How to Bond Rabbits - Part 1
Rabbits are unique animal companions that have captured the hearts of countless people all across the world. Many people will go to great lengths to ensure that their rabbits are living their happiest lives, and often that leads them to the challenge of finding a second rabbit. Having two, bonded rabbits is a really warming experience as the two cuddle, groom and socialize with each other all day long. There really is nothing that can replace the companionship that two rabbits provide one another, and it goes beyond anything our love and attention can give them. Unfortunately, simply adding a second rabbit in with your current rabbit right away usually leads to disastrous outcomes. These sweet fur-balls often will attack one another if not introduced properly. Before you add in a second rabbit, please take the time to research what bonding entails. And don't just read it here, read it everywhere and reach out to community pages for support and advice. There is no one way to bond a rabbit. Each rabbit has a very different personality, and they respond to the world around them (and other rabbits) in ways only unique to them.
In part 1 of this bonding guide, you will learn:
Before You Begin
Prior to starting your quest to find the perfect companion for your rabbit, it is absolutely critical that they have been spayed/neutered for at least three months. I recommend three months as it allows the sexual hormones to fully leave your rabbit's body, and allow for their incision to heal. Rabbits are very physical (humping, chasing, etc) during the bonding process and it is important that they do not hurt their incision areas. This is especially true for female rabbits who have a more complicated surgery and require a longer heal time than their male counterparts.
It is important to note that adopting siblings from a very young age, before they have been spayed/neutered, and expecting them to stay bonded is unrealistic. There is the risk that they have been sexed wrong, which could result in an unexpected pregnancy between siblings. As well, once the young rabbits reach sexual maturity (3-6m old), their hormones take over and you suddenly have two rabbits fighting for dominance -- regardless of the gender pairing. Two sisters or two brothers may no longer get along and you're forced to separate them. If you choose to adopt two siblings, you should separate them until after they have been spayed/neutered for three months, then proceed with bonding them together.
When you're ready to start looking for a new rabbit, reach out to rescue organizations and ask what their policies and procedures are when it comes to bonding rabbits. It is important to know what to expect before you commit to another rabbit. Find a rescue organization that understands the complicated process of bonding rabbits, and one that is willing to work with you if bonding is not successful. Some questions you can ask are:
In part 1 of this bonding guide, you will learn:
- How to pick the best match for your rabbit
- Rabbit speed dating
- Good versus bad behaviours
Before You Begin
Prior to starting your quest to find the perfect companion for your rabbit, it is absolutely critical that they have been spayed/neutered for at least three months. I recommend three months as it allows the sexual hormones to fully leave your rabbit's body, and allow for their incision to heal. Rabbits are very physical (humping, chasing, etc) during the bonding process and it is important that they do not hurt their incision areas. This is especially true for female rabbits who have a more complicated surgery and require a longer heal time than their male counterparts.
It is important to note that adopting siblings from a very young age, before they have been spayed/neutered, and expecting them to stay bonded is unrealistic. There is the risk that they have been sexed wrong, which could result in an unexpected pregnancy between siblings. As well, once the young rabbits reach sexual maturity (3-6m old), their hormones take over and you suddenly have two rabbits fighting for dominance -- regardless of the gender pairing. Two sisters or two brothers may no longer get along and you're forced to separate them. If you choose to adopt two siblings, you should separate them until after they have been spayed/neutered for three months, then proceed with bonding them together.
When you're ready to start looking for a new rabbit, reach out to rescue organizations and ask what their policies and procedures are when it comes to bonding rabbits. It is important to know what to expect before you commit to another rabbit. Find a rescue organization that understands the complicated process of bonding rabbits, and one that is willing to work with you if bonding is not successful. Some questions you can ask are:
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How to Pick the Right Rabbit
Before you jump on all the rescue pages and get excited about the thousands of adorable whiskered faces, you should know that looks don't matter when it comes to bonding rabbits. Personality and temperament are the leading factors to a successful bond between rabbits. Take some time to really evaluate your own rabbit's personality. In my experience, it is often best to try and bond more bossy, strong personality rabbits with quiet, gentle tempered rabbits. As they say, opposites attract, and it is often the case with rabbits as well. Some rabbits will have a drastic change in personality once they meet another rabbit, so don't be alarmed if your bossy bunny is suddenly fearful or if your quiet rabbit turns into an insistent dominant rabbit.
