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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To think rabbits should always be sold in pairs

52 replies

Popfan · 18/11/2018 18:28

I was in Pets at Home today and a family were buying a rabbit. Just one rabbit. I felt really sad for it as rabbits are animals which live in groups and so will be miserable on their own. We have two guinea pigs who love each other and often cuddle up next to one another. Guinea pigs should also never be sold as an only pet!

OP posts:
ThePinkOcelot · 18/11/2018 18:36

Yes, if they’re going to be outside in a hutch, but no if an indoor rabbit.

We have the the one and she’s indoor and totally happy on her own as she’s with us all of the time.

We also board rabbits and the only ones in pairs are the outdoor ones. That’s just my opinion, so others may feel differently.

Bunbunbunny · 18/11/2018 18:38

They should live in pairs as they’re very social creatures. I do think there can be some exceptions but it shouldn’t be the norm. We have one lone house rabbit, he’s a rescue & we have no children. We spend a lot of time with him, grooming & cuddles, he even sleeps in our bed. Our rabbit was kept in a tiny hutch with another rabbit which sadly died. We’re nervous about finding him a friend as bonding isn’t always guaranteed.

I wished the hutches pets at home was banned, they’re so tiny!

Umbongointhejungle · 18/11/2018 18:39

Depends on the size of our you’re trying to make

Umbongointhejungle · 18/11/2018 18:40

Aaah depends on the size of PIE you’re trying to make

Joke fail Blush

abacucat · 18/11/2018 18:42

Of course they should always live in pairs at a minimum. Keen carer of rescue rabbits here. But many people, including those who care about their pets, can be pretty ignorant of their needs.

GerdaLovesLiIi · 18/11/2018 18:50

They're happier in pairs, but what if you already have a single rabbit that needs a friend? Should you only be allowed to buy two so you end up with three? Three rabbits, hiding under the sofa, judging you, nibbling your ankles and bullying you when you don't get up at 7.00 on the dot?

It's bad enough with two of the lovely, fluffy darlings, I don't want to be outnumbered!

BertramKibbler · 18/11/2018 18:51

Our school has a guinea pig, a single one. I always feel sad for him

abacucat · 18/11/2018 18:51

You get one of course

ClashCityRocker · 18/11/2018 18:52

I agree - although our last rescue bun was a singleton and although we did try bonding him with other buns (our rescue runs a scheme) we had to admit defeat and a singleton he remained.

The other issue, of course, is a lot of places are horrific at sexing bunnies which I think puts people off buying in pairs... At least rescues tend to spay or neuter them if they are of age.

I think people should also be more aware that does should be spayed in any event to prevent uterine cancer - can't remember the exact stats but something like 80% of unspayed rabbits (who have never had a litter) will develop this before they hit five years.

PurpleShepNeedsToGoToBed · 18/11/2018 18:59

The most obvious reason for needing to buy one rabbit is that one of a pair dies and you need a second bunny to be a companion...

bridgetreilly · 18/11/2018 18:59

Oh, I thought you meant in the butchers. Brace of rabbit, brace of pheasant. Otherwise it's not really enough for a family meal.

purpleme12 · 18/11/2018 19:11

When I read this thread I thought aibu was an odd section to put it. I can see I'm right now cos it was clearly made by a rabbit lover and we're getting pie jokes ffs

hendricksy · 18/11/2018 19:15

Cats too.. I've always got them in two's and live to watch their friendships 😍😍.. as an aside why do we breed rabbits and Guinea pigs , they pretty much always get left in hutches in gardens . It's a miserable life .. I've never have a caged animal !

LMW1990 · 18/11/2018 19:16

Even though my rabbits live as bonded pairs, they were purchased separately. One of our buns passed away recently so I have a lonely male at the moment but we are looking for him a suitable partner. As they were all adopted, it wasn't an option to buy two together - perhaps this family have another bun at home looking for a friend?

DramaticGoose · 18/11/2018 19:21

YANBU. Rabbits need to be in pairs, or more.

