In the past I've had single rabbits who have always taken a liking to and found company from the cat who we had for many years. The rabbits I have had in pairs have always been bought in pairs or were mother and daughter.

I've had Minion for 4 months (I just had to double check that as it seems a lot longer!) and have no other pets. Recently he's started grooming my teddies so I was thinking of getting him a friend. I'm not sure how to bond rabbits though. In fact despite the amount of rabbits I have had in the past I didn't know you had to, for the reason above.

Minion is a male netherland dwarf cross lionhead. We intend to get him neutered soon, but would it be preferable to get a male or a female. He seemed to really like my Dad's female rabbits. My boyfriend on the other hand would like a guinea pig. Do you think it would suffice as a friend? The cat was fine for my rabbits in the past. (The only problem we had was my cat becoming over protective of the garden and launching a curious kitten into a bush for going near the rabbit ><)

This is a checklist I wrote for someone on another forum:

All rabbits involved need to have been neutered at least 8 weeks prior to starting any bonding.
Before bonding make sure you have the time to sit and watch them like a hawk as things can turn very quickly.
When you are ready you need a pen that is about 3ft x 2ft (depending on how many rabbits are involved) in a completely neutral area. (some people use the bath with a towel down).
When placing the rabbits in the pen you need to place the buck in before the doe, if you are bonding more than one doe you need to place the least dominant doe in first and work up in order of dominance.
Always use a water bowl as the spout of a water bottle can cause serious eye injuries if they knock it during the beginning stages.
No litter trays or food bowls as these can be something that encourages territorial behaviour.
Chasing, fur pulling and mounting is all normal bonding behaviour but if the chasing becomes too intense or they start circling it is best to distract them rather than letting it escalate.
Once they have been in the neutral area for a few hours without any scuffles you need to neutralise their enclosure (only if one of the rabbits has previously been in enclosure) with a mixture of Bleach, white wine vinegar and hot water (everything needs to be scrubbed) anything that can't be scrubbed needs to be thrown out. (Don't allow them access to their run until after the next stage)
Once they have been in their enclosure for 3/4 days without any issues you can allow them access to their run.
During this time I find it best to scatter feed.
In my experience increasing space too quickly is one of the main issues as it encourages territorial behaviour.
If at any stage they start chasing and fur pulling again take a step back as this is normally an indication that you are moving too fast for the bond.
Don't split them unless they have a full locked on fight or blood is drawn as constantly splitting and reintroducing causes a lot more stress and can make the bond take much, much longer to achieve.

If you do a search there are lots of other threads about bonding so you should be able to pick up some tips.

As for getting a guinea pig friend please don't go down this route as it is very dangerous, have a read here for the reasons not to Guinea Pigs & Rabbits - Rabbit Retreat Forum

Rabbits are extremely social animals so well done for deciding to get your rabbit a friend.

__________________

Thank you for the link, I never knew rabbits could be so detrimental to guinea pigs. I knew that if you have a large rabbit it could squash the guinea pig or stomp on it easily because guinea pigs have low laying heads, but I just figured with having a rabbit the size of a guinea pig it wouldn't be an issue.

The information on bonding was also very helpful. For the first few weeks of having Minion we only let him in the living room before introducing him to the rest of the house, we'll just have to do that again. He didn't appear aggressive to my Dad's rabbits when we spent 3 weeks there over Christmas, but then again he was in their territory rather than the opposite way around.

Thank you again

Hi, I have 3 groups of three and a group of 4, but made sure they were all nuetered first. In fact, in the past we had a bonded pair of French lops and one day they scented one of my un-neutered females and it caused them to fight!!
I always started them in a small pet carrier and would sit with the top open and stroking them while I watched tv. Each time I would cross my hands transferring the scent. When I could leave them with no scuffles I would use a larger carrier, then a small run before putting them in a large run. If they nipped outside I would squirt them with water and this would start them washing which is a social event and helps with the bonded and they then start washing each other!

Chicken Police? - YouTube

If all else fails I'll get some chickens

Why would someone record that, those rabbits could seriously hurt each other

__________________

I know, that's what I thought at first. I think it was coincidence the chickens broke it up, which I thought was quite cool. But when I first started watching it I couldn't understand why the owner was doing nothing. My dad's rabbits only have to grunt at each other and they get separated because we know that a second grunt leads to a bite. For a mother and daughter they have no tolerance for each other.