Keeping a group of rabbits

[BrokenBlue]

Hi, sorry if this is in the wrong place. Not really sure where it should go.

I would like to keep a small group of rabbits. This won’t be happening any time soon but you can never start researching too early I guess.

 I have a few questions.

1.  Would it be best to keep one male with a few females? Or all female? Or something else? (all rabbits will be spayed or neutered)

2. When adding a new bunny to an existing group how would bonding differ from bonding 2 rabbits?

3. How many rabbits could happily live in a 10ft by 5ft area (with an outdoor run and lots of playtime in a bunny proof room).

4. Does anybody on here keep more than 2 rabbits together who could share their experience?

If I do go ahead with this it will probably not be happening for a year or two so plenty of time to prepare.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

[Mikey]

1. Personality matters much more than their sex. Its easier to bond one dominant bun to a bunch of submissive buns, regardless of their sex.

2. You risk splitting the current pair and you risk that they will forever refuse to bond again. Otherwise, bonding is the same. Neuter/spay and wait a month to heal, prebond for a month after that, then start bonding sessions in a neutral space. Neutral space might be harder to find the more buns you add as well.

3. I would personally do no more than three, if they are smaller breeds. If they are larger breeds, only two. Each rabbit needs an absolute minimum of 18sqft. Yours is 50sqft putting you at 2.7 possible buns in that space.

4. I had a trio for about a year. They needed to be split due to the third’s disabilities getting out of hand when not in a very controlled environment. If you have any questions, I will do my best to answer

[BrokenBlue]

Thank you Mikey. Did you get all of your three at the same time? Did you get yours from the same place or did you have to bond them?

[Serenity]

I have 4 and was immediately drawn to this post because their bonding was quite the roller-coaster. I got my two boys from a shelter, already bonded so they had no trouble. I got my first female a few months later and at that time I knew hardly anything about the bonding process so I just immediately introduced them. Fortunately, they immediately loved her. They’re all three bonded now and I bought a second female a little later. She was much more difficult to bond to them because the males loved her immediately but the female (Ginny) got VERY jealous and the bonding process (which I had researched) went terribly every time. Then, like magic a few days later Ginny and Hermione (the new female) were bonded like sisters and now all four are inseparable. I keep them in a two-story hutch but that’s just because they are spoiled. You could probably keep them in a 5x 10 feet easily!

[Mikey]

Bonding always has to happen unless you adopt an already bonded group

I got each bun at different times, but from the same store. I got Blue in July, Bombur in September, and Badger around January. Blue and Bombur picked out Badger themselves, as letting a rabbit or bonded pair pick their newest friend usually goes better than just bringing one home.

[Serenity]

I never thought of that! I didn’t know it was even a thing to let rabbits pick out their potential housemates. How is it done, if you dont mind my asking? I’ve never heard of it!

[Bianca]

Posted By BrokenBlue on 8/30/2017 11:45 AM

Hi, sorry if this is in the wrong place. Not really sure where it should go.

I would like to keep a small group of rabbits. This won’t be happening any time soon but you can never start researching too early I guess.

 I have a few questions.

1.  Would it be best to keep one male with a few females? Or all female? Or something else? (all rabbits will be spayed or neutered)

2. When adding a new bunny to an existing group how would bonding differ from bonding 2 rabbits?

3. How many rabbits could happily live in a 10ft by 5ft area (with an outdoor run and lots of playtime in a bunny proof room).

4. Does anybody on here keep more than 2 rabbits together who could share their experience?

If I do go ahead with this it will probably not be happening for a year or two so plenty of time to prepare.

Thanks in advance for any replies.

1) Personality is more important. Submissive buns to a dominant bun is easiest, especially for a beginner. 

2) It can differ slightly when adding a third/fourth/etc. because you have more options for how you go about it. I am adding a fourth to my trio at the moment. I have played it similar for the four as I did for the trio – one on one dates with new bun and an existing bun from the pair. I mostly focus on the bun that I think will be hardest to bond to the new one. For example with the trio it was the two girls so they got more one on one time. With the four, I’m adding a boy and I suspected my boy would like him the least so I have just started play dates with them. That isn’t the only way to do it though – I believe many people do start the bonding with the new rabbit and the existing one. But as others have said you do run the risk of splitting a current bond forever by adding another rabbit so that’s a risk you have to be willing to take. 

