# Should i get a friend for my bunny?



## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 25, 2011)

My 6 month old bunny bella seems very down and lonley, she always wants to be with me either cuddled up to me or just sitting on the back of the couch near me, she seems to be very lonley.
Anyway my question is should i get her a friend? and if so do i get the same breed or does it not matter?...im very new to owning rabbits and need help despretly, i dont want her being down and unhappy
Thanks


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## abby_simson (Jul 25, 2011)

yup you need to get her a friend she need it......bunny can't live alone
as a human we need a partner....


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## jcottonl02 (Jul 25, 2011)

It really depends on the bunny, and how much time you spend with her. Bella obviously enjoys spending time with you- how much time does she get out of her cage and with you?

How do you know she seems down and lonely? Does she seem bored, or destructive at all? Or does she just follow you constantly demanding attention?

If you would like another bunny, then I can only think it would be a good thing for Bella, PROVIDED she gets along with the new bun bun. A great way to know this is to take Bella for bunny dates at your local rescue to see which bunny she gets along with so before you add another bun into your home you know you would be surrounded by fighting fluff balls of bunnys!

Rabbits are generally very social creatures- they live, eat and sleep together and they are highly intelligent animals who enjoy many social activities and play etc. If you are worried you aren't able to provide her as much socialisation as she needs (which wouldn't be hard, if you have a full-time job etc. or had a busy lifestyle) and she would be a much happier bun with a friend then I'd say go for it with the bunny dates.

Taking care of two bunnies is really not that much more expensive or hard than looking after just the one (imo) so just do what you think would be best for Bella.



*I just have to add: .....if you do get a bunny friend for her make sure both Bella and the bunny friend are spayed. Either as female and male you could end up with a preggers Bella, or if you have two females (supposedly the hardest type of pairing to bond) if they are both unspayed they are much more likely to fight*

Jen


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## Tweetiepy (Jul 25, 2011)

I thought Peaches wanted a buddy too - he looked so sad and because I worked, he'd be alone all day. I got Popcorn and got him fixed too and waited for him to heal. But Popcorn doesn't like to share and likes his space to himself. He grunts, lunges & growls at Peaches (who's about 6" away from him in the next pen). So now I have two single bunnies who won't get a friend. Peaches would still probably like a friend but he's okay single. Pop is too fiesty to have a friend.

So be prepared to have two single bunnies if you can't bond them together.


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 26, 2011)

Thankyou everyone, you've been a big help, im actually thinking of taking her with me out to the local RSPCA shelter to see if she likes any of the rabbits/Guniea pigs out there, i was thinking that would be the easiest way to see if she would like a friend.
jcottonl02- shes constantly out of her cage, as soon as i get up of a morning she comes out for cuddles and play time and doesnt go back in till i go to bed, i do have alot of time to spend with her but i just think shes lonley/bored she follow me around and nudges me if im not patting her enough, thankyou for all your help


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## Pharfly (Jul 26, 2011)

If you do get her a friend I would get another bunny. Guinea pigs have a very different diet then rabbits have. Rabbits are also food hogs. I have seen pictures of rescued rabbit/g-pig pairs and the rabbits are usually obese and the pigs are skin and bones. 
I got a 2nd bunny and waiting for his neuter too heal then I will bond my 2, they have met between bars and groom each other and lay down beside each other so I think they will be ok to bond


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 26, 2011)

Iv had G-pigs before so there not that complicated for me, i guess it just depends if i can find one that i like plus that bella likes, am going out to the RSPCA shelter soon to see if she will get along with any out there and see whats out there, thought that would be a good idea?


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## CB Millicent (Jul 26, 2011)

Can you try bonding her with a rescue bun, and if it doesn't work, trading that bun for another? Our bun rescue does that. She'll "loan" you a bonder bun, and if it doesn't work out, you can try another bun until 1st bun has a friend.


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 26, 2011)

yeah i could try it just would depend wether the RSPCA shelter would do that i guess i could ask, that would be the better option, and plus i dont like the buns just sitting there waiting for a home, if i could give one of them a home i will


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## TheJadeRabbit (Jul 26, 2011)

I am going to do the same thing, when I get Rikki Tikki neutered. Go to my local rabbit shelter and take rikki tikki with me and let him choose his buddy.


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## LittleEskimo (Jul 26, 2011)

A bun would be prefect if they get along  watching them run around with each other or chill out and groom each other. SO CUTE! 
I've desperately been trying to convince my mum to let me adopt a friend bun for my girl. I try to spend as much time as I can with her, talk to her and stroke her when I feed her and let her run around when the weather is nice. But my room faces the garden and when im getting ready for bed or about to leave for college I look out the window and she just lays there looking all lonely and bored  
I keep trying to convince my mum but no luck yet D: but I wont give up


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## MILU (Jul 26, 2011)

Yes, get another bunny, they'll be sooo cute together!! :hearts:


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## Kipcha (Jul 26, 2011)

Personally, none of my rabbits get along with others. We've tried, but our just dislike other buns, although I think having the other rabbits just being in the room helps because they can still socialise but not attack each other. I highly disagree with comments that say "a rabbit cannot live alone" because it is totally possible to have a rabbit alone and be happy.

