Getting a new bunny

[FloppyBunny]

Hi everyone,

I currently have a male bunny that will be turning 4 years old in August. I’ve had him since he was a baby, and am considering getting him a friend because I don’t want him to be lonely. My concern is that I don’t want to regret it. I have hormonal issues that make me very tired, so I don’t want to have to spend hours and hours every day for months to bond them. How long per day do you let them interact and how long did it take for them to bond in your experience? My rabbit is very calm, I have chickens and he wants to be friends, and for about a month I had a wild rabbit spend all day in my yard (long story but he was trapped and wouldn’t leave), and my rabbit would also spend all day nearby. They mostly ignored each other, but the wild rabbit taught mine to dig tunnels . Based on his personality, I highly doubt he would be aggressive. The bunny I’m thinking of adopting is 6 years old and according to the owner, she has been around many rabbits and is calm and sweet with them. How much energy would I have to spend on the bonding, in your opinion?

[Mikey]

Bonding took a few hours a day. Few hours ranging from 2 hours in the beginning up to 9 hours near the end. It took a total of 2 months id say, since i had to do a lot of prebonding before actual bonding until my middle boy was neutered. After he was neutered, and since the prebonding was a huge success, it only took maybe 2 weeks to bond my trio

Now the energy it took is different. It drains a lot of energy out of you. You have to be able to calmly separate any fights, repeatedly pet them to make sure theyre clam. Sit with them. Until the bond is perfected, they cannot be left alone together. While youre watching them, you have to be ready to act at any moment to separate any scuffles, remove mounting after a few seconds, stop chasing, and check the bun after biting/nipping. Its very draining in all aspects of the word

[FloppyBunny]

I’m thinking I might wait until later to get another. Right now isn’t a great time since we are trying to find a new house, but the reason I wanted to now was because I have summers off and (theoretically) more time.

When bonding, do I first need to bond the rabbit to me? I want the one I currently have to still come see me for petting, and the other one as well. I’ve read that sometimes after bonding they can start to care more about each other. Has this been your experience?

[Mikey]

Bombur (middle bun) withdrew a little more and prefers the rabbits. But he also really likes my boyfriend for cuddles and likes me for food. Hes no longer my cuddle buddy, but hes their cuddle bunny. Blue was and still is my cuddle bunny. He prefers cuddles from me or the other bunnies, but also likes massages only from my boyfriend. His personality never changed though the bonding processes, really. Badger (youngest/newest) loves all of us equally. He asks all of us for grooming, cuddles, and play time. It really depends on everybunnies personality

I would bond with your rabbits as a whole rather than bond to you then bond them or visa versa. While youre bonding them, youre in the area with them anyway. You can still pet them and use their toys to play with them. Theyll bond with you at the same time theyll bond with their bunny mate

[FloppyBunny]

Thank you for the reply. Sorry it took me so long to come back, I’ve been quite busy. I think I might have found my rabbit a wife. She’s 3 years old and apparently very cuddly (haven’t met her yet). She’s in a different province, so a family member will take her in until I go there (in about 3 weeks).

[Mikey]

Thats awesome! I hope the bonding goes well Remember to make sure everyone is spayed and neutered before bonding so oopsies and fights dont happen. Good luck and thank you for the update

[FloppyBunny]

Thank you! My male is neutered but this girl isn’t. I will first see how it goes between them (some people are able to bond unspayed rabbits to neutered ones), and if all goes well I’ll have her spayed later. My vet charges $540 for a spay. Anyways, my family member will pick her up on Saturday! This rabbit has done lots of zootherapy so is used to being handled (a must for me).

[Author]

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