Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Rabbits > Rabbits Bonding

Rabbits Bonding

22 10:19:17

Question
I bought a 4 month old female English rabbit last week, then when I was on the Internet I noticed people saying you should not have just 1 rabbit you should have 2 rabbits. So yesterday I bought another female rabbit who is 8 weeks old. (its not an English rabbit). So today I put both on leads and tried to introduce them but the English rabbit went for the wee one and bit its bum. Then 5 minutes later I tried again and the English rabbit tried to attack again. What do you think I should do? I am going to get them dressed at 6 months. I have them living in separate cages just now.  How long do you think it will take for them to bond and get along (if they will)?

Answer
Well, it's always difficult to figure out if rabbits will ever get along.  Sometimes they just don't.  But there are things you can try.

It would be easier if you can wait one month after they've been dressed.  That will take the hormones out of the equation.

Until then, you can do things to allow them to get acclimated to each other's scent.

1.  occasionally switch bedding and other cage items between their living areas
2.  occasionally just switch which cages they're in
3.  when it's time for exercise time, let them out one at a time in an area where they can see each other, but not fight.  One may come up to the other's cage, or may be completely disinterested.

When you are ready to try physical interactions again, do it in a neutral area.  Have a squirt bottle and/or towels handy for breaking up fights.  If any rabbit has their ears go back and the tail go up, you'll want to separate them because a fight is going to occur.

Sometimes this can take awhile.  There are some techniques of last resort called stressing you can try to get them to get along without fighting.

These sites are good resources for tips and techniques on bonding, including stressing:
http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/introductions.html
http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-9/bonding.html