By only reading the description of adoptable rabbits, you may not be getting a full sense of their personality. I strongly recommend speaking to a representative at the rescue and asking for their advice on the top 3-5 rabbits that may have the personality you're looking for. They will have a better sense of which rabbits may be the best match.
Before you jump on all the rescue pages and get excited about the thousands of adorable whiskered faces, you should know that looks don't matter when it comes to bonding rabbits. Personality and temperament are the leading factors to a successful bond between rabbits. Take some time to really evaluate your own rabbit's personality. In my experience, it is often best to try and bond more bossy, strong personality rabbits with quiet, gentle tempered rabbits. As they say, opposites attract, and it is often the case with rabbits as well. Some rabbits will have a drastic change in personality once they meet another rabbit, so don't be alarmed if your bossy bunny is suddenly fearful or if your quiet rabbit turns into an insistent dominant rabbit.
By only reading the description of adoptable rabbits, you may not be getting a full sense of their personality. I strongly recommend speaking to a representative at the rescue and asking for their advice on the top 3-5 rabbits that may have the personality you're looking for. They will have a better sense of which rabbits may be the best match.
Rabbit Speed Dating
Rabbit speed dating is a technique I used during my time running a rabbit rescue. We found this to be extremely useful when trying to learn which of our adoptable rabbits would be the best candidates. If the rescue organization you are looking to adopt from doesn't offer rabbit speed dating, I recommend explaining this process to them and asking if they can take the extra time to do this with you. I will explain this process to the best of my ability, but please, if you have any questions at all about this process -- do not hesitate to contact me. I also offer my consultation services at a discounted rate to rescue organizations and adopters in London, Ontario where I would actively participate in the speed dating session to give you insight and advice.
Rabbit speed dating is a technique I used during my time running a rabbit rescue. We found this to be extremely useful when trying to learn which of our adoptable rabbits would be the best candidates. If the rescue organization you are looking to adopt from doesn't offer rabbit speed dating, I recommend explaining this process to them and asking if they can take the extra time to do this with you. I will explain this process to the best of my ability, but please, if you have any questions at all about this process -- do not hesitate to contact me. I also offer my consultation services at a discounted rate to rescue organizations and adopters in London, Ontario where I would actively participate in the speed dating session to give you insight and advice.
- Meet in a neutral location (where none of the adoptable rabbits or yours have been) such as a living room or large kitchen, that allows enough space to set up one or two xpens. Have all potential rabbit candidates on site.
- Use one xpen and create a figure 8 shape (creating areas for two rabbits), or, place two xpens side by side. You don't need the rabbits to have a lot of space for this. I do recommend having carpet, fleece or something non-slip on the floor for the rabbits' safety.
- I recommend this type of xpen as they are smaller and easier to move. They also have smaller bar spacing to prevent any serious bites. They are lightweight however, and may require you to hold them in place during the speed dating process. I also recommend having an extra towel, oven glove or some other object to help you safely separate the rabbits should a fight occur. Rabbits will often redirect a bite towards you if you try to intervene.
- Your rabbit will stay in one of the xpen areas throughout the process, while the candidates are alternated. Start with only your rabbit in the xpen and give them a few minutes to settle down and adjust.
- When you're ready to begin, add your first candidate rabbit into the opposite area or second xpen. The rabbits should be separated by bars at this time.
- You just want to watch the rabbits as this point. Try not to intervene unless it is necessary. This is a very important step in the bonding process, and it will help you determine which rabbit is the best to try and continue the bonding process with. What you want to see is the rabbits ignoring each other or acting normally, and not showing any signs of aggression. If the rabbits are very aggressive towards each other (trying to actively fight each other through the xpen), you should immediately remove them. Your rabbit will need some time to calm down from this ordeal before you try another rabbit.
- Ideally, you want to allow 10 min for each of the rabbits so you can get a sense of how they and your rabbit are interacting with each other.
- Once you have completed your speed dating process and have determined which rabbit is the best candidate, you can try to introduce them again, but this time without a separation between them. This should only be done as long as both rabbits are still in good spirits and not stressed or frustrated.
