Giving your rabbits the company they need.

Picture wild rabbits in a field and a warren full of family members: it’s a big, sociable group. Our pet rabbits aren’t any different from their wild relatives and they need the company of other rabbits to be happy.

Rabbits kept on their own get lonely and stressed. This can lead to serious problems with their behaviour, such as aggression. As much as we love our bunnies, our company isn’t a replacement for having a rabbit friend – they have different needs and communicate in different ways.

The best friend for your rabbits

Our vets recommend keeping rabbits in pairs. For the happiest bunnies, we suggest keeping a neutered male with a neutered female. If you can home brother and sister together, that’s ideal as they’ll already know each other and will be less likely to fight, but they will still need to be neutered.

Don’t keep rabbits and guinea pigs together. Rabbits can bully and injure guinea pigs. They both need their own kind for company.

If you have an existing rabbit and would like to provide a companion, your local rabbit rescue may have lots of suitable candidates waiting for a new home.

If you’re keeping any male and female rabbits together, it’s really important to get them neutered. It’ll stop them from having babies and will protect them from serious illnesses. 

Read our vets’ advice about neutering your rabbit.

Introducing rabbits

The process of introducing rabbits to each other is called 'bonding'. Your new rabbits will need to be kept apart at first and given a chance to gradually get to know each other. Once they're happy and comfortable together - with no sign of fighting - they will be able to share a living space. 

Rabbits won't necessarily get on straight away so it is important to take things slowly. Properly bonding your rabbits can take as little as a day or it could take several weeks. Be patient with your bunnies as the get to know each other and take the bonding process one step at a time. 

Read our guide to bonding your bunnies