friend for older male bunny?

[RoAnneM]

A few months ago I adopted a male rabbit. He was my friend's rabbit and she no longer wanted him. He's about 4 years old and he's not neutered. He's very sweet and loves to be petted. I work full-time and I'm afraid he's lonely so I've been thinking of adopting another rabbit to be his friend. But I'm worried about having him neutered at his age. Or is he old enough so that if I got a spayed female his hormones wouldn't . . . act up?

[RoAnneM]

Just read somewhere that said rabbits form a very deep bond for life and when one of them dies the other can go into a depression. Makes me think twice about getting another rabbit (especially a younger one). When my boy dies, I don't want the other one to be sad! But is my boy lonely? He's never had anyone else, maybe he doesn't know what he's missing and I should just leave well enough alone.

[crazywiggy]

I personally recommend getting him a friend. Rabbits are a social species, and really need the company of their own kind. It is pretty rare to find a rabbit that really prefers to be alone.
I would say that human company doesn't actually make up the company of another rabbit - but even so, as you work full time a second bunny is even more important because otherwise he is completely alone.

4 isn't particularly elderly for a rabbit, so neutering is still a fairly safe option, and I personally would recommend it.

As for a second rabbits, I would suggest getting him neutered first, then adopting a spayed female. Male and female does tend to be the best pairing for rabbits. Male rabbits are usually obsessive about humping (even toys, people's legs, my dog!) so I doubt it would matter much if the female was spayed, he would almost certainly try to mount her anyway unless neutered himself.

[Sopher7132]

I'm looking into getting a bunny friend for my little guy. Mine is neutered but he's territorial sometimes. He hates guinea pigs but was great around my sisters cat and my parents dogs. I guess my biggest fear is that he won't accept a bunny friend. I also read somewhere that males bond better with females than they do males, is that true?

[Silverbeat]

Originally Posted by RoAnneM

Just read somewhere that said rabbits form a very deep bond for life and when one of them dies the other can go into a depression. Makes me think twice about getting another rabbit (especially a younger one). When my boy dies, I don't want the other one to be sad! But is my boy lonely? He's never had anyone else, maybe he doesn't know what he's missing and I should just leave well enough alone.

You're only looking at the bad part--when the partner dies. Rabbits are social animals. Not as social as guinea pigs, mind you, but they benefit from same-species companionship. I've had a single bunny and they are practically a different animal when they have a bunny friend/friends.
A book you may want to read is Stories Rabbits Tell by Marinell Harriman and Susan E. Davis. It explains basically everything there is to know about a rabbit's social life.
As far as depression goes, yes bunnies can get depressed, but rarely do they die from it. It is unkind to deny your bunny the ability to feel the emotions that he can only feel with a bunny companion. You can't groom him or flop next to him or talk to him. You aren't with him all the time. You are also WAY bigger than he is! You're intimidating--you're a potential predator.
Especially since you are away a lot, your bunny would benefit from having a partner. 4 years is not very old for a bunny [they can live to be 10-15+ years], neutering is perfectly safe.


Sophe7132r: Males bond with males almost as easily as females; domestic male rabbits are much more lax than their wild counterparts. Female/female bonds are the most difficult to achieve, as they are especially territorial and.. mean to each other.

[Jennicat]

I would disagree with the notion that rabbits are "not as social" as guinea pigs. In my experience, they bond much more strongly than guinea pigs do, and spend a lot more time engaged in social behaviors like allogrooming. That's not to dimish the social needs of either animal, but rabbits tend to bond more tightly in my experience.

We've had similar experiences with Sophe, unfortunately. Male/male seems to be the most difficult pairing, we've got tons of female/female pairs, and male/female pairs.

[Silverbeat]

Rabbits and guinea pigs have different social structures. Herd animals, like guinea pigs, don't form individual bonds, but they need a herd to feel secure and to be mentally sound [sheep will literally go insane if kept singly or in pairs]; whereas rabbits, who live in complicated social hierarchies, crave more of a one-on-one companionship than anything else.