Companion bunnies and bonding?

[indianavex]

Hey all! Posting again for the first time in a while. It's a long one, so forgive me.

My bun Cassie and I had a huge setback about 3 months ago when I got into a tussle with my rental company about having her at the apartment. I've since moved to a new place where it won't be an issue and can take her with me. She stayed with my parents and was taken care of in my stead during the 3 months. I also got her weight back up, just in case anyone else had seen that thread. Unfortunately the only way to keep her at a healthy weight is to feed her pellets so often that she doesn't eat her hay, but I'm trying to figure out a compromise to keep her eating hay and keep her weight up!

In the spirit of Christmas, I bought her this hutch (link to Amazon), as it's much larger than her current cage, which I bought to be more of a part-time sleeping/litter/feeding cage, not a full-time home. One of my biggest problems with Cassie is that she is very cage-oriented, doesn't like to come out, and therefore doesn't get the exercise she needs. I'm hoping giving her a bigger cage and more territory might give her more space to feel comfortable roaming around in so she gets exercise she needs. With that also comes the concerns for her shyness: she is very intimidated by new people and new situations. In the three months we were apart, she's even gotten very cold and distant with me. Trimming her nails (my parents didn't knew they had to...sigh) was an ordeal for her, though we ended things on decent enough terms (she wouldn't take a treat bribe the whole time, but I petted her afterward until she gave me a couple "I still tolerate you" licks and hopped into her cage to sulk).

So my question then is, would it be a good idea for me to get a second rabbit to help bring her out of her shell a bit? I was thinking of getting an energetic young male (she's spayed) with the hopes that they could bond and fall into happy bunny love bliss. I've heard of outgoing rabbits helping to pull shyer bunnies out of their shells, and I'd really like for Cassie to get more exercise and feel more confident about exploring her world and meeting new people. I also know bonding can be a really tough road.

 

[erinmoveit]

I love bonded pairs. I do think it could be beneficial. The best way to know would be to try to find a rescue that will let you have a "play date". Where you can introduce your bun to others and see if you can find a good match. Bonding is a process, but it is worth it. I have bonded all my buns and it has always seems to work better if they were near each other when they weren't in a bonding session. Meaning, if their two separate housing were close enough for them to smell one another but not so close that they could nip one another.

Seeing as you have two different housing arrangements now, it would probably be a good time. You could keep your bun in the home that she knows and is comfortable with while you bring your new bun into the home you got for Christmas.

 

[indianavex]

I checked our local humane society and (thankfully, really!) they don't have any bunnies in need of homes. But do you think it'd be better to keep her in her current cage and put the new bun in the new cage? Or would it help to clean out her old cage, put her in the new one, and have the new bun be in a cage that smells like her but that she's not actually in?

 

[erinmoveit]

The only reason I suggested keeping her in the one she has is the added stress, but if you aren't getting a new one right away then it wouldn't matter. It might not matter in the first place, it was just a thought. I usually put some litter from one another in their pans to get the scent too.

 

[indianavex]

That's a good idea too! I'm not in any particular rush, but I'm not waiting or anything either.

 

[erinmoveit]

Good luck! It's awesome to see them once they have bonded

 

[Blue eyes]

Sorry I'm a little late joining the conversation. There are always lots of rabbits for adoption. But they're usually not at a local humane society. Google "rabbit rescue,____" (your state) and then find some in the list that are exclusively for rabbits. That's how to find a true "rabbit rescue" and those are the ones that usually allow play dates and have bonding advice. I don't think I know of a rescue that isn't full to capacity. (or you could let us know what state you are in and someone here probably can find you a good rescue).

erinmoveit has good advice about the new cage. If you will be bonding her anytime reasonably soon, it would make things easier to keep her in her current cage so that she doesn't "take ownership" of the new cage. Females can be sooo territorial and it will be much easier, once she's bonded, to put the newly bonded pair in a brand new cage that is "neutral" to both of them. This can prevent alot of potential difficulties.

 

[Apebull]

You can also try petfinder.com

 

[Imbrium]

I was gonna suggest petfinder, that's a good site .

I definitely like the idea of getting her a bond-mate - one of my rabbits was very shy and un-energetic when I got her; her bond-mate is very out-going and active. the more time they spent together, the more Gaz came out of her shell and the more exercise she's chosen to get. Nala has taught her a LOT - she taught her how to do binkies, taught her to climb the levels in the condo, taught her to chew up the coroplast in the condo (grr!), etc.

 

[indianavex]

I kind of live in the middle of nowhere is the only reason I said that. I've fished around a bit, but the closest rescues are about an hour away or more.

Thanks for the tidbit on territory, though! Hopefully it'd be easier with Cassie being a spay, but better safe than sorry.

 

[Imbrium]

yeah, it sucks when there's not a rescue nearby... imo, having the ability to let HER pick out her new friend is worth the hour's drive, though. if you do end up driving a bit to a rescue, I highly recommend taking another person along so that one of you can sit in the backseat with the bunnies (allowing them to be with each other while still having the ability to break things up ASAP if a fight were to break out) - bunnies usually get a little stressed by car rides and will often seek comfort from another bunny, so an hour-long ride home is a *great* way to jump-start the bonding process.

 

[indianavex]

I'd love to let her pick out her friend. She's a very shy bun, so anything I can do to make things smoother for her would be wonderful. I'll see what I can't do (it's hard being a working student whose friends are in the same boat) about having a friend go with me or if a rescue would be willing to meet me halfway or something? I have no idea how likely it is they'd be willing to do that, though.

 

[Imbrium]

well, it certainly can't hurt to ask! sometimes they need to transport animals to somewhere else, so it's possible an employee may be passing through your area on shelter business at some point who would be willing to meet you.