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Forum BONDING Pros vs. Cons of adopting second bun??

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    • lily2521
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        We’ve been considering a second bunny for Gizmo for a while now. Gizmo is a 2 year old spayed Holland lop we adopted about 14 months ago.

        Our local shelter will let us set up bunny dates, and suggests at least 2-3 separate meetings before bringing a new bunny home. We would make sure Gizmo had a say in what bunny we adopt, if we adopt.

        I’m on board with a second bunny, my husband is 50/50, he’s trying to weigh the pros and cons of adopting again, so I’m making him a list, here’s what I’ve got:

        Cons:
        overall bonding process, but we’re prepared for that, I just know own it will take some work and time.
        Extra expense of hay, pellets, possible vet bills, etc.
        More poop and fur, overall cleanup

        Pro:
        We have a xl dog pen so housing is already set up, we wouldn’t need to get anything new
        Companion for Gizmo
        More bunnies to love!!

        Can anyone add pros or cons to my list I’m not thinking of here? Trying to weigh the options to help make a decision one way or the other.

        Thanks!!


      • Mikey
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          Cons:
          > Bonding may not always work, so you will need to make sure you have enough room where you live to have two single bunnies just in case (of course, letting your bun pick out their new friend is easier, but nothing is a promise that it will work out)
          > In general, are you ready to split your attention with your bunnies? Some rabbits who have been single for a long time dont like having to share their human time with another bunny
          > Adding to the expenses, what if your rabbit finds a friend at the shelter who has a lot of health issues? Could you afford the time, money, and attention to make sure that second bunny is ok?
          > Youll have to clean litter boxes atlest twice as often, as well as cleaning their pens/rooms twice as often
          > More trouble to watch. What may have been bunny proofed for one bun, the second bun may be able to tear through. One bun might like to cause more trouble than the other in general, so you will need eyes on them while they are out (if they free roam at all)
          > Action plan in case of disaster (fire, tornado, earthquake, ect) will need adjusting to make sure your family and bunny family get to safty
          > The rest of what you mentioned aside from the xl dog pen (bonding process in general, extra expenses for food and vetting, cleaning more often)

          Pros:
          > Two bunnies to snuggle and cuddle and pet
          > Gizmo having a friend, which might open up his personality more perhaps making him more friendly and/or curious
          > More fluffy love


        • Love4Bunny
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            Yes to all of the above. To add to the Pro’s:
            I love watching them interact, eat, communicate and snuggle together. Makes my day!
            Cons:
            I think being prepared for food aggression, jealousy, ongoing humping every now and then is prudent. Also, be prepared to adjust your expectation of what “happy families” looks like, because each rabbit dynamic will vary. Some are cuddlier, other bonds are “meh”, and that’s okay too.


          • Ellie from The Netherlands
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              Ah, this has been a topic for me and my BF as well. We thought a lot about it the last few months: shall we find Breintje a companion or not?

              When my boyfriend got Breintje, he was in a cage with two of his brothers. These two were best pals and Breintje was the third wheel and on the receiving end of all mischief. He has bite marks and misses some small pieces out of the tips of on his ears Because of this, Breintje has been very human-orientated from the start. He was immediately curious and affectionate towards my BF, so my BF decided to take Breintje home without getting another bun.

              So far, we’ve mostly come up with a list of cons, because we really doubt that he’ll benefit from it. He seems to be very happy, why change?

              Only pro we could think of:
              Maybe a companion will do him good? I read everywhere that keeping a rabbit alone is bad for him, but we have our doubts. There’s no saying if it will be better, because he gets a lot of human attention. I’m home all day, and we share the living room. He comes to me for pettings and brushings. He also greets our friends who visit, he’s especially fond of the girls who like to pet him for a long period of time.

              Cons:
              Extra vet costs
              Very limited living space, no room for a second cage during the bonding process
              Trouble while travelling: we travel by train and by bus because we don’t own a car. Transporting 1 bun in a carrier is already a challenge.
              Breintjes nature: very human-orientated, really likes his space and his territory, had some food aggression/overexcitement problems in the past.
              Breintjes history: Has a history of being harrassed by other buns.
              The bond between human and bunny: Breintje is very tuned in to human emotions: he comes to comfort me when I’m in pain or sad, he picks up emotions from friends, and he joins me and my BF on the couch when we’re watching a film. We’re afraid that this bond will lessen if we get more bunnies.

              Maybe when we’ll move to a bigger house we can discuss the issue again, but we have doubts if adding another bun will improve the situation.


            • Vienna Blue in France
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                Posted By Mikey on 9/25/2016 7:51 PM

                > Action plan in case of disaster (fire, tornado, earthquake, ect) will need adjusting to make sure your family and bunny family get to safety

                I knew there was something I’d forgotten to do….     


              • Love4Bunny
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                  Vienna! Haha, you are so cheeky.


                • Deleted User
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                    There are no cons, once you’ve brought home a second little bundle of fluff the worries will all be gone.
                    I tried to talk myself out of getting Little Red, so glad I didn’t!!


                  • Vienna Blue in France
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                      I think the pros outweigh the cons if it’s thought out and you are aware (which I’m sure you are) of all the cons.

                      The main players for cons : (in french ‘con’ means complete idiot!! lol)

                      > Extra vets bills, extra money generally (food).
                      > Plan B if the two cannot be bonded? “Giving n° 2 away” shouldn’t really on the Plan B list…

                      Bit like a second child…. the pros of n°1 child having a playmate & confidente waaaaay outweigh the cons…
                      but even kids “bonding” is not guaranteed….


