We adopted Parsley, the rabbit
We have a second rabbit, and it’s trying Bun’s patience
I had always dreamed of Bun loving a rabbit pal. My dream was selfish in part because of the pressure I put on myself to be Bun’s best friend. I wanted to offload that responsibility to another rabbit. Since rabbits are social animals, what could be more natural than welcoming a second bun?
Well. And LOL.
Introducing rabbits is fraught with peril, as we are experiencing. Because of their territorial nature, it is rare that two rabbits will instantly bond. Bun is living this rule. Her first “greeting” was to lunge at Parsley. Fortunately, Parsley was behind a gate. After that, we kept them in separate areas, but tested swapping them in and out of each other’s area. Lots of marking ensued. Plus, Bun was hyper vigilant, pacing in her pen any time Parsley moved in hers.
Good news is that Parsley is a calmer house rabbit than Bun. She’s content to hang out in one spot in our living room, occasionally hopping up on the bookshelf or into the hallway. Most important: she doesn’t chew everything like Bun does.
For now, we’ll continue to keep them separated and also test their willingness to be friends with supervised visits. It can take weeks for rabbits to bond. Sometimes they never do. If that’s the case, we might have an indoor rabbit and a porch rabbit!
We acquired Parsley because her previous owner developed allergies to her dander.
Ohhh Parsley is so cute.
Our daughter in Oregon had two rabbits. They lived in the same large hutch for years but they would still get into fights. Good luck with the two you have!