However, do NOT house her with a guinea pig. They're diets are different and it is more complicated to work out then you think, not to mention a rabbit can easily harm a GP. Once, we wondered about having a guinea pig with a bunny because our one rabbit Frost seemed to like them through the cage so we put her in with Mimzy, who we thought was her favorite. It wasn't 2 minutes before poor Mimzy had a rip along the entire length of her ear from Frost.

Really, housing GP's and rabbits together is a bad idea. Have her spayed, get her a nice, nuetered boy, and got that route.


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 26, 2011)

Im not having her spayed as i plan on breeding with her so thats def out of the quesion


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## Pharfly (Jul 26, 2011)

If she is not getting spayed I would not get her a friend. Hormonal females can get quite nasty and if they get mad they can easily hurt another animal. 
If you breed her then spay her and look at getting her a rabbit friend.


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 26, 2011)

what i mean by breeding is she's going to be my main breeding famale, she loves other rabbits just the male i have now doesnt like her at all  oh well


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## TheJadeRabbit (Jul 27, 2011)

Tahlia.Evans wrote:


> what i mean by breeding is she's going to be my main breeding famale, she loves other rabbits just the male i have now doesnt like her at all  oh well



What type of rabbit is she? And how old is she?


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 27, 2011)

well i got told shes a netherland dwaf but a lot of other people think shes a holland lop, and at the moment shes only about 2 months so i still have a while to wait before i can breed with her, and i wont for a while anyway


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## MiniLopHop (Jul 27, 2011)

Do you not have her papers? I would discourage breeding just for breeding's sake, particularly if your rabbit is not pedigreed.


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## mistyjr (Jul 27, 2011)

*Pharfly wrote: *


> If she is not getting spayed I would not get her a friend. Hormonal females can get quite nasty and if they get mad they can easily hurt another animal.
> If you breed her then spay her and look at getting her a rabbit friend.


Yes, Females can get real nasty and mean, I have a few that get nasty when pregnant and after having babies, They try to bite me threw the cage, And when feeding better watch your hands, (Just because they ready to be bred or when they pregnant and having babies!


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## plasticbunny (Jul 27, 2011)

*Tahlia.Evans wrote: *


> well i got told shes a netherland dwaf but a lot of other people think shes a holland lop, and at the moment shes only about 2 months so i still have a while to wait before i can breed with her, and i wont for a while anyway



Breeding should NOT be done willy-nilly. If she is your avatar, she is clearly not a Netherland Dwarf, and if you can't tell what breed she is, you certainly don't know the breed standard. I strongly discourage you from breeding, especially if you are so undereducated - not to be rude, but I don't know how else to put it.

Many bad things can come from breeding - stillborn babies, babies that die within weeks, your rabbit could have trouble with the birth and could die during it, she could reject the whole litter especially if it's her first and the whole litter could die... etc etc etc. If she is a pet to you and you would be upset if something happend to her, she should not be bred.

In addition to this, there are genetic problems that can occur that you may not even know about, assuming your rabbit did not come from a responsible breeder. For example, if your rabbit has malocclusion (which you may need to take her to a vet after she's 6 months to know for sure), she should not be bred.

Breeding should be done responsibley. If you're interested in breeding, it would be wise to do your research, find a breed you're interested in, find a couple of unrelated does and a buck with papers from a responsible breeder, and get started that way. And that is only if you are prepared to go through some heartache and hard decisions. It can be a great hobby if you're prepared.But if you want to breed even just one litter because you'd like to have cute babies... well, that's not really a responsible reason to breed.

Having said all of that, if you decide to get her a friend, she should likely be spayed and I recommend bonding her to a neutered male. That is the easiest combination to bond. If you don't plan on having her spayed, she may still bond nicely to a neuterd male, assuming she is not an overly dominent female, but she'll still be at high risk of reproductive cancers by the age of 4. So really, it's wise to spay her no matter what you decide to do.


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## TheJadeRabbit (Jul 27, 2011)

plasticbunny wrote:


> Breeding should NOT be done willy-nilly.Â  If she is your avatar, she is clearly not a Netherland Dwarf, and if you can't tell what breed she is, you certainly don't know the breed standard.Â  I strongly discourage you from breeding, especially if you are so undereducated - not to be rude, but I don't know how else to put it.
> 
> Many bad things can come from breeding - stillborn babies, babies that die within weeks, your rabbit could have trouble with the birth and could die during it, she could reject the whole litter especially if it's her first and the whole litter could die... etc etc etc.Â  If she is a pet to you and you would be upset if something happend to her, she should not be bred.
> 
> ...




*^THIS^*
I wasn't sure how to put it into words, but *plasticbunny* did great on putting it into words.


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## plasticbunny (Jul 27, 2011)

Why thank you, Cassandra :biggrin2:


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 28, 2011)

Yes i know all that, but my mum will be helping me and shes has owned and bred rabbits for year and is also a vet nurse


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## TheJadeRabbit (Jul 28, 2011)

But you don't know what type of rabbit you have. What type of male would you breed to her?


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 28, 2011)

Just because i dont know what type of rabbit she is doesnt mean i a- cant find out and b- cant breed with her, and im not breeding with her for a long time yet so by then i will have found all that out, and found a nice male to breed her with


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## plasticbunny (Jul 28, 2011)

Then no, I wouldn't find her a friend, unless it's one that can live in a cage next to her. She would have to be repeatedly separated from this bunny every time she was pregnant/nursing, and separation from a bondmate can be stressful and traumatic for both rabbits.

Get her spayed when she's done breeding, and then get her a friend.


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## Pharfly (Jul 28, 2011)

Is your male neutered? If he isnt he should not have contact with your female at all. She is still a baby and an early pregnacy will do so much harm too her growing body. Rabbits do not go into "heats" like cats and dogs. As soon as a buck hops on she can get pregnate. Dwarf breeds can get pregnant as early as 14 weeks.

Where did you get her from? If she is from a breeder did they say she was a brood quality doe or pet quality?


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 28, 2011)

shes from a very good pet store and there having no contact at the moment


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## plasticbunny (Jul 28, 2011)

Unfortunately, pet store rabbits are usually the cast-offs of other breeders, so they're not really worthy of breeding. I actually work in a pet store, so I know the quality of animal they generally get. Even though your bunny is very cute, she may not unfortunately be of breeding quality.

You would be wise to pick up a fresh trio, as I recommended. That way you'll know just what you're getting, have papers to prove it, etc.


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## jcottonl02 (Jul 28, 2011)

I don't know much about breeding but my first bunny Benji (he is a rescue) initially came from a pet shop. He has had genetic teeth problems for about a year now, maybe longer. Every 2-3 weeks I take him for a teeth trim. I get discount. So it costs me at least Â£30 every month, not to mention the stress it causes him (luckily this appears to be minimal, otherwise I would have had to rethink the situation long ago. But if you have a bunny that is shy/scared of vets or doesn't like being handled then this would NOT be good). If this doesn't clear up I am going to have to have his incisors removed. As your Mum is a vet nurse I'm sure she'd understand not only the HIGH cost of this, but the risks involved and also the fact that they may even grow back. And of course the stress to a hugely loved pet.

And this is all down to his genetics, and him being bred from two rabbits who probably weren't breeding quality. This is so the vet says, not my speculation- that it is gene-related, not diet.

And say you can't find homes for any of these lil mutt bunnies which will be what they are as you have no papers....and it's entirely possible you won't....can you afford the money to keep them..especially if they have 'problems'?

Just stuff to think about.

Cute bunny btw 

Jen


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## mistyjr (Jul 28, 2011)

Recommending breeding age is around 6 months old. You dont want to breed over a year, 

So if she's already over 6 months old, You dont got much time until she's a year old. And I would find a good (trio) and breed them. Maybe you can get some buns from your mother, Since she raises them..


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 29, 2011)

I only guessed that she was about 6 months, but mum thinks shes only about 2 so still have a while yet.

Yes i know there can be problems passed down from mother and father to their litters but that is something that i would have to wait and see, and i have pleanty of money to be able to help the bun if something does go wrong.


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## Pharfly (Jul 29, 2011)

The sad part is most animals bred for petshops are mass bred, litter after litter until they die. This makes weaker and sicker animals. I strongly recomend that people do not breed animals they buy in petshops, you do not know anything about her back ground, she could be the results of very tight inbreeding and could possibly carry some genetic problem that could affect her or her litters. How heart broken would you be if her litters where all deformed or had severe issues, like bad teeth? It's not really worth it in the end. 
Baby bunnies are cute and all, but that doesnt mean every cute bunny should make more. 
What is your breeding goal? Do you plan to show? Breeding is a hobby, good breeders loose money and breed for the love of the breed. To improve their lines, to win shows etc.


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## Brittany85 (Jul 30, 2011)

I am a breeder and would never breed a rabbit that does not have a full 4 generation pedigree. Also they must be from a reputable breeder I know and trust. 
Obviously no matter what people say you are going to breed this rabbit. Your rabbit is not a 'breed' she is a mix as you do not have papers for her and she is a pet shop bunny. You will just be adding to the many mix breed bunnies out there. Also I can almost guarantee these babies will have some sort of issue. It sounds like you are young and don't want any advice so I really hope your bunny is okay and the babies find homes that will care for them.


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## Tahlia.Evans (Jul 30, 2011)

well im sorry but its my choice and she will be having tests before i breed with her, and as for being young but im not stupid like you just insinuated, and as for the whole shes not got papers so dont breed with her but im sorry thats bull, not all breeding rabbits have papers, how do you think the breeds started in the first place


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## Brittany85 (Jul 30, 2011)

Nope never said stupid. Just young and inexperienced as all young people are. I am young too, 21. Yes it is your choice and like I said good luck. This is a forum and I stated my opinion. Also of course all rabbits aren't bred with pedigrees, that is why there are so many unwanted rabbits out there. I said personally I only do this as I then know the history of my rabbit.
Sorry if you took my posy as an insult but you came here for advice and that was mine.


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## plasticbunny (Jul 30, 2011)

:yeahthat:


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