In Search of Rabbit

[Kora]

My rabbit passed away a short while ago, and I’m absolutely heartbroken over it. He was the sweetest boy, and I have no idea what happened. I just woke up, and he was gone. I don’t want to seem like I’m replacing him because he’s irreplaceable, but I’m wanting to get a new one in the near future in order to have a bondmate for my female. I’ve searched everywhere, and there’s honestly no place to adopt. There’s absolutely no rabbit rescues near me, and when I go on PetFinder, the only males are already in a bonded pair, much to my dismay. I’d love to adopt, but it doesn’t seem like it’s an option. So I turned to Craigslist, and I found a couple of options—not so ideal. I looked at every rabbit listed, and none were neutered, so I figured that I might as well look at my favorite breed specifically, which is Holland Lops. This is what I found:

1. A male that seems to still be intact, which means I’d have to pay for his neuter myself. The owners are selling him for $350, which seems absurd. I’ll try to talk them down.

2. By pure coincidence, I found a litter from the breeder I bought my female one from. I’m assuming that they’d be blood-related, which is cool, but I know that doesn’t have any positive impact on bonding haha. If I did this, I’m not so sure how the age difference would impact the bonding either. My female is a year old, and the baby is just about 2 months.

I also found a few females around my girl’s age, but I really don’t want to try bonding two females. It just seems too risky. But do any of these options seem like good options to you guys?

 

[Hermelin]

I would go with the kit, keep them separate until you can neuter him and put them together. Because paying so much for a bunny as in the first option won’t be worth it. Maybe with the breeder you can ask for a change if they don’t fit and you can also see with the breeder if they have any older bucks for sale. Sometimes breeder will rehome older bunnies, which can help you to know their personality. Because personality will be an important aspect for a bond to work easily. Also with a good breeder you can change bunny if the bonding didn’t work

Otherwise you can wait until you find a neutered buck in your area.

 

[Kora]

I would have to agree. The owners of the older rabbit also just aren’t responding. It looks like I’ll be going with a kit. I’ve seen that you’re able to introduce younger and older rabbits because the younger ones don’t have an extreme amount of hormones yet. Is that true? I obviously wouldn’t keep them together permanently until I neuter him, but it apparently does seem like it’s possible to introduce the two—not start the permanent bonding process, though. But I’m not so sure how true that is.

 

[Blue eyes]

I'm afraid I disagree with the idea of going with a kit. There's a very real chance that they won't ultimately bond. What then? There are no guarantees that they will bond and you won't know that until you've invested months into the new rabbit and the cost of neuter surgery.

You mentioned that there are other adult females available as well? Are any spayed? If they are spayed, then you may be able to pre-screen for potential compatibility.

I believe there are numerous rescues in TX. If you could provide your general area, perhaps we can find one that you missed.

Ideally, as you know, you'll want to find an already fixed rabbit to pre-screen. Kits almost always get along with an adult - BUT it is only temporary. Hormones will change all that. That would not be my choice.

 

[Kora]

No, none of them are spayed, otherwise I’d jump at the chance. Even so, I’d really prefer a male! You’re correct that there’s numerous rescues in Texas, but I can really only find ones in Dallas and Austin. I’m somewhat close to Houston, and for some reason, I haven’t been able to see any rescues in such a large city. But you’re definitely welcome to see if you can find one I missed

I’m gonna try to keep looking at shelters and Petfinder, but it seems unlikely. A kit definitely isn’t my first choice, but it seems the most practical, I guess you could say…?

 

[Blue eyes]

https://www.petfinder.com/member/us/tx/houston/bunny-buddies-tx826/
This rescue has a number of singles.

Wilbur Chip McNibbles looks cute.

I wouldn't rule out females either. If you bring in your male to meet some potentials, you'll be able to see (with the help of the rescue people) if a particular rabbit shows promise (regardless of gender).

 

[Blue eyes]

Here's their facebook link:
https://www.facebook.com/bunnybuddieshouston/?ref=page_internal

 

[Kora]

Thank you so much. I’ll look into it.

Wilbur is very handsome, but he does look rather large. Would that cause any problems with my current rabbit, who’s quite small? She’s a dwarf.

I have a female, which is why I had a preference for male. I know same-*** bonding isn’t impossible, but I’m not so sure how well my female would get along with another one. She was territorial with even me at one point.

 

[Blue eyes]

Size makes no difference when it comes to bonding. Personality is all that matters (and being fixed, of course). A dwarf could even end up being the dominant one with a much larger rabbit.

Females tend to be notoriously territorial. This is why you'll want neutral space for bonding (and read all you can on the process of bonding).