Companion for Free Range Rabbit

[Laci7210]

Hi, I have a male rabbit that lived in a little cage for the first 4 years of his life with 1 other male rabbit. The other rabbit died, and I moved the only male into the large hen house with a run. Theres about 20 hens in there. He has a place where he goes out everyday and runs around, plays with a very friendly cat and a chihuahua, and eats whatever he wants. He sleeps in there every night and stays in the morning to eat his breakfast. I want to get him a friend, but I'm afraid he would be territorial with another male, and was wondering if he could free range with a female or 2? Any help is appreciated!

 

[sourland]

He could free range with a female or two if you want periodic litters. It sounds as if he has plenty of companionship with the chickens, cat and chihuahua . Why mess with something that seems to be working quite well?

 

[Laci7210]

Thanks for your help. The reason I want to get him a companion is because although he has all kinds of company, none of them stay with him. He does act lonely sometimes and with all the space i can give them, i thought i could give another rabbit a nice life out of cages.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Rabbits are social creatures in the wild in that they are forced to live close to each other in large colonies. Their social time is not really friendly time though. It's usually more aggressive than anything, other than quick mating with other rabbits.

Therefore, most pet rabbits are perfectly happy living alone. Their social structure is very complicated and it is never a guarantee that two rabbits will get along. Putting a male with unswayed females just means you'll have hundreds of rabbits in a short period of time.

 

[Bunnylady]

I'm curious about how a rabbit acts lonely? Is he not eating? Does he pace his enclosure, seemingly desperate to get out? Rabbits generally don't yell unless they are actually in pain, so that one's out; there are only so many ways an animal can express distress.

If you are just trying to find a reason to get another rabbit or two, you have to be prepared for the fact that rabbits can be very nasty about what they consider their space. Does can be very territorial; one might become a companion to him, or she might attack him if he gets within 20 feet of anything she considers hers.