Is a pair better?

[Eve]

Two weeks ago I bought a beautiful 8 week oldblack dwarf lop rabbit. I was told by the shop keeper that he would behappier on his own and would not get along with another rabbit. I wasalso advised the same thing when I asked at a different pet shop.

After reading the rabbit related literature on the internet, I havefound that many websites recommend keeping rabbits in pairs, as theywill be unhappy and lonely without one of their own kind.

I am now unsure as to wether I should keep him on his own, or buy him acompanion. If anyone can offer me any advice on this I would beextremely grateful!

 

[m.e.]

Well, I hate to say it, but both sources were wrong

Many rabbits can -and do- get along with other bunnies. Many of themare happy when they have a companion. But, a single rabbit willonly be "lonely" and "unhappy" if they aren't being properly socializedby their human caretakers.

I have a pair, and I can definitely say that they are happier now thatthey have each other. I am a big advocate of rabbit companionship, butwould I recommend it for everyone? No. That depends on you and on yourrabbit's temperment.

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[pamnock]

A most excellent response Emily! :highfive:



As Emily pointed out, rabbits are indeed a very socialanimal. However, this may actually be a problem whenintroducing another rabbit because rabbits also establish a socialhierarchy and may fight for the higher position in thehousehold. This can result in serious injuries ordeath. On the other hand, many rabbits work through thisphase without incidence and bond very closely.

I'd recommend sticking with one rabbit, so you can focus your full attention and finances on giving it the very best care.

Pam

 

[FlopsnWills]

if you do get another bun for your rabbit, bothwill need to be spayed/neutered which can be costly. without thesurgery, they will fight and/or reproduce. yes, he'll probably behappier with a friend, but it takes money time and patience.

 

[bluebird]

I think stick with one rabbit at least for awhile you want your rabbit to bond to you .sometimes including anotherrabbit means they play with each other and spend less time with you.ifthenew rabbit and yours dont bond then you have aproblem.bluebird

 

[Carolyn]

Welcome Eve, :sunshine:

I fell into the same trap that you did when I had first gotten Tucker.After I did get another rabbit, and then another, it took him about 2years to get over it and return to being his loving self.

The question is a tough one because you're looking at a 50/50 chance ofit working or not. It's not always a given that two rabbits will bond.

Since your little guy is so new to the home and so young, I'd work ongetting him comfortable with you and acclimated to his new surroundings.

It's also been noted that when rabbits are in pairs, the bonding theyhad with their human will shift to their new companion. As noted, theamount of time you have to share with the little guy is something I'dtake into consideration.

Rabbits sleep during the day and are most active at dawn and dusk. Evenwhen I'm home on the weekends and the rabbits have full freedom, theyoftentimes choose to stay in their cages and do nothing but sleep, sonot much is lost if you have a 9-5 job.

Congratulations on your new baby. :stork:

One other thing I'd like to mention, sometimes with babies that young,even the best of breeders aren't always right about figuring out thecorrect gender. If you have a he, and you find out it's a she, and getanother rabbit, you might be visited by the stork when you weren'texpecting it.

-Carolyn

 

[Pet_Bunny]

Hi Eve! Welcome to the forum. :wave:

I had my bunny Pebbles for a year now. Many, manytimes I have been tempted to get a second one. Forme, I think I got very close to Pebbles because we didn'thave another bunny. And she gets all ourundivided attention.

Rainbows!

 

[ariel]

Hi Eve, do we or don't we is such ahard thing to decide, it really comes down to personal choice and whatyou think and know you can handle. Bindy lived with us for about8months before her friends came to live with us as well.

A single bunny can be just as happy on their own, they get all theattention and lovins, there is no sharing or competing for attention.Bindy was very happy being on her own, she would follow us around thehouse and generally want to be where we were.

She still loves hopping around after us, but she does enjoy the companyof the others as well, bonding rabbits is not always as easy as itsounds or as we'd like it to be. Yes when they are bonded it's lovelywatching them groom and lay next to each other or binky together, butthere are risks involved. They can fight and bicker and sometimes itcan be quite savage.

