found a bunny

Question
Two weeks ago, while living in an apartment, we found a dutch bunny loose in the parking lot.  We put up signs everywhere and called the humane society - nobody has claimed our bunny.  Our apartment has a covered porch, with a secure railing - he can't get thru.  We have housed him temporarily there.  Hay, food, water, shelter and litter pan all provided.  He seems very happy and comes inside at least once a day and seems house trained, not an accident yet.  We are now moving to a house with a fenced in back yard with a deck.  The deck has a railing, but he could easily get out.  We could secure the underside of the deck (lots of room and clearance approx. 3 feet.  We could let him loose in the backyard.  What is the best for our bunny? A cage inside the home and a chance to roam a couple times a day? We have 2 boys (7 and 10) and the love the bunny.  One quite seriously wants (and has for sometime) to get another bunny.  I've looked on the internet and some people say they can live outside (with shade and nest area provided) and some don't.  We live in S.C. upstate area.  Two bunnies in  a cage seems crowded but lots of sites say this is fine for them.  Help!

Answer
You will hear alot of different opinions on both matters (housing for rabbits, and getting more than one, that aren't from the same litter)  I am going to give you my opinion and experience, but you will ultimately have to make the final decision as you know your bunny best.

Bonding Two Buns - This can be done, however it is generally a long process (you can't just throw them in together especially if they are adults).  You have to be prepared to house and keep both of them separately for at least a month while bonding and the bonding process itself needs to be supervised by an adult (or very responsible older child) at all times.  First thing is to sex your dutch bunny, (either take it to a vet in your area, contact a local breeder to help you even if they don't breed that kind, they can sex a rabbit(check out the arba website to get more info on breeders) or check out this website to help you sex your bunny yourself http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/sexing.shtml)
this will help you decide what other sex of bunny to get (opposite sex pairs bond best but you have to neuter both of them, preferably around the same time) Two males and/or two females can be bonded, however because rabbits are very territorial animals, this is generally a long process that can result in fighting and injuries.  Even if you think the bonding process is going well, you still have to be prepared to house both of them separately as rabbits personalities change as they age.
I also suggest if you really want to keep to rabbits in the same cage you should get both of them neutered (doesn't matter sex) the reason rabbits are so territorial is mostly due to hormones, but keep in mind that even if both are neutered they may just not like eachother.
Check out this website for more information on bonding rabbits
http://www.islandgems.net/bonding-tips.html
http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

Housing - Rabbits can and do, do well outside, the problem with keeping them outside and not in a hutch is predators.  Even if the animal can't get to them physically sometimes the sight of a dog,cat,hawk, etc can be enough to send a rabbit into a frenzy which can either result in a very scared and possibly human aggressive animals or a dead animal.  Due to rabbits high heart rate they can literally be scared to death.  And if they are living in a backyard type setting not in a enclosure that is up off the ground and safe, then they can be harrassed to the point of having a heart attack.  You would also have to make sure that the rabbit could not dig out of the yard (as rabbits are generally great diggers) and that would mean planting the fence at least 3ft underground. You would also have to make sure to provide it with adaquate shelter (don't rely on them to build themselves a burrow) access to clean water and food.

I suggest keeping your rabbit either in a pet style cage (super pet) or in an outside hutch (much easier to build than buy) also check out this website for more information not only on housing but rabbits and their care in general

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=18&cat=1803&articleid=3345

Here is a site on how to build a outside rabbit hutch
http://www.petplace.com/small-mammals/how-to-build-a-rabbit-hutch/page1.aspx

Good luck and if you have any other questions feel free to ask

Amy