What Happens When You Have More Than One Rabbit?
So, you have done your homework and decided that owning a pet rabbit is for you. You can tolerate the mess and extra work because their lovableness outweighs any negatives. That is great. In the right home, rabbits make wonderful house pets.
Pet Rabbits are funny and loving and often even affectionate. In the wild, rabbits live in colonies. They are social animals who like to stick together and are happy to live in close proximity. If you have ever seen a bonded pair of rabbits, you know that they are very sweet together. They will lie together and lick and groom each other. Sometimes they will even romp and play.
If you have lived with multiple peaceful and loving bunnies, you know that having more than one rabbit is a delight. Rabbits will bond for life, so if you are lucky enough to have a bonded pair, it is important to keep them together. If you want to bring two strange rabbits together, they may or may not bond to each other. Some rabbits will eagerly greet a newcomer and make them immediately feel welcome. This is more likely with a male rabbit being introduced to a female in his territory.
However, if your rabbits were not together as babies, you should be careful when introducing a new bunny to your pet. Here is why; although rabbits are social, they are also very territorial. If your bunny is more than 4-5 months old, you will see them rubbing the underside of their chin, "chinning", the furniture and anything they come into contact with. That is their way of marking their territory. Any strange rabbit coming into their territory will likely be met with hostility. Especially if you introduce another rabbit of the same-sex.
In order to introduce 2 rabbits there are several techniques I recommend.
First, it often works best to introduce the rabbits in neutral territory, somewhere where neither of them has ever been. Another technique is taking the dominant rabbit (especially if it's a female) to the new rabbit's territory and let them meet there first. When introducing new rabbits to each other, you should stay very close at hand, ready to intervene if things don't go well. Rabbits may seem sweet and gentle, but they can fight viciously. They can cause very serious even life threatening damage to each other. If they don't quickly get over their initial hostility and at least behave in a tolerant way.
One of the best techniques I have found for introducing 2 rabbits is to drive them both somewhere in a car together. I like to put them in a box (always supervised) and drive them around in the car. Most rabbits are afraid of car rides and they will huddle together for security. After about a half an hour, you can usually take them home and they will begin to get along. You still may need to supervise them closely for a while, but I have been very successful getting two strange rabbits to accept each other and become friends using these techniques.
If the first introduction goes smoothly, your rabbits will most likely become fast friends and maybe even a bonded pair. If the initial meetings are rocky, you should keep a close eye on them and take care not to let them be together unsupervised. Sometimes you may have to repeat the introduction process a couple of times. Often that will solve the problem, however occasionally 2 rabbits will simply dislike each other and will have to be kept separated.
I have been a pet rabbit owner for over 20 years and enjoy sharing my knowledge with others. It is important to know what you are getting into if you are considering adding a rabbit to your household. |
No comments:
Post a Comment