I'd say to you at 8weeks of age, keep your bunny solo and get to knowyour bun before getting another (who knows down the track you maydecide to not get another). Really get to know your bunnys personalityand their moods and quirks first before deciding, not to mention findout if they are a she or a he, we had Gizmo for 3 months before wediscovered she was in fact a he, so off to the vet he went for hislittle boy operation.

Goodluck in what you decide, most of all be comfortable with your decision.

 

[Eve]

Thank you all so much for your advice, you'vebeen incredibly helpful! I've decided not to get him a friend until Iget to know him better, as many of you have advised, and maybe considerit after a few months time.

I've never had a pet bunny before and had no idea how amazing they are,I completely underestimated them. My little bun is more active andcurious than my dog! I hope to post some pictures soon. Thanks againfor all your help!

 

[m.e.]

Yes, you know,others have raised a good point which I failed to mention: my rabbitwas 3 years old before I decided to get him a companion. And by thattime it was pretty clear that he wanted one, and could do well withone, and so I went to the shelter and adopted a 2 year old.

The HRS coordinator that helped with bonding them, said that olderrabbits are often easier to bond because they've reached a place wheretheir temperments are pretty stable (provided, of course, that they'respayed or neutered ).

I would definitely say that your best course of action is to wait. Good luck with your new bunny!

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[Maureen Las]

I agree that you should have a single bunny forawhileat least so that you both can form a relationship witheach other. I will tell you about one lucky positive experience that Ihave had . I had a spayed female mini-lop for several years and onimpulse got a baby male mini-lop which I introduced to her.It was like her maternal instincts kicked in..she absolutelyadores him....I mean big time Nancy and Ronald Reagan.Thedownside is that he has never formed a comfortable relationship with meand neither one really cares if I interact with them or not. Now I have4 other bunnies besides these two who are housed separately so I gicethem much attention. If you are gone a lot it might be nice to have apair. I know that the House Rabbit Society in Madison Wi. will allowyou to bring your individual bunny to a foster home (which may house8-9 rabbits) and let your rabbit select its own mate. That way ther isa much better chance of the pair bonding well.

 

[RebeccaUK]

I would definitely wait and see what kind of abunny your new baby turns out to be. Some rabbits will livequite happily on their own and focus all they love on you.Others will be jumpy and sometimes unhappy and may give you theimpression that they would prefer a companion.

I keep two bonded bunnies and my experience was that we bought thefirst bunny and although he was castrated he was vicious anddestructive and often attacked my husband for attention. Wedecided to try and bond him with a female when he was 18 months old andit worked - his violence ended and he was attentive and loving to thedoe he rarely destroys things now and is generally a more well-roundedindividual.

My advice is to wait and see - you can always introduce another(neutered) bunny at a later stage if you're feeling sorry for your bunthat they are lonely etc.

I've found that a lot of pet shops in the UK will tell their customersto keep bunnies alone but this isn't necessarily the best advice assome rabbits do better in pairs.

 

[Carolyn]

Eve wrote:

I'venever had a pet bunny before and had no idea how amazing they are, Icompletely underestimated them. My little bun is more active andcurious than my dog!

The fun is just beginning!

It's a good idea to check out the Cheat Sheet. It may have athing or two in the notes that you might find interesting.There's also book suggestions and website links that are good tohave. It listed in the Top Picks thread, but here's theaddress:http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=3005&forum_id=1

There's a link in there about rabbit behavior. It's a greatwebsite, and I'm sure you'll get a lot of smiles out of it, in additionto helping you learn what your rabbit's body language is.http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html

Hope you enjoy!

-Carolyn

 

[Eve]

Thank you so much for the links! They are great!

 

[Eve]

Just a quick question, my bunny loves ripping upcardboard boxes, but I am concerned as he appears to be eating some ofthe pieces. Is this very bad for him, and should I take all hiscardboard toys away?

 

[Carolyn]

It could cause a block if too much is eaten.

-Carolyn

 

[Saffy]

I've had to seperate Benji and Mookie, aseverytime Benji goes for a pee or a poo, she tries to hump him!! :shock: (They're bothspayed/neutered) I took pity on Benji and now keep them inseperate cages, but get them out together.