Bonding
As social creatures, rabbits benefit from living as part of a pair or group. If you are considering getting a second rabbit it is worth noting the following points:
- Do not try to pair unneutered rabbits – regardless of sex, rabbits are particularly territorial when unneutered and can be vicious towards any rabbit perceived as a threat.
- It is best to pair rabbits of a similar size and age. The best pairing is one male and one female.
- Pairing, or bonding, can be slow process with introductions and short play dates. This can take weeks, months or can sometimes be a lost cause, so it takes great patience.
If you decide to try bonding, consider visiting re-homing centres with your bunny where you can try introducing it to prospective partners. If they meet and are indifferent to each other this is a great sign.
Rabbits need time to get to know each other before they are willing to share their territory so at first you will need to be able to provide a separate home and have a space where your bunny has never been to use as neutral territory.
Start the process slowly by putting their homes right next to each other. If they seem relaxed and indifferent after a while try giving them short periods of time together in a neutral territory and increase the time periods if they seem to be getting on. Always supervise these introductions - if there are any signs of tension or aggression such as ears bent back or raised tails you must be ready to separate them. Having a spray water bottle can help to provide distractions, oven gloves may also be handy to protect your hands from sharp teeth.
If you find that bonding periods can be increased, try providing your bunnies with their meals together, eating is a great social activity.
You may also wish to try swapping the rabbits between their two homes each day so that they get used to each other’s scent and learn to share. Remember, rabbits like to mark their territory so during the bonding period they may feel the need to make more mess than usual. This should stop when the rabbits are happily bonded.