Any Rabbit advice ?

shoppaholic_returns

Now loopy girl,my home is even more full, than when i had rabbitts.To start with one huge dog,two rescue cats ,one huge moggy and one tiny really old tortie whos completely blind,no one wanted her at the cpl, shes gorgeous,they were really protective of her at cpl,and loved her to bits, and Ive also got a stunning bengal boy, with a beautiful nature.so im pretty full at the mo, if anything I would have a rescue Akita,to be a friend to my little(SORRY BIG) girl. That would be my future plan,but not at the moment.

snowman2_2

I used to use a tarpaulin (less than a tenner from B&Q) which was folded up on top of the hutch during the day, weighted down by 2 or 3 bricks and then pulled over at night to keep wind, rain and frost away

potsofmoney_(I_wish)

Hi all,
I've recently rescued a young maleI bunny. He's getting more confident with me and tolerates our puppy running up to his run and saying hi with a positive ears up reaction.

I hate the idea of any animal being lonely and phoned a bunny rescue centre up to ask about getting a pal for our new one. The chap said that not all pet bunnies are social and some will quite happily live alone. He didn't go into any detail about how I would know and advised that I get him (my bunny) neutured and then wait for a further six weeks before attempting to find him a friend.

I'd like some advice as to how to spot if my bunny needs a friend, I'd always thought that they were happier in pairs. I have got adequate space for another bunny as we have a indoor area on top of a run and another large hexagonal area attached to that. Thanking you all in advance.

tanith

Some bunnies just like to be alone.. you can't put male bunnies together and of course if you put a male and a female , well u now how that goes..:rotfl: I guess if they are both neutered its ok but my daughter has 4 bunnies and they all live in separate hutches , although when they are out in their runs they can see and smell each other... they all seem perfectly happy alone...

UKTigerlily

I firmly believe that animals that can go in pairs or groups should if possible with of course some exceptions. You can't possibly provide all your Rabbit needs all of the time, neutering is important & I guess the guy said to neuter him & then wait a few weeks as they are still fertile for some time after their op. After that, you could introduce him to a spayed female (If she's not been, spay her) & they should be ok. I imagine most rescues would let you take yours up to meet the new one first? It's good you're thinking of this!

slummymummyof3

I have 2 male bunnies that were bought at the same time and were both neutered fairly early on. They are clearly very fond of each other and I couldn't imagine having one on its own. I was advised that male bunnies are far friendlier than female bunnies and that I should get a pair (but was warned they would have to be neutered asap as otherwise they would fight)

foreign_correspondent

yes, unneutered males do fight -my friend found this out the hard way when one ripped the others testicles open!!:eek:

Cue emergancy vets visit for castration (necessary due to the injuries!) and they were ok together afterwards (very forgiving bunny!! lol)

Jen151

we have a house bunny and he's happy the way he is, on his own. he's sitting on his dad's knee just now grooming himself while dad is playing the xbox lol. he gets loads of attention as he lives in the house with us.

we're going to get him a pal tho, we think he'd love a constant companion to groom and snuggle up to.

theres a good rabbits forum called Rabbits United where you can get loads of info about introducing another rabbit to your one if thats what you're going to do.

make sure both buns are neutered, and the best combo is male and female together as other combos are more likely to fight.

clutterydrawer

I am of the opinion that all rabbits should be given the opportunity to havea friend.

The vast majority of rabbits will bond with a companion, although not necessarily the first one you try - they can be picky about their partners, just like humans! In the wild they live in big social groups so it's nice for them to have the company of their own species in a domestic setting too, especially if their human carer is out a lot.

I'm not saying he's unhappy as such by himself, but that a companion could bring him extra benefits. I had a single house bunny for a year and she was fine but i eventually paired her up with a friend and it's lovely to see them all snuggled up together!

The easiest combination is male-female but obviously make sure they're both neutered and wait several weeks after the male's neuter as he is still fertile so could impregnate a female. Male-male pairings can also work and (less often) female-female.

good luck and feel free to ask anything else you need to know

feelinggood_2

How long was he at the rescue? Could you phone them and ask? If he was there for a while, they would know him quite well and might have tried to bond him.

I adopted a rabbit 6 months ago, he was with them for almost a year. They tried to bond him, but it didn't work, and said he'll likely want to stay as a single bunny.