Considering getting a second bunny, what should I expect?

silverbeat · 4 months

Size usually is not an issue. The bonding process varies depending on the personalities of your buns. They may take right to one another, or they may just tolerate each other, they may chase each other around. All of this is normal, so long as they are not out-and-out fighting you needn't intervene.

At first you should keep them separated whenever you can't supervise them. That means if you're not in the room with them, separate them. As they get more comfortable with one another you can start leaving them together while you're in another room, then during short periods when you're out of the house, working your way up to them being okay together constantly. You cannot do this too slowly.

ksemel · 4 months

Be prepared for your sweet adorable bunny to transform into a vicious killing machine if you bring another bunny into their space without them meeting elsewhere a good number of times.

I was shocked how fast Loki attacked Jackie when she first came home and they had met twice at the shelter first. We had to put them both either in the tub or on my bed since those were the only places Loki hadn't already claimed.

They had separate cages until they both would just go into one any time it was open, about two months. They are inseparably buddies now. :)

Waterrat · 4 months

You will need to go through a bonding process unless you want to take your bun on dates first to let him/he choose a companion at a shelter. I was lucky,the third bun was selected.

http://www.bunspace.com/forum/threads?fid=9

amoth · 4 months

When we paired up our last bun, we took her to a bunny rescue that held monthly meetings. We took Loki on about half a dozen bunny dates and he he had love at first sign w/a cute and still small Calif White, now known as Izzy (short for Isabella).

We may have gotten lucky, but doing it this way we had zero problems. They came home and cuddled in the car.

Also make sure they are close in age.

shmibunny · 4 months

Is Saki neutered? He should be, and then he can get a nice lady bunny to be with. Two boys, neutered or not, don't usually go so well together. Two girls are easier. A neutered boy and a girl (spayed or not) usually are fairly easy to bond and can seem like soul mates as time goes by. :) Great you have a possibility to choose a mate he will initially like.

And btw, one of the best things you can do for your bunny is get him a friend. :) Then he always has someone to cuddle with.

I wouldn't worry about size too much - bunnies usually go quite well together no matter their size. Well maybe you don't want a giant one, but say a few kilo/several lbs different in weight shouldn't matter.

Important thing is to take your time with the bonding. Let the bunnies have "dates" on a neutral area in your house under superivision. It is okay to let one do some humping/dominating for a little moment, so they establish who is the boss - but do interfere right away if fighting occurs. You can also have the new bunny stay in a cage/pen close to Saki's area. New bunny will be safe, but their scents will mix and they can sniff through the bars (it is possible to bite through bars though so supervision may be needed). You can also pet bunny 1 and then go pet bunny 2, and help their scents mix and let them associate nice things (your touch and you being non-hostile) with the new smell.

I doubt your bunnies would fight much at all, since you are picking him a mate who he initially likes or ignores. Ignoring is basically a good sign. Liking is amazing.

Bunnies are bonded when you feel safe leaving them together for longer and longer times, or even over night. They are bonded when they are grooming each other. It is good enough if they are happy and mostly ignoring each other too - kind of a pre-bonding stage. Usually one bunny (typically the male) is more interested in the other bunny, and it will take a bit of more time being together till the girl bunny lets him stay close to her or cuddle.

I had a grown up bunny couple - a girl bunny, and then a boy bunny moved in. We had him neutered and because there was a period of time he had to be separated not to impregnate her, that was a good time to keep them separate but let their scents mix. They both had free-run of a room but boy had a cage in the doorway as his "base" and they could sniff through the bars and get used to each other (for about 4 weeks). This was quite some time ago and I didn't know all the finess of bunny bonding. Guess got lucky too. :) There was no biting through bars at all. Boy desperately wanted to be with the girl ofc.

Then after the weeks were up, I think we almost just put them in the same room and never any fighting occurred, maybe some slight humping occasionally to decide who is the boss. Or maybe we did let them meet up before just leaving them together, I can't remember. The girl stayed away from the boy maybe a few weeks more - didn't flop together and avoided him. However they flopped say 1-2 meters away from each other and learned to feel safe even if the other bunny is sharing the same room. But after some time they were basically always cheek-to-cheek and grooming each other. It was very lucky the girl didn't defend her territory as she was unspayed even - but it probably helped loads his scent had already been spreading to her room, and also through me, cos I petted both bunnies without washing my hands. And my girl bunny adored me so much, it probably helped her accept the new bunny a little bit, cos I did too.

Sometimes a "bunny date" goes so well, the bunnies will sniff and groom right away, or after a few dates, but that's maybe a bit rare. "Approving ignorance" is a good sign. Fighting is not but even those bunnies are, I believe, possible to be bonded over time.

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