Leaving my bunny for good

Question
I'm overseas in an area where a lot of people like to raise rabbits, not usually for food but as pets. Ten months ago I adopted a couple of rabbits who were both supposed to be female but who both turned out to be male. No one neuters pets here so when they matured, they fought, and eventually the local vet adopted the smaller rabbit, Ginger. Ginger's done well with him and is popular as a stud because my rabbits are well-fed, cared for, and healthy. While Ginger mostly stays outside the vet does bring him inside at night for safety and so his little boy can visit with Ginger. Full time houserabbits are unheard of here except for mine.
My problem is the other rabbit, Houdini. Houdini stayed with me and we are very bonded, in fact, I'm sure Houdini loves me. My job has been cut short here. I'm halfway around the world from my home and I will have to leave Houdini behind because when I leave here I'm going to Afghanistan or Iraq. The vet will also adopt Houdini and I trust him to make sure that Houdini gets proper food and medical care (that's not a sure thing with the average rabbit owner who will feed a rabbit the same pellets they feed fish!). I have built a 2-story cage that can be divided so babies can be on the bottom and he can hang out on the top floor. So health and housing are covered but what about the emotional side of things for Houdini? Houdini can't be with Ginger so I don't see how both of them can come inside at night. Houdini is about 10 months old, large (probably a New Zealand breed), powerful, and sexually mature. My hope is that by putting Houdini with female rabbits before I go he will become less bonded to me and have some other sources of affection in his life before I have to leave forever in 5 weeks. Is this reasonable? Is there anything else I can do for him to reduce the pain of our separation? We've located 3 female bunnies as potential 'wives'; they're in quaranteen to be sure they're healthy before we introduce him to one or more of them. I also bought a 9 week old juvenile female ("Jailbait") who is also in quaranteen until she's both larger and her health is established. My plan is to start bonding Houdini to the juvenile in 2 weeks by letting him see her in a separate cage. How soon can I allow contact between them? (Jailbait will be 13 weeks old when I leave, is that too small to be around an 8-10 lb male?) Should I leave some of my sheets behind for Houdini to smell me? or is it best to just go since I'm unlikely to ever come back here? I love this bunny, he's special and I want him to be as happy as he can be once I go. Any suggestions will be appreciated.

Answer
You have the right idea in how to ease the loss for Houdini.  Giving him someone else to focus his attention on and in time hopefully bond with.  The loss of you and the change in living quarters will be a change for him.  Leaving your sheets and anything that might be familiar for Houdini would be a good idea.  At the very least, it will give him a sense of the familiar.  Each rabbit is different in how they deal with change.  Houdini may have an adjustment period for a few weeks, or with his attention fixated on another rabbit, he may adjust fairly quickly.

You have the right idea for starting the introductions between Houdini and Jailbait.  Letting them see each other through a cage is a good way to get started.  You can also also add something with the other rabbit's scent to the cage to allow them to get used to having the scent close.

Since you're pressed for time, after a couple days of seeing each other, you can try an introduction.  It will be important that it be in a neutral space and supervised.  Take some towels or a squirt bottle in case they fight and you need to separate them.  Be on the look out for a raised tail and the ears going back.  That indicates that a fight might break out.  Obviously one rabbit may mount the other.  Not only because of the sexual nature, but mounting is also an indication of dominance in a rabbit social network.  Since Houdini is so much larger, you may need to intervene if that occurs.  

This site gave some info on their experience bonding a small, young rabbit with a larger adult:
http://www.fuzzy-rabbit.com/bonding.htm

This site also gives some good advice and tips for bonding:
http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml
It covers a lot of situations and interactions that you may see during the time you're trying to bond Houdini

It's hard to say if Houdini will get bonded to a rabbit during the time you have left.  It really depends on the rabbits.  Some rabbits are a piece of cake, and others are really tough.  At the very least, hopefully Houdini will be on the path to a new bond before you go.

It will be hard for both of you, especially you.

I hope this helps, stay safe