I had two rabbits, a mother and daughter. When the mother died of old age, the daughter pined for her for around 10 days, stopped eating (I thought that perhaps I'd been putting too much out because I'd been used to feeding two buns not one) and I found her dead in the hutch after around 10 days. It was so sad. I then googled it and apparently bunnies can die of a broken heart if they're lonely. I feel so sad for my beautiful bunny and so bad that I let her die of loneliness. Poor bunny!

e1y1 · 18/11/2018 19:29

Yes 100% should be kept in pairs. Very sociable and never met one with the same type of "personality" eg I have a pair of does, one big and feisty as definitely rules the roost, other timid and delicate but soo nosy (in fact big one sends her out to nosy on her behalf 🤣)

They're the UKs 3rd most popular pet, but the most neglected.

Usually kept in a cramped hutch, on their own, at the bottom of the garden with no interaction with anything, fed inappropriately and waiting to die (usually in massive pain as it's normally gut stasis from said improper diet). Really really cruel.

P@H should be banned from selling any living thing full stop.

purpleme12 · 18/11/2018 19:32

But I dread one of mine dying cos obviously the other would be alone. I can't be forever in a cycle of bunny owning so shouldn't really get another one. Even though not owning a bunny I will be missing out so much anyway

LokiBear · 18/11/2018 19:33

My rabbit refuses to live with other rabbits. She tries to fight with them. She has a lovely, 14ft enclosure and hutch, complete with hidden underground tunnels and hills. She allows dd7 into her enclosure to play, but when we rabbitsat sils bunny she savaged her.

Avonandice · 18/11/2018 20:04

WEhave a single rabbit, he was rescued from a home through facebook and he currently has the run of the garden and only uses his double level hutch for sleeping. He looked lonely so we had another rabbit to keep him company, the plan was to have 1 extra but I ended up with two as the rabblt I wanted had an attachment to another litter sibling so I ended up with three. The three of them kept escaping into the large feild at the back of the garden but would always come home when we called them.

The pair died last year so we still have the first bunny who seems to have bonded with a cat that seems to be happy with him. Currently working on first bunnies weight as he is the size of a small walruss.

Birdsgottafly · 18/11/2018 20:14

"Our school has a guinea pig, a single one"

I'd be on to them and the goveners until another one was agreed to, even if I had to fund it.

I've got three rabbits, Father and what I thought were two sons, one turned out to be female. I've had the males neutered but the Vets in my area won't do girls until they are six months. She doesn't want to know the boys and would be happier as a lone rabbit. She's happier cuddling with my kittens.

I think they also need to be honest about them not be easy pets to keep, if you care about welfare standards. They aren't that cheap, either. The neutering, vaccination and feeding costs, as well as fresh veg etc, the cost is on a par with a small dog.

Original poster
Popfan · 18/11/2018 20:20

The family at Pets at Home were buying everything - bowls, hutch, hay etc so I'm pretty sure they were buying it as a lone rabbit. I bet there was no advice given about having them in pairs, just sold it with no question. Poor thing.

OP posts:
Inferiorbeing · 18/11/2018 20:29

We adopted a rabbit from pets at home today and only got the one- she will be an indoor rabbit so will nearly always be with us. I think it depends on the situation!

TheDHand · 18/11/2018 20:42

We had a single house rabbit for about 8 months - he was a rescue because had been fighting with his brother so we were reticent about getting another. I work from home a lot and spent a lot of time with him. He was devoted to us and slept at the foot of the bed and was always in the same room.

Then we took the plunge and got him a neutered doe as a friend. Since they have been bonded it has really opened my eyes as to how much they prefer a rabbit companion to a human one. They absolutely worship each other and are never far apart. They are very affectionate to us still but it has made me realise that human company isn’t a complete substitute for keeping two together.

Having your bun live free range in the house with you is still a million times better than keeping one in a hutch at the bottom of the garden though. Knowing how sociable they are and how they love to run and play it breaks my heart to think of a lonely little rabbit sitting there day after day in such awful conditions. They need as much space and company as a dog. If you wouldn’t keep a dog in a crate you shouldn’t keep a rabbit in a hutch.

Inferiorbeing · 18/11/2018 20:46

Although I will say we are open to getting another one if necessary- we just didn't have the room to have two today (we moved in two weeks ago) and want to adopt not shop!

Original poster
Popfan · 18/11/2018 20:48

Totally agree with you @TheDHand

OP posts: