Do I get our boy bunny a friend?

[girlalmighty]

I know the 'done' to do is to get one.... but.....

We decided we wanted to get a rabbit. After a lot of thinking and reading up we found a breeder of mini lops and reserved a beautiful buck. We had to wait six weeks until he was ready to leave and in this time we got everything we needed for him (including a huge hutch).

We also learnt that rabbits need company. I messaged the breeder and asked if we could reserve another boy. She told me that two boys together arnt a good idea, and that male/female rabbits live happier together.

She suggested waiting till our boy was old enough to be neutered and then get a girl.

So now we've had our boy for a little while, I'm starting to wonder how he will take to a new rabbit. He gets a LOT of attention, he seems very very content and happy. We have the room for another rabbit, his hutch is huge. And to be honest the thought of having another rabbit in the family is very appealing But his personality seems quite feisty. He's lovely, not aggressive at all. I just can't imagine him being happy with another rabbit it in his hutch. I don't want a case where he's unhappy with a new set up, like wise I don't want another rabbit being hurt.
Has anyone had a rabbit, male or female, who lived a happy life alone.

And does anyone have any tips on how to put a new rabbit in with our current if the time comes?
(Sorry for the long post!)

Has anyone had a rabbit, male or female, who lived a happy life alone.

We’ve had ours for almost three years now, and he seems quite content; certainly doesn’t show signs of being stressed or bored. He has bonded very strongly with us & vice versa. I think when having a single rabbit it probably helps if it lives in the house with you so as to have the maximum amount of contact. There’s always someone in the house with him (though he spends a lot of time snoozing!).

I'd be a tad that the breeder didn't ask you about your plans when you reserved him.

Rabbits need neutered regardless of gender or their companion staus.
Bucks for personality and to prevent spraying.
Does to reduce uterine cancer risk.

You could get an older neutered doe that you can bond / have them bonded. .
Provided she's sterile there's no pg risk but she'll need to cope with his amorous attention.
When you have him neutered , you'll need to rebond ( a lot of vets advice you take rabbit partners , so they aren't apart in recovery)

Or , have him neutered when he's the right age/weight then contact a Rescue to source him a doe once he's sterile. They;'ll bond them.

(Guinea pigs are so much easier , sows don't need spayed , boars only if they're bonded with sows , same sex couples are generally fine . Castration doesn't change their brains )

We had one boy rabbit for 2 years - big hutch / run - lots of attention - would have said he was happy - decided to get him a wife - now know what real rabbit love looks like - if your rabbit is outside then still spends hours of its life alone - go to a reputable rescue that has a good selection and let them find him a suitable wife

As PP says, as an outside rabbit he spends A Lot of time alone. (Count up, honestly, how much time you spend with him. How much will that change as it gets colder and darker?)

There are always some rabbits who prefer to be alone but generally they are happier in a pair.

Get him neutered and contact a few rescues to see if they have any single females. (They will, they always do, sadly.) Rescues will generally do the bonding for you. And if the bond does break-down you could return the new rabbit to them, and try again.

Whatever you do, don't just get another rabbit, put them together and expect them to get on. Rabbits are territorial and need to be introduced carefully.

Honestly it's so much easier to go to a rescue and let your rabbit choose his own friend

We took on a rabbit this year. He was perfectly content in his hutch at night and run by day. He would come over to say hello to us or the dogs, but seemed fine on his own. However I don't like seeing lone animals, so we adopted another female. We put them in cages/runs side by side initially then joined the two runs together. They squabbled initially but soon we're firm friends. They play together, sleep huddled up, groom each other - he obviously loves having another rabbit for company.

You do need space to integrate them. It would be difficult in a regular run and hutch - the underdog needs to be able to run away if feeling scared..