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Advice on introducing a new rabbit

22 9:47:13

Question
Hello, I have 2 rabbits, approx 3 years old. I inherited them from a neighbour whose son no longer wanted them, I've had them for about 18 months. One is male, one is female. They were spayed and neutered shortly after I got them. They have always been kept separate, but I hoped that they would eventually share a hutch.
The male rabbit is very sociable and clearly wants to be friends with the female. However, although she will happily come to me and my kids and is very happy to be petted, she has no interest in being near the male rabbit. She used to growl and attack him, now she just runs away and occasionally she will sit on one side of me, on the ground, with him on the other side, when I am dishing out treats, which feels like big progress.
They each have a 2 storey hutch, easily big enough for 2, as I had hoped to put them together.
They spend most of the day running free in our large back garden, with more than enough space to avoid each other. The male will regularly chase the female around the garden, but this does not seem to cause her any distress.
They hop into each others hutches throughout the day, and many times I have seen them both sleeping in the wrong hutches, but never in the same hutch. If I go outside they know they are in the wrong hutch and will often hop out as I approach. On an evening they will each go into their own hutches quite happily.
Our neighbours cats no longer come into our garden, one or other of the rabbits will chase them off, so they are both clearly quite sure of who's territory the garden is.
I adore them both, as does the rest of the family.
However, as the male clearly wants to be good friends with the female, she has no interest. I have been contemplating getting another rabbit, to be a good pal for the male, but am unsure that this would be the right thing to do.
What are your thoughts on this? Could I possibly do more harm than good on this one?
Many thanks for any advice you can give,
Julie

Answer
Dear Julie,

While it would be nice for the male to have a cuddle pal, I think bringing a third rabbit into a situation like this might spell disaster.  You can try. But don't do it by bringing home a third rabbit.  Instead, contact your local rabbit rescuer via the Rabbit Welfare Association:

http://www.houserabbit.co.uk/

and set up some "blind dates" for a threesome.  Whoever comes into your home and garden must get along with *both* rabbits, and it's not easy to bond bunnies who already have a territory and a "system", which your bunnies seem to have.

The rescuer can help you bond the most promising bunny in a neutral area, but bringing him/her into the residents' territory might be a challenge.  Be prepared for lots of work in bonding them if things don't immediately pan out.

Tips for bonding bunnies can be found here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=bonding

I hope this helps.

Dana