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Forum BONDING The Unfortunate younger smaller third wheel

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    • Chrystie
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         Sooooo…….There I was, picking up bedding from our locally owned organic pet store, when all of a sudden I found myself face to face with not one……not two…….not even 3…….BUT four (4) pens of the cutest little bunnies EVER!!!!This isn’t the first time I have been faced with this challenge and had thus far, NOT given into the temptation to add to my brother/sister combo pack that I currently have, although I really enjoy enjoy having bunnies. Moose and Nutmeg definitely have their challenges, but the process has been a positive one. So, when the most adorable blue tort holland lop, hopped over and stood on her (we thought at the time) hind legs and wanted my attention, “she” got my attention and ended up in my car. That was two weeks ago and I couldn’t be happier with (what we learned Monday) HIS very loving and social disposition. His name went from Minuet to Adaggio………Geo or Thuggy G for short.

        Adaggio is now roughly 9-10 weeks old and about half the size of Moose and Nutmeg.

        Moose and Nutmeg are siblings, bonded, spayed and neutered and 5 months old today. We adopted them from a local 4-H Holland Lop show. Moose is not the most social but once you catch him and pick him up, he’ll sit there until you put him down. He has never bit, lunged, growled nor shown any aggression towards anyone. Nutmeg definitely wears the pants in their relationship….she even periodically humps Moose’s face just in case he forgets his place. She is more friendly and social, but only on her own terms. She will NOT sit on your lap until you put her down, she’ll let you know when she is done. After she was spayed, she started showing aggression, biting me several times, growling, being territorial and lunging and biting at my children (all teenagers and up except one 12 year old). We have been making progress with this issue. They have a 3 story condo and are pretty spoiled. They get a lot of attention and love.

        Enter Adaggio…………It was like adding water to a package of Jerk powder………Instant Jerk. Moose and Nutmeg are NOT pleased at ALL. Adaggio has his own space, toys, food bowls etc……There is zero cross contamination of their personal spaces. I expected some resistance, misbehavior and even rebellion but not attempted murder.

        To say they hate Adaggio, is probably an understatement.

        I thought Moose was going to be fine with him, as he kinda was at first. Moose just sniffed him and around his condo and I even let the big kids go inside and sniff around Adaggio’s condo but I have kept Adaggio out of their personal space. Adaggio is totally fine with them. At first Moose was fine with sniffing Adaggio and hopping past him but if Adaggio sniffed him he didn’t like it. 

        From the get go, Nutmeg saw Adaggio as a usurper and needs no other provocation than the fact that Adaggio is sitting there, breathing……Maybe even cleaning himself…….10 feet away from her and her “space”……How dare he!!! and she goes after him intent to cause harm. She has gotten a hold of him a couple times now and there has been little bunny screams, biting and flying blue tort hair!!! He’s small and fast though!!! So, after the last incident, I stopped the play dates and let them out separately. At one point, Moose even figured out how to access Adaggio’s condo…….smart little devil…….and they attacked him but didn’t cause any damage other than frayed nerves and clumps of hair being pulled out.

        Nutmeg is now also biting and lunging at people when they pet Moose……….clearly violating her property rights……

        Currently, i am not attempting any more play dates, as I feel that it’s doing more harm than good since Adaggio is half their size and has started getting a little jumpy due to the attacks. I am thinking it’s wiser to wait until Nutmeg and Moose don’t have a size advantage and he can hold his own but am not sure.

        Adaggio seems lonely sometimes, but I don’t know if that’s me thinking he seems lonely or he actually is, so I am resisting the urge to get him a playmate the same age and size. That would probably make matters worse. But I also don’t want to miss out on the opportunity for him to have a bond with another bunny like himself. It seems that younger is easier in that department.

        In the meantime I am going to try the stunt double option.

        Does anyone have any further suggestions or thoughts that might be helpful or does my plan sound reasonable? Should I get him a mate now or would that complicate things too much?

         Thank!!

        Chrystie

         


      • Roberta
        Participant
        4355 posts Send Private Message

          Don’t give up hope. Keep them apart and let everybunny get used to the changes. Before trying again you will need to get Adaggio spayed then allow a month for the hormones to settle. In the interim get Adaggio a soft plushie toy to snuggle.


        • Chrystie
          Participant
          51 posts Send Private Message

            I am probably just worrying for nothing but I am concerned that poor little Adaggio gets lonely. Moose and Nutmeg have each other and groom each other and do all the things that bunnies do together so they never get lonely…..Adaggio just has himself…..I got him a stuffie but I am not sure that will be enough. I am thinking of getting him a companion the same age. I don’t want to miss the window of easy bonding while they are young. I am worried that while M & N might stop trying to kill him, they may never really bond to him and he’s going to always be a 3rd wheel.


          • LittlePuffyTail
            Moderator
            18092 posts Send Private Message

              That’s perfectly normal bunny behavior. He’s an intruder in their house and it’s normal for them to react to it. That’s one instinct from their wild relatives that is very much ingrained into them.

              I would get Adaggio neutered first. Just give him attention. He will be fine. And then when his hormones have settled you can work on starting the bonding process. In the meantime, I recommend doing as much reading on bonding multiple bunnies as you can.

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          Forum BONDING The Unfortunate younger smaller third wheel