- Set up one xpen and have someone sit inside it with the rabbits. Be sure to bring your oven glove or other item to safely separate the rabbits should they fight. Place the rabbits on opposite sides and let them find each other on their own. This part is always very stressful for the people involved. Let the rabbits meet, but intervene if necessary. Watch the their body language carefully and react to them appropriately.
Good Versus Bad Behaviours
Knowing when to intervene and when not to with rabbits can be challenging. It is very important that the rabbits determine dominance and learn how to interact with each other; this can only be achieved by letting them figure it out on their own. You usually only want to step in to stop excessive or aggressive behaviours. Below I will list some common behaviours and provide recommendations on which ones need to be corrected.
There is a lot to cover when it comes to bonding rabbits. There are many different types of techniques that can be used. Bonding takes a lot of patience and commitment. Some rabbits will bond instantly, while others could take years. In my experience, when rabbits are a good match for one another, they can be bonded in about one month. While this may feel like a long time, it is absolutely worth the wait!
Part 2 of the bonding blog series will cover:
Knowing when to intervene and when not to with rabbits can be challenging. It is very important that the rabbits determine dominance and learn how to interact with each other; this can only be achieved by letting them figure it out on their own. You usually only want to step in to stop excessive or aggressive behaviours. Below I will list some common behaviours and provide recommendations on which ones need to be corrected.
- Licking or grooming the other rabbit
This is the ultimate goal when bonding rabbits. When one rabbit shows this type of affection to another rabbit, you know you're on the right path. When both rabbits mutually groom each other, you know you've got a perfect match! Seeing this on a "first date" is rare, but not impossible.
- Ignoring each other
This is the ideal behaviour you want to see on a "first date". It means that the rabbits are comfortable enough together that they are not fighting. This is a great place to start the bonding process from, and help the rabbits earn each other's trust and affections.
- Humping
Humping is a bit awkward for us to witness, but it is an important part of the bonding process. This helps the rabbits establish who is dominant. You can allow humping behvaiours to continue, but if it becomes excessive (one rabbit is following around the other very persistently, and will not stop humping) you will want to pull them away from each other. Excessive humping can stress out the other rabbit, and that often leads to negative behaviours and negative associations towards the other rabbit. You also want to stop face humping. Not only is face humping super rude, but there is risk of the rabbit's genitalia being bitten by the other rabbit. Should this occur, you should promptly seek veterinary care.
- Putting head down
A rabbit who puts their head down in front of the other rabbit is requesting (er...demanding) that they be groomed. This is a dominant behaviour. If the other rabbit is refusing to groom them, feel free to give that rabbit a little head pet. Often times, the rabbit becomes frustrated when the other rabbit does not groom them when they demand it. You will also sometimes see "head wars", where both rabbits put their heads down and demand the other rabbit groom them. You can either wait this out, or, give them both a little pet.
- "Angry Grooming"
Often times before a rabbit is comfortable enough to groom the other rabbit, they will give multiple small bites on the face of the other rabbit - I affectionately refer to this as "angry grooming". This is more like begrudgingly showing their submissiveness and affection towards the other rabbit, and less like an act of aggression.
- Chasing
A little bit of chasing is okay (usually accompanied by humping), but you will usually want to stop and discourage it from continuing. It can stress out the rabbit who is being perused.
- Stomping and /or growling
If one of the rabbits is upset about the other rabbit being near them, they may stomp or growl/grunt at the other rabbit. Try to help them relax by petting them, or separate them and give them a bit of a break from each other.
- Biting
It takes some time for the rabbits to learn about each other and what they do or don't like. It is not uncommon for one or both rabbits to nip each other out of lack of trust or frustration. Some times you can anticipate a bite before it happens based on the rabbit's body language - usually they will pull their ears back and focus on the other rabbit before lunging forward.
- Attacking
If one or both rabbits are attacking, separate them immediately. Stop bonding, and reconsider if you have selected the best match for your rabbit. You can give them a break for 24 hours and try again if you do still want to try with that particular rabbit.
There is a lot to cover when it comes to bonding rabbits. There are many different types of techniques that can be used. Bonding takes a lot of patience and commitment. Some rabbits will bond instantly, while others could take years. In my experience, when rabbits are a good match for one another, they can be bonded in about one month. While this may feel like a long time, it is absolutely worth the wait!
Part 2 of the bonding blog series will cover:
- Setting up for bonding
- Early bonding techniques