Introducing two bunnies can be tricky. They are naturally territorial and will need to be introduced in the right conditions to give it the best chance of working out. There’s a lot of information online about bonding rabbits so find out as much as you can, but our main points of advice would be:
1. Introduce them somewhere neutral. It should be a place where neither of them have been before, so none of their smells or familiar toys/things are around. This will prevent either of them from feeling the need to ‘defend’ their territory. We actually had a whole spare bedroom for when our rabbits met.
2. Start in a small space, like a carry case or small hutch. The idea is that they will be close to each other all the time so that their scents will rub off on each other and become familiar, and there will not be enough space for them to fight. If you put in plenty of hay for them too it will be a nice distraction.
3. If it seems to be working, and the rabbits are not fighting, you can gradually increase the space. We used an adjustable playpen around an indoor hutch and increased their play area over a week or two once we saw that they were relaxed.
4. Signs of it working will be the two rabbits lying side by side or grooming each other. Grooming is a good sign.
Our rabbits were initially bonded by the rabbit rescue centre where we adopted Buddy. We took Biscuit over and they were put in a small indoor hutch together and monitored for about 48 hours before we brought them both home. We kept them close in another neutral hutch at home until we could see that they were getting comfortable with each other. It wasn’t an instant bond either, rabbits probably won’t bond immediately but it’s important to give it the best chance of working. We think it took a couple of weeks for Biscuit and Buddy to really become friends, but it can take others much longer. It’s likely that at least one will try to assert themselves over the other. The rabbit shelter recommended that we use a small water spray bottle to ‘correct’ any naughty behaviour by giving the naughty bun a quick spray, as it makes the bunny stop and immediately want to wash themselves. I’ve seen others (online) try bonding rabbits in bathtubs (very neutral and enclosed). Often it can depend on their personalities and maybe even a bit of luck!
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