How fast does a rabbit get attached as a pair? [closed]

Question

How fast does a rabbit get attached as a pair? I’d like to separate but not lose a bunny due to loneliness. They have been together in two groups. One having two bunnies and one having three bunnies.

I got all five together. Some were siblings to each other. So I paired together two siblings. And of the remaining three two were siblings to each other. The third one favored one of these two siblings. So I paired the three together.

At first they were all five together. Then maybe a week went by and I separated them into the above said two groups. Then I wanted to maximize the kennel cages to give them more space and separated all of them except the one set of smaller bunnies.

Now I have them in four cages. Three cages having one each and the fourth cage having two.

They have been separated now for two days. I got these bunnies a month ago. And they had been paired for three weeks before I separated them.

Will they be okay, happy and not lonely now? Right before the cold, is this wrong to do as well? Or would they rather snuggle together to stay warm?

Answer 1

One fact first: rabbits want to life in a group. In this mind, a rabbit get very very fast attached as pair...

How the owners can comply with this, depends on their circumstances. This group could be some other rabbits, or the owner if he/she would fulfill the role as partner-rabbit.

There are a lot of facts, that would affect your constellation: Are the cages in the same room, are they side by side, so the rabbits have contact trough the grid? How long do they stay in the cages, only night, or all times?

If they were successfully paired (and breeding/no breeding is regulated) they should not be separated again (in my opinion).

Then I wanted to maximize the kennel cages to give them more space

It is a good idea to give them most place they could have. Rabbits can speed up to 60km/h (little more than 37 mph), so they are happy, if they have space to run.

This you could do likewise, if you connect the cages with each other, than separate them. For example with a big pipe/tube or simple if you put the cages with open doors face to face. There are a lot of possibilities, to build solutions yourself. (make a picture search for "rabbit home indoor diy" for examples).

If they only "sleep" in the cages it would not trouble them. But if they are all time alone, others not in sight (for example different rooms), they will (almost) not die, but life against their behavior. They feel not save (because no other rabbit look out if they rest), they may get "filthy" (because they have no help for personal hygiene) and they are bored (because there is no one to play or spend time with). And as you assume: yes, they have no one to snuggle with, if the temperatures fall.

For further information you can look at this questions:

• How much Space does a Rabbit need to live comfortably?
• Can bonded rabbits die of loneliness?

I wish you, to find the best solution for your circumstances. If you have more questions, you are welcome to ask them!