Is it a good idea to try and bond my 4year old rabbit?

[Humphreybun]

My male house rabbit Humphrey is 4 years old and i’d like to get him a female companion, however am unsure if it’s a good idea. We bought him in a pair originally with what we were told was a female rabbit and they lived together happily for a few months, however we waited a bit too long to get them neutered and they began fighting really badly. When we did take them to the vets for neutering we were told that they were actually both boys. We tried to rebond them after the neutering but they just didn’t seem to stop fighting so we rehomed Winnie (the other rabbit). Humphrey has been on his own for about 3 years now and is quite stand-offish and a bit of a grump even with me, and he lives in my bedroom! Could it be that he has a character that just prefers being alone/it’s too late to try and bond him? Or is he maybe a bit of a grump because he’s lonely? Any advice would be great! Thank you.

[DarthVadar]

It may be a sign of either. Did he act like this when he was bonded? Rabbits often act like that if they are lonely (my only experience with rabbits exhibiting that behavior when they are not lonely is unspayed does having false pregnancies). 4 isn’t too late to bond. He will live another 6 or more years if taken good care of. I just bonded my 4 year old to a 2 year old, and it worked really well. Finding a bun to be a friend for an adult rabbit can be harder than finding a friend for a baby. Pay very close attention to personality types (you need 1 dominant and 1 submissive; bunnies need a pecking order), and make sure the bunny you get was not taken from a preexisting bond. Bunnies who are already bonded are very resistant to bonding with a different rabbit if they think their buddy is still around.

[Sirius&Luna]

Hi!
It’s great that you’re considering all options before getting another bun.

Just because he had a bad experience with another bun, it definitely doesn’t mean he’s unbondable! Unfortunately it’s quite common for rabbits that have had a bad fight to hold grudges and not bond. So let’s forget about that past experience for now!

Does he prefer to be alone? Well, it is possible, but it’s quite unlikely. The vast majority of rabbits are happier bonded. That’s not to say single rabbits can’t be happy, and some rabbits do absolutely refuse to bond, but most rabbits are happy to have a friend of their own kind. I got multiple rabbits because even if I spent all my free time with my buns (not practical if you want friends/family!) after sleeping and work, that would still only be about 6 hours of interaction. For me, my bunny being alone for 18 hours didn’t seem fair. Of course some people have different situations and are able to spend all day with their buns, so that’s slightly different.

I would suggest that the best next steps for you are to look for a rescue and see if they offer speed dating for buns! Then you can get an idea of how he reacts to other bunnies in a neutral space before bringing one home to potentially bond. You could also check if they’ll take the other bunny back if you’re unable to bond them, or even if they bond for you. You can also think about whether you have the capacity to keep to separate bunnies permanently (I assume not, since you rehomed Winnie). This is why it’s probably good to go down the rescue route.

The other thing i’d suggest is reading the bonding section in BUNNY INFO, so you have an idea of the steps. You can also read some journals in this section of the forum so you can see what you’re committing to!

[Humphreybun]

Thanks so much for your response, its very helpful and glad to hear that 4 is not too late! I remember him being a little standoffish even when he was paired with Winnie, but I thought that was just because he was very young and still quite nervous. Your advice has been brilliant and will definitely take it all into consideration when looking for a bun to bond him with.

[Humphreybun]

Hello Thank you for your response. Very promising and gives me hope hearing that you don’t think he’s unbindable. I will follow your advice and look for a rescue, find out what kind of service they offer re: Bonding/returning rabbits. Thanks again, so helpful !

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