Companions

Rabbits are sociable animals and as such they are much better in pairs, they needs the stimulation of their own kind, you never see a rabbits on its own in the wild, they are always in groups.

Bonding Rabbits

If you are looking for another rabbit to bond with your own, here are some tips about bonding and best pairings.

Best pairings – adults

If you are bonding two adults, they must be spayed and neutered before an introduction can take place. Rabbits can display territorial aggression and this is reduced by neutering. You are much more likely to have a successful pairing if both bunnies are neutered from the start. Neutering will also prevent any unwanted litters and uterine cancer in does.

The most successful pairings tend to be neutered male/female. It is possible to bond two males or two females as adults, but they will often fight and it can be a long and traumatic process for both owner and rabbits. It is much harder to keep two adults of the same sex if they have not grown up together and is not generally advised to try and introduce a same-sex pair as adults. It is possible to have two females or two males living together when they have grown up together as littermates (two brothers or two sisters). We have a number of sibling pairs resident at Briar Patch Rescue who get on fine.

Best pairings – youngsters

If you have a young, un-neutered rabbit (less than 4 months old), you can often pair him or her with another young rabbit of the opposite sex without too much trouble. However, the male MUST be neutered as soon as he reaches sexual maturity (that is, as soon as his testicles descend) in order to prevent any unwanted litters, and the female will need to be spayed at a later date to curb aggression brought on by hormones and to prevent uterine cancer.

The other option is to pair your young bunny with a youngster of the same sex, but be aware that they are likely to start fighting on sexual maturity, in which case you should separate them for a period of time until they are neutered and re-introduce them later (which may or may not be successful). If you would rather not take the risk, it is best to wait until your youngster is old enough to be neutered before attempting to bond your bunny (normally around 4 months for males and 5 to 6 months for females). You should then wait around two weeks for the hormones to settle before introducing your bunny to his or her new partner.

Bonding

If you choose a bunny from Briar Patch Rescue, we are happy to carry out the bonding process for you, but you must be prepared to leave your existing rabbit with us for a period of time usually 36 to 48 hours.. .

If you’re lucky, you may find a ‘love at first sight’ pairing for your bunny. This is when two bunnies instantly fall in love and want to be together straight away, but it is quite rare. . During introductions, which takes place in neutral territory there may be some chasing and mounting. These are displays of dominance while your two bunnies work out who is boss. when bonding introduce a pair in NEUTRAL territory where neither can call it there space ie..... not in a hutch used by one of the pair or in a run used but one of the rabbits move the run to a unsed area of the garden or try your bathroom or utility room but do make sure there are NO wire or danger that they can get near.

successful bonding depends largely on the personality of the individual rabbits, and you will soon know which bunnies are potential partners from a series of ‘dates’. If you are unsure about bonding your bunny, please call or email for more information or arrange to bring your neutered bunny down to meet some potential partners. we are very experienced at bonding rabbits so let us take the stress out of it for you.