Owning more than two rabbits can help your pets to cope with a loss, as long as you are still able to give all your pets the care and attention they need. If you need to take one of your rabbits to the vet, always take them together since bunnies seek comfort in each other when they are feeling stressed.Īs rabbits form powerful bonds, they can grieve if a companion passes away. They will groom each other and eat and sleep together. Once rabbits have bonded, they tend to remain companions. So, if your elderly rabbit loses a companion, it might be a good idea to look for a rescue rabbit rather than buy a young rabbit from a litter. Ideally, rabbits are best paired with companions of around the same age and size. Neutering can help to reduce aggression between rabbits in same-sex pairings, as well as prevent reproduction in opposite-sex pairings. Similarly, two male rabbits may live relatively harmoniously together for most of the time, but fight during the breeding season if they have not been castrated. Two female rabbits may be equally aggressive towards each other as a male and a female rabbit might not be. Alternatively, you could choose two rabbits who are from different litters, but are around the same age – between 8 and 10 weeks old. Just ensure you have them neutered as they will breed, despite being siblings. They are more likely to bond if they come from the same litter – but this is far from a given. Generally speaking, a male and a female make for the best pairing. The only area where you may notice a difference is the occasional cost of an extra vaccination. This is because they will share shelter, food, water and toys. Having said that, keeping a pair of rabbits is not necessarily more expensive, harder to accommodate, or more time-consuming than keeping a single rabbit. The more rabbits you have, the more they will cost, the more space they will need, and the more of your time you’ll need to dedicate to them. When deciding how many rabbits to keep, you’ll need to take your own personal circumstances into account. As a result, it’s not uncommon for rabbits who live alone to become bored, lonely and even subdued. They enjoy having other rabbits they can groom, eat with and play with. Rabbits who live in big groups, or in bonded pairs, are generally a lot happier than rabbits who are kept alone. Yet that doesn’t prevent issues arising if the rabbits don’t get on, or if one out of the pair should die. In the wild, they live together in big groups, so a domestic bunny who lives alone is being deprived of a fundamental need for companionship.įortunately, most rabbit owners are aware of this need and keep their bunnies in a pair or larger group. Like most ‘prey-species’, rabbits evolved as social animals who thrive in groups and rely on company.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |