Winter is the best time of year to bond, because hormones are less of a factor. Even neutered rabbits produce hormones, and most of these in spring and summer and that can make it a bit trickier.
Bonding is generally easier when rabbits have been sterilized. Wait 2-4 weeks after the surgery before attempting introductions. This allows for the rabbit to heal and for his/her hormones to balance. Males can stay fertile for up to six weeks after neutering and may still exhibit hormonal behavior during this time.
If you have a single rabbit, it's never too late for them to bond with another rabbit.
Prepare a neutral area separate from their enclosures
Have hiding places and toys ready to put in the area, but leave it empty for when you first introduce them. Once the rabbits are comfortable with the sight and smell of each other, they can be introduced for short periods in the neutral area.
Getting rabbits in the warmer months is ideal as they'll enjoy the milder climate and the chance to run around on a healthy green lawn. If it's forecast to be a particularly hot summer though, ensure they have access to a shaded area all day long as they can find it difficult to regulate their body temperatures.
Solunar Calendar: Because rabbits are easy prey for animals like owls, hawks, eagles, falcons, and wild dogs, they tend to be less active during times when the moon is more full providing light for predators to easily spot them. Time of Year: Rabbit season typically runs from early November to late February.
The female rabbit (doe) does not come into heat (oestrus) as do other animals. The doe will accept the male (buck) at any time of the year. Does are mature and can breed at 5 to 6 months of age and can continue to have young for 4 years.
Your rabbits will also need time to get to know each other. The whole bonding process can take as little as one day or up to several months – it all depends on your rabbits. Usually, it's a few weeks before your bunnies will be living happily together but it is well worth the wait.
Bonded rabbits will use the same litter box without fighting – make sure you have one big enough for both with space to move around. The litter box is like the sandbox in elementary school.
If you see that one or both bunnies are becoming distressed or are showing aggressive behaviors – stop. Go back a step and start again. Once a bond has been formed don't forget that they should never be separated for any length of time.
If your rabbit leaves behind a bonded mate, he, too, will grieve. Now more than ever, your surviving rabbit will need you to help him through his grief. Rabbit grief is very real. Just like people, rabbits grieve in their own way.
Bonded rabbits spend the majority of their days and nights together. They tend to visit the litter tray at the same time, eat together and groom together. A lot of time is spent simply snuggled up together sleeping.
On average, bonding two rabbits will take anywhere from two weeks to two months. However, you will very rarely find two rabbits who are able to get along right away. In other cases, the rabbits will take many months or even years to be bonded.
Basically, this method is bonding rabbits in a very small neutral space over a length of time and slowly increasing their space every 24 hours or every 2-3 days (depending on their progress), while still keeping them together until they are fully bonded.
Watch for aggressive behaviors: tail up, ears back, growling, boxing, circling, chasing and biting. If one of these behavior occurs several times in a row; if neither rabbit backs down; if it leads to further aggressive behaviors, it should be interrupted.
Petting side-by-side
If your rabbits are having trouble getting along, pet them together for 10-15 minutes at a time. It's also a good idea to end each bonding session with 5-10 minutes of head scratches and petting side-by-side to make sure you end on a positive note.
Rabbits hold grudges. For this reason, it is best to avoid allowing them to get in an all-out fight. You need to determine, however, whether their behavior is actually fighting or playing as some of the behaviors overlap. Rabbits will nip at each other to get the other's attention.
While female – male bonding tends to be easier, you can certainly bond two females or two males together. Next, each rabbit will require its own space with their own personal things.
Any combination of rabbits can live together, whether they are both males, both females, or female and male. Male with female coupling is the most natural because this is how they typically form in the wild.
Although trying to bond rabbits will inevitably be stressful to them, there are other factors that cause stress too and every rabbit owner should be aware of them.
Some people worry that if they are gone for a very long period of time, their rabbit will forget them. If you are only gone for a few months, like the way I went to college but came home after every semester, then in my experience it's unlikely that your rabbit will forget you.
Put the rabbits in nearby enclosures, where they can sniff each other through the wire. If your existing rabbit is free range, put the new rabbit in a small separated area so they can get used to each other's scent. You can swap around their litter trays and rub a cloth over each transferring scents.
Rabbits just LOVE company!
Most owners house a pair of rabbits, but keeping three or four are also popular options. Be sure that you have enough space to comfortably house all your rabbits, or else you'll have to purchase multiple runs to create enough space.
Caring for your pet rabbit
It is important that you understand all the requirements for caring for a rabbit before you buy one. Rabbits generally live for 5 to 8 years depending on their environment and breed, but they can live for as long as 12 years.
It is recommended however, that not more than one mating be performed per day for each male as usually, the second ejaculation often contains much more sperm. It is also important to observe a time delay of one day between two mating acts.