply never know if the baby bunny's personality is going to be the same when they mature... and then there's the question of whether or not the new bunny will get along with your existing bunny.
With bunny dating, you potentially know a *lot* about the temperament of the different rabbits, and can see how your rabbit fares in general with a new rabbit. Choosing an adult rabbit (many rabbits are abandoned around adolescence right as the hormones hit, so they will have plenty of years with you) is a good idea because you have a better idea of their personality and preferences. Especially with rabbit rescues, rabbits tend to be in foster situations and have had some basic socialization, litter training, and neuter/spay surgeries. Even if the adoption fee seems high, it's really not, considering how much neuters/spays cost at a rabbity-savy vet.
I think personalities in breeds tend to run the gamut, and I think in the case of bringing home a new bunny it's better to a) let your bunny choose who they want to be with, regardless of breed and b) adopt through a rescue or shelter who will allow you to "bunny date."
That said, since you integrate your bunny into your pediatric therapy practice (that's so wonderful!) you would probably want both bunnies at the practice, so you'd probably, I imagine, want to have a people-friendly second bunny. There again, rescues can help point you to many wonderful bunnies who might fit the bill.
Well, sorry, this turned into such a long post. Your relationship with your bunny sounds wonderful! Do you have any pictures of her? Good luck and let me know if you have any questions or comments.
