Bonding a trio – help needed

[Ree]

Hi All,

I am in need of some help from the Binky Bunny community. You have all helped me so much in the past I am in the middle of bonding a trio, My already bonded duo Pickles (male neutered) and Parker (Female neutered) with my new rescue bunny Poppy.  I have had Poppy roughly a month now and we are no closer to bonding. Any bonding dates we have had so far have been a disaster due to Parker and Poppy (the two females) hating each other! It seems that Parker HATES Poppy and it is normally her that instigates any fighting. Although we did have a big fight which resulted in a trip to the vets for Parker after she had a nasty fight wound from Poppy after Poppy finally retaliated. Luckily she is fine now and it has not affected Parker’s bond with Pickles.

Pickles and Poppy seem to get along fine, but I’m really struggling with the two females. I am currently keeping Poppy separate from Pickles and Parker but I have put their pens next to each other so they can see each other. We’ve had a few nips from Parker but they do seem to be tolerating each other a bit more. Really I’m just after advice from anyone else who has experience bonding trios? Should I give up? Or should I keep trying? I really don’t want to risk another big fight and any other injuries as I do care for these bunnies very much and the last thing I want to see is any of them get hurt. Any advice would be hugely appreciated.

P.s I have tried taking them for long car journies (twice) but fights still occurred afterwards All bonding has taken place on neutral territory)

[JackRabbit]

I’m in the same boat, but decided to take a break from bonding and haven’t had time to dedicate to trying again. We’re also toying with the idea of adding a bunny and going for two bonded pairs and then possibly trying to bond all four.

Moshi is fine with both girls, and his bond with Marlee didn’t change. Marlee and Kieko did fine together without Moshi present (Marlee would consistently groom Kieko), but they did not get along when all three were together. We did get to the point after a couple months of all three being able to awkwardly lay down together on a small towel (the only spot that wasn’t slick floor) , but Kieko tried to hump Marlee’s face and all hell broke loose. We didn’t have any major injuries, just lots of flying fur, but it was obvious that Marlee meant business!

I’m anxious to see what you do and how it goes and wish you tons of luck. I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but another BBer (Tanlover14) has a bonding website http://www.wheekwheekthump.com (I think she has 8 bunnies now) and another BBer (Retrosquid) is currently taking a slow less-stress approach to bonding his pair with his single bun —
https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/136307/Default.aspx

Keep us posted!

[Ree]

Thanks JackRabbit Thanks for taking the time to respond and I will check out those references

I’ve found out today I am moving to a bigger flat at the end of the month so hopefully the move to new territory will calm Parker down a bit. But I will wait until they are all settled into the new area before making another bonding attempt. I will keep you updated and let you know if we make any progress

Ree

[NuggetBuns]

We just adopted a third bun too and I’m worried about our 2 females not getting along as well. I can’t give any advice (yet), but I think moving to a new place might be the solution to a successful trio bonding =) Keep us updated on your progress, take a break but don’t give up on the bonding!

[Ree]

Hi All,

Well it’s three months on, we’ve moved into the new flat, the bunnies are still living alongside each other, and Parker’s (female part of bonded pair) aggression towards Poppy (single female) is still just as bad as it was before, Maybe even worse

I haven’t tried bonding them again yet, but I’m thinking I will probably try to bond just the females at the moment, see if taking Pickles (the male) out of the equation for a little while will work :/ To be honest I’m terrified of putting them together in case one of them gets hurt again. I really don’t know what to do

[Ree]

Hi,

Still having no luck. The one female despises the other. Is there anyone who has had experience with bonding a trio that can help? I’m worried I might have to give up

Thanks

[Maddie Rae]

Hi Ree, I’ve never bonded a trio and am only in the middle of my first bonding of two bunnies right now. But what helped rid of the aggression and tension between the two (and so in your case maybe what you could do with the two girls) is I first had just a few sessions of having them lay side by side while i stroked them, maybe for 10-15 minutes. I’m not sure if this step would help too much in your situation since the girls have known each other for a considerable amount of time by now, but if you’ve taken a long enough break from bonding maybe it couldn’t hurt.

After doing this for a while and, whereas it was less, still experiencing aggression, we started having stress sessions. Things like having them in a tub of very low water, (only just at their paws/ankles) and letting them splash around a bit. Or you could try putting them in a bin on top of the washer/dryer, or putting them in a bin and taking them for a car ride. If they truly are very aggressive you would want to have some kind of tool for separating them during this sessions just incase a fight STILL broke out.

I hope that might help in some way. I also kinda feel like giving up in my bonding process at times, but at the littlest signs of progress I get inspired all over again!

[Author]

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