3) My brain doesn’t work in ft but looks like someone has answered that.

4) Well I have already shared mine a bit, but I do have a couple of bonding journals on the bonding thread. For the trio I had “change of plan, the Greebo and Lily bonding journal” because my original plan was to bond my two new ones into a second pair then bond the two pairs. I’m told that is easier. But Greebo had only just been neutered and took ages for hormones to leave his system whereas Lily was ready to be bonded so I went the trio route. 

Then my new thread I have just started – “what do you call a group of four bunnies?”. So far it has been a few cuddle sessions where husband and I have just had them together to pat them. And one play date with Greebo doing an obsessive amount of humping and then nearly falling asleep on Terry’s back. Class act Greebo!

Please note: There was LOTS of pre bonding involved. Time to settle in, and then lots of pre bonding, is essential 99% of the time. 

P.S. I think I saw you ask about letting a bun pick their own companion. It doesn’t always work because behaviour at a shelter can be different. But the idea is you bring your bun to a shelter that has spayed/neutered buns, and do speed dates with their buns. The one your bun picks will most likely be the one it ignores the most – grooming or much acknowledgement is rare on a date but ignoring is a good sign because secretly they aren’t ignoring. Aggression means no. It worked for Terry and his original girl who picked him, but it won’t always. And it doesn’t mean they are instantly bonded. The new bun will still need time to settle into new home, then pre bonding, then actual bonding.

[Mikey]

Posted By Serenity on 8/31/2017 12:44 PM

I never thought of that! I didn’t know it was even a thing to let rabbits pick out their potential housemates. How is it done, if you dont mind my asking? I’ve never heard of it!

We saw Badger and pet him while waiting for the buns nails to be trimmed. We really liked him, but didnt want to take him home if the three wouldnt get along. We asked for one of their rooms to see if all three got along. Aside from a few humps, the three mainly just sniffed one another and flopped over to relax. We spent over an hour in the little room watching the three of them relax together. Consider it match made!

I dont recommend doing this at a pet store, though. Ours has a bunny expert as we felt comfortable doing that, but most pet stores do not know how to help and it can easily get out of hand, especially if they do not get along. On the plus side, most shelters allow dates like this! Most rabbit shelters have experts on site and many also have professional bonders. They would be able to help you see which rabbits work best with your rabbit(s)

[BrokenBlue]

Thanks everyone

The actual floor space is 5ft by 10ft but there are lots of shelves and stuff so the total floor space is probably quite a bit more.

[Mikey]

The sqft of the cage would still be 50, though. So only two rabbits should be in there, unless theyre all dwarves then you can fit three

[Bianca]

Can I ask with that measurement you gave is, is that for all the space they will have or just their enclosure? I read it as their enclosure and then they will have an exercise run and indoor play time too? That will make a difference in how many bunnies you can have.

[Mikey]

The minimum housing space should be around 18sqft if the rabbit is in there for 8 or more hours a day. If theyll be in there less, you can possibly push 3 rabbits total. But, you really shouldnt go over 3. If they will spend 8 or more hours in their cage, you should really only get two rabbits for it.

Rabbits should have about double the space, minimum, to properly exercise outside of the cage. They will need the larger space for proper exercise atleast 30 hours a week. Of course, more time in the bigger space, the better.

[Serenity]

That’s really awesome! I will definitely keep that in mind if (God forbid) I want/need to replace one any time soon, though it is unlikely since my oldest is barely even two. Still, you never know.

[Azerane]

I don’t have any experience in this area, but I do know of a user from another rabbit forum who successfully bonded 5 rabbits together. It seemed to go easier after the initial 3.

I think 10×5 foot for cage space would be alright for 3, or maybe 4 (smaller breed) buns. Obviously the bigger the better, but if that’s just their sleeping etc space and then they have an extra run and outside space it should be plenty of room. I don’t think you need double the space just because you have 2 buns instead of 1. I liken it to people living in a house. If you live in a house on your own, and then add another person to that house you don’t suddenly need a house that’s double in size (you don’t need two kitchens etc). You just need enough space for an extra bedroom and maybe a little extra living space, but most amenities etc will be shared. I think that probably works up until a certain point, maybe 5 or so, and then you would need to add extra full space for additional buns after that.

I hope that makes sense

[Author]

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