Keeping Rabbits in pairs

On this blog I am going to look at why it is important to keep rabbits in pairs; in the wild rabbits live in big groups and are very sociable animals, once you have seen rabbits in a bonded pair you will never want to keep one on its’ own.

Rabbits will tolerate company from other animals, and enjoy living with their humans but it does not replace living with one of their own kind. Rabbits have unique ways of communicating (for example a good THUMP!) and understand each other’s body language and signals. They eat, play and groom together and look out for each other.

The best pairing you can get is a neutered male and neutered female, this prevents unwanted litters and means two more relaxed, happier bunnies. Any male and female bunnies can live together from birth; however,
introducing bunnies later may require “bonding.”

In the wild rabbits are very territorial around rabbits they
don’t know and have very strict hierarchies in their “warrens.” Sometimes this can lead to confrontation when they first meet, however you can usually get help or advice from rescues about bonding (some may do it for you another reason to adopt not shop!) 

You can also find advice on the Rabbit Welfare Association and the RSPCA website about bonding and why keeping rabbits in pairs is important.

Rabbit bonding

Some basic approaches to bonding are:

• When you go to collect your new rabbit, take your current rabbit with you and on the return journey have them both in a secure carry case, ONLY do this if you have another responsible adult who can sit and observe them in case a fight breaks out. However, travelling in a car is usually stressful for rabbits, and this stress can help with the bonding process as they look to each other for comfort.

• Have a neutral area where neither rabbit has been before to introduce them to each other. You should always start with them in separate pens where they can see, smell and hear each other but not get to each other. When they start showing signs of being relaxed around each other (grooming themselves, lying down looking relaxed and just generally ignoring each other) you can start to consider letting them have supervised contact with each other, usually this could be a few days later.

• Teach them to associate the other rabbit with good experiences; for example, give each rabbit a treat when in the supervised contact area, and reward them each time they have a positive interaction.

• If possible, make their planned living area an area your other rabbit hasn’t been before, or thoroughly clean their own hutch so neither rabbit has a claim to the territory
• Not every bonding will be love at first sight, our feisty Lionhead Butters gave Bertie a really hard time in the beginning, but now they are inseparable.

• Expect a bit of fur to fly. A normal part of the bonding process can be figuring out who is going to be “Top bun.” Sometimes a bit of nipping at fur is normal, and we often see a bit of fur after a lover’s tiff between Bertie and Butters, but this is not a serious injury, this is how they keep each other in line.

• If either bun starts circling the other, trying to mount them (especially at the head end) or starts relentlessly chasing the other then separate them and try again later; it is better to take longer to bond them than to have a traumatic experience for either bun (or yourself) making bonding even more difficult.

• Taking them out for short car journeys (providing it is not hot) and putting them in unfamiliar environments together (such as an empty bathtub with a towel down) helps bonding as they turn to each other for comfort.

• Most importantly, don’t try to understand bun politics; we have tried for years with our buns and trust me… us humans just do not understand!

All that being said, you may wonder why pet shops do not offer a discount for buying 2 rabbits already co-habiting as opposed to just one. And why they do not offer advice on bonding and the importance of keeping rabbits in pairs, as well as them being neutered for their physical and mental health. This is something we want to raise awareness on so that members of the public (and paying customers at large pet stores) can start to challenge this and ask these questions to improve the overall education on the well-being of rabbits.