                    • lily2521
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                      69 posts Send Private Message

                        Thanks to all of you for your replies. It really does help, especially when you mention things I hadn’t thought of! Still, knowing the ‘cons’ I’m still leaning towards getting one, so I think I have my answer. The companionship for Gizmo (assuming it’s a successful bond) outweighs the cons in my mind. I know bunny’s having friends makes for happier bunnies. We do spend lots of human time with Gizmo, and she gets plenty of free range time, but there are days when we’re gone all day, and it’s times like that when I think it would be nice for Gizmo to have a mate.

                        We can do dates through our shelter, so I’ll consider doing that in hopes that we’ll find the right bunny for Gizmo.

                        I think the biggest true con I can think of…right now for whatever reason Gizmo has set up these invisible barriers in our home. When she’s out free ranging, she doesn’t go down the hallway towards our bedrooms, she did when we first got her but we’d keep the bedroom doors closed so there really wasn’t anywhere for her to go, eventually she got bored with it, and doesn’t even try to go down that way anymore. Overall she really doesn’t get into much and cause much mischief (which is so nice!!!). Our house Is bunny proof, but I don’t really worry about Gizmo getting into anything because she is well behaved. That’s the biggest thing I worry about changing, is it’s just my luck that we’d get a new rabbit who would get into everything and chew up everything…ha.


                      • Vienna Blue in France
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                          Be careful. Things can change. My 2.5 yr old bun decided just yesterday that she CAN walk on ‘slippery’ tiles and so I found her at the other end of the house in amongst cables unchewed.. I think….


                        • lily2521
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                            Posted By Vienna Blue in France on 9/27/2016 8:24 AM

                            Be careful. Things can change. My 2.5 yr old bun decided just yesterday that she CAN walk on ‘slippery’ tiles and so I found her at the other end of the house in amongst cables unchewed.. I think….

                            We’re still always careful with her and keep things bunny-proofed, you never know when she feels like she’s just going to make a run for it! 


                          • Mikey
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                              I agree that it is so worth it as long as you know the cons and are prepared for them just in case Ive got three little buns who all get along and are so happy with one another. It makes me so happy to watch them play, binky, and flop together for cuddles. Good luck with your second bun. I hope Gizmo finds a good companion


                            • Love4Bunny
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                                Yes, things can change. A lot of people seem to (generally worry) their current bun will stop showing affection to them, but I’ve not experienced that. I think if you have a cuddly rabbit, they will stay the same after bonding. However, if your new bun loves to redecorate, chances are it will rub off onto your current bun. Crysta copies Thor and vice versa. Crysta is becoming like Thor when she expresses discontent. She will throw the plastic spoons around and pick up the pastic cup and toss it a little (that was never her style). Thor likes to chew his house on occasion. He never showed any interest in it till Crysta came along. That kinda thing.


                              • Candle
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                                  I didn’t read all the answers but just from our experience, the bonding process has been a lot more difficult than we thought. It’s been slightly scary at times and kind of difficult to deal with two rabbits who can’t be left unsupervised together. Even for the longest while while they were supervised it was still iffy.
                                  We did screw up by picking another rabbit without our Unibunny’s help so he had no say in who we brought home but I still feel like there will be territorial issues even if he quite likes her.
                                  I’m fairly certain Unibunny and Bunita will only ever have the “meh” relationship which still works but (This sounds terrible) It’s not much better than just having the one.

                                  I’m still glad we got Bunita as she’s a super sweet girl but it really has been a lot of work and we still have a lot more to go before we could ever leave them unsupervised. We’ve been at it for about 3 months now and still they’re kept in separate rooms. It has made it hard to be able to consistently “house train” her about what’s acceptable. She still eats the baseboards and at the door because we can’t be monitoring them both at the same time and I’m pretty sure we won’t be able to until they’re both able to be loose together so we can be more consistent with the rules. She made a pretty big hole in our drywall which I assume basically guarantees we won’t be getting our damage deposit back on our place (We’re planning on trying to fix it all before we leave but still, there’s damage that we probably can’t fix)

                                  I’m not saying don’t do it. Overall I’m happy we’re doing it but there honestly have been quite a few times where I wondered if it was worth it, especially since the rabbits only seem “meh” together. If you’re committed to this then go for it. Just a heads up it might not be as easy as it seems. Good luck!


                                • bonilla&BUB
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                                    We have two buns, our doe is 4 months and our buck is 3 months. I decided to get them young so that they could grow up within the same living environment, but in separate cages. I actually have their cages stacked on one another, and we live in a small space, about 800 sq feet. I let them out separately for their run around time (lots of it) but I don’t let them interact. I tried to let them interact initially but it ended in an immediate scrap. As I have read more, and become more educated on bun bonding, it will be a few more months yet (and after they are spayed/neutered) that I will begin the bonding process. Since they run in the same place, both of their smells are in the area and the markings have significantly decreased over the past month.

                                    If you can find a bun that is more mature, I think it will be a much smoother & faster process than mine.

                                    I really think having two is great. They both have such amazing & unique personalities. Yes, it is definitely more time – and since they can’t be out together and currently need almost constant supervision, it is a lot of time out of your day. I do feel that it will pay off, and I’m sure it will for you too.

                                    <3

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                                Forum BONDING Pros vs. Cons of adopting second bun??