4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[chick wiggle]

Hi,

I say 'ish' because we have 1 netherland dwarf, Rosie. She is female and 9 months old. She belongs to my daughter and is a house bunny, She lives in a palatial cage in my daughters bedroom, uses the litter tray brilliantly and comes downstairs having the run of the house whenever my daughter is home (most of the time!). She occasionaly gets to mingle with my chickens in the garden too. Now, my daughter really really wants another bunny.

Now, my question is, will it be ok to introduce another bunny to Rosie, keeping them in the same cage and which sex would be best?

[victoriabunny]

You can certainly do it, but you will need to proceed with caution as females are more territorial than males and she will regard the house and her cage as being her territory. You could introduce either sex to her - obviously you will need to get her spayed (or a male neutered, or even better, both done) if you want to get a boy. Introductions need to be done gradually - you will need 2 cages at first, can you borrow one from a friend? They need to be in separate cages, but where they can see/smell each other. Introductions should take place on neutral ground, somewhere your bunny has never been before and won't regard as "hers" - the bath often works! See how they are - don't push it at first, as they may well not get on straight away. Over time they will bond, don't worry. Once they're getting on OK in the bath, put your existing bun in new-bun's cage for short periods - not the other way round so she doesn't feel territorial. You can gradually build up the time they're together until they can stay with each other all the time. As a rule, as soon as they start licking/grooming each other, they've bonded and can safely be left together. Good luck!

[chick wiggle]

Thanks for the reply. Rosie has been spayed so a male bunny would be fine. If we started them off in seperate cages could they eventually be put into one or maybe somehow join the two together?

[victoriabunny]

Definitely - the separate cages is just to acclimatise them to one another and to make sure they're safe when you're not around, in case they fight at first. It's worth bearing in mind that a lady I know who runs a rabbit rescue and is very experienced in pairing bunnies says that whilst lots of newly introduced pairs fight and squabble at first, with persistence and patience she's never had a pair who haven't fallen in love eventually. Good luck!

[chick wiggle]

Oh that does sound promising. Well, i can see were gonna have a very interesting 6 weeks whilst DD is on school holiday. Seems a perfect time to do it. Thank you very much for your advice. Will let you know how we get on. Thanks again.

[FruitandNutCake]

Just be prepared to be patient! It took my two about 7 months to bond! But Bugsy (male) was in mourning, so that may have slowed things down a bit. Most of my attempts at bonding in the past have happened much quicker, but it is always best not to rush things if they don't fall in love straight away.

 

Good Luck!