Despite the title, this is not a Fifty Shades of Grey blog post!

Owners will know that despite rabbits being sociable animals, introducing them to each other (bonding) needs to be done carefully. If bonding goes wrong you can end up with injured and stressed rabbits rather the loving pair or group you’d hoped for.

Bonding is therefore often attempted with great trepidation from owners, me included. However, being fully prepared before you introduce rabbits helps a great deal. As does knowing the ‘personality’ of the bunnies involved.

Never attempt to introduce rabbits unless:

a)      Both rabbits are neutered, no matter what sex they are

b)      You introduce the rabbits on neutral territory (where neither rabbit has been before)

I’ve just bonded Hazel and my new rabbit Dobby (he’s gorgeous!). Hazel lost her partner George about 6 weeks ago and I gave her this time to come to terms with his loss. She’s a very timid rabbit and I was fairly confident that she would not ‘fight’ Dobby and things would be fairly easy. I was right. Dobby mounted Hazel a few times during the first five minutes (this is totally normal but you should intervene if the male tries to mount the wrong way around as his genitals can get bitten) and she was so scared she just froze. She nipped him a couple of times but soon learnt that if she hopped away he wouldn’t chase her. They’re both very greedy rabbits so lots of tasty food was put into the bonding pen with them and they quite quickly started eating together. This progressed to lying near each other, then lying next to each other and grooming.

All in all, it has been the easiest and least stressful bond I’ve ever done! However, it will take several months to fully be sure they are happy. In the meantime I’ve washed down Hazel’s shed and run with a 50:50 water and white vinegar solution to neutralise any smells and once it’s dry they will go to their permanent home (about 5 days after starting the bond).

Hazel (brown) and Dobby (white)