Bonding Rabbits

Rita Iacarella · Nov 12, 2021

Hi, my name is Rita and I posted on this forum about a year ago. One of my two bonded bunnies died and I adopted another. We tried to bond them but they just about killed each other. So I split a room in half put up a fence and they have lived side by side for the past year. I often find them sitting next to each other the gate between them and every now and then one will groom the other through the fence's small holes. My question is do I leave well enough alone or do I try to bond them again. They are both three year old female Netherland dwarf rabbits. Tha

bright_eyes · Nov 13, 2021

Hi Rita,

I am sorry to hear about one of your bunnies passing away, my thoughts are with you.

You could certainly try to bond them again- if it works, great! If it doesn't, then they can continue living happy lives with a divider. Doe/doe (female/female) pairs are the most challenging, in my opinion. It can take them a long time to get used to each other. Maybe their feelings have changed (for the better) over the past year of living side by side?

Living beside each other with a divider for a long period of time has worked well for bonding my own bunnies. Of course, every bunny is an individual and I think it would be worth a second try with supervision!

Rita Iacarella · Nov 13, 2021

bright_eyes said:
Hi Rita,

I am sorry to hear about one of your bunnies passing away, my thoughts are with you.

You could certainly try to bond them again- if it works, great! If it doesn't, then they can continue living happy lives with a divider. Doe/doe (female/female) pairs are the most challenging, in my opinion. It can take them a long time to get used to each other. Maybe their feelings have changed (for the better) over the past year of living side by side?

Living beside each other with a divider for a long period of time has worked well for bonding my own bunnies. Of course, every bunny is an individual and I think it would be worth a second try with supervision!

Thank you so much for your response. That makes total sense to me as I think they are trying to make the best of the situation. When they were together I felt that on some level they wanted to just get along but the instinct was just too strong to fight for dominance. I just want them to be as content as they are able to be in the living situation I am able to provide for them. It is not perfect but maybe it is enough. Thank you again! Rita

Mac189 · Nov 14, 2021

Are they both spayed? I've had a doe/doe bond work wonderfully before, but they were sisters which tends to make it easier. Did your first bonding attempt occur in a neutral territory?

Rita Iacarella · Nov 14, 2021

Yes, both bunnies are spayed and we did bond in neutral territory. We even tried stress bonding which worked for short periods of time. They are both sweet girls with very strong doe territory instinct.