Housing/Cage for bonded pair?

[lily2521]

We have a 5 lb. Holland lop right now, we've had him for about 2 months and he's been such a great addition to our family. We are very loosely *thinking* about getting him a companion. He's caged during the day and overnight, with about 5-6 hours a day outside of his cage. But even with the 5 or so hours a day that we're home, I feel like it might be beneficial for him to have another rabbit to bond with. I've been reading up on the bonding process, so I'm aware that it is just that...a process.


Right now he has enough space for himself, but I think if we got a second rabbit we'd have to get more space? Are there minimum cage requirements for a bonded pair living together?


For those of you that have a bonded pair, what type of housing do you have for them?

 

[Watermelons]

My pair live in a 2x3 grid 2 level C&C cage.

You have to remember there is no guarantee they will bond at all and you must be prepared to house them separately for their entire lives. And allow both free time away from each other.

 

[hamsterdance]

My bonded pair live in a 4x6 play pen. I'm bonding two bonded pairs and then going to move the four of them into a 11x12 room free range.

 

[stevesmum]

Here is our setup for a bonded pair:

 

[Blue eyes]

Here is an old photo (pre-digital camera days) of a 2 x 4 NIC cage, 3 grids tall we once used. Even though the pic quality is poor, you can see the space the two rabbits have and make your own judgment as to whether it looks large enough or not.

Now, my rabbits have a slightly smaller cage, but the door is only closed at night.

 

[lily2521]

My pair live in a 2x3 grid 2 level C&C cage.

You have to remember there is no guarantee they will bond at all and you must be prepared to house them separately for their entire lives. And allow both free time away from each other.

The place we adopt through allows us to let rabbits meet, more than once if needed, before making a commitment to adopt the new one, and I'm hoping would help us to know if bonding would work or not.

 

[Blue eyes]

The place we adopt through allows us to let rabbits meet, more than once if needed, before making a commitment to adopt the new one, and I'm hoping would help us to know if bonding would work or not.

Many (most?) rescues not only allow bunny dates to pre-screen for potential compatibility, but also work with you through the process. I have had more than one occasion where I brought a potential bondmate home only to find that the two rabbits refused to bond.

In these cases, the rescue allowed an exchange. They *want* the bond to work. So if it isn't working, they are willing to switch one rabbit for another to see that you end up with a bonded pair.

 

[lily2521]

Many (most?) rescues not only allow bunny dates to pre-screen for potential compatibility, but also work with you through the process. I have had more than one occasion where I brought a potential bondmate home only to find that the two rabbits refused to bond.

In these cases, the rescue allowed an exchange. They *want* the bond to work. So if it isn't working, they are willing to switch one rabbit for another to see that you end up with a bonded pair.

I'm so happy to know that many places do this! Ours is the same way, they'll do the bunny meet and greets first, and then if you bring a bunny home and bonding doesn't work, they'll allow a switch if a certain bond just isn't working.