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Forum BONDING Is it possible to bond three males?

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    • Kittensmew
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        So, we currently have three males rabbits. One neutered, two not. The neutered one, our first, has a hutch outside that he lives in. The other two live together inside. We were told that when we bought the other two, they were both females. Turns out, they’re males. I’m unsure on any of their ages. The youngest is most likely only a few months old, though, because of his size. The other is bigger. Our vet told us with Oliver to wait until he was at least 5 pounds, if not more, to neuter him. So we waited a few more weeks and then got him neutered when he reached 5 pounds. Everything went great and it has been about a month now since he got neutered. We just found out about the other two today. We had made plans to get them spayed anyway when we thought they were females, though we were going to wait until we got enough money. Now, we kind of need to get the older rabbit neutered asap, though. We don’t want him to start fighting with the younger one and end up killing him. The last time I weighed the older one, he was four pounds, but that was probably three to four weeks ago. So I’m willing to bet he weighs enough to get neutered. Since the two newest have been living together the past month, they’re pretty much bonded. They don’t ever cause trouble with each other, and, in fact, the older one acts like the younger one’s father. But the real trouble comes to bonding each of them with Oliver. We hope to eventually bond them all and move them all outside in the hutch. My step dad wants us to just look for a new home for at least one of them. I don’t want to rehome any of them unless it’s absolutely necessary. As of right now, it isn’t.  Now I know that they’ll all have to be neutered before we even think about bonding them, but my question is, is it even possible to bond three males together? This is our first time owning rabbits, so we don’t know a whole lot about bonding them. We hope to get the older, not neutered male neutered asap.


      • Mikey
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          Ive got a male trio! Theyre the best of buddies. Eat together, sleep together, play together, and cuddle together

          Bonding really depends on each rabbits personality rather than their sex/breed. Start bonding as you normally would: alternate some items (toys, blankets, food bowls, water bowls, ect) so they all get used to one anothers smell. After a few days/weeks of that, introduce them in the same room, but maybe not yet next to one another. You pet one or two, and let your stepdad pet the remaining one(s). Keep all bunnies within sight. After a few minutes, remove them to their own cages. Do this for a few days/weeks, then move onto neutral room face to face introductions. Make sure everyone gets pets and is as comfortable as possible. Once in a while, you can throw in some stress bonding (i used a box and shook it whenever they started to scuffle) which will force them to see one another as a team against the scariness rather than each bun vs the others

          Getting them to share a previously owned cage is going to be the hardest. First, make sure its big enough for all three bunnies. They have enough room to sprawl, run, and jump at the same time, and still have space between them (for example, my three are all under 4lbs and have a cage thats about 20 square feet; they also have free roam of the living room while im awake). If this isnt possible, youll need to upgrade the cage first. Upgrading the cage and getting them to bond in that is much easier than bonding them in a previously owned cage anyway. If your current cage is the suitable, you can try the cage swap tactic first. Every other day move the bunnies to the other cages. So Bunny1 stays in cage1 for day1, then day2 Bunny1 goes to cage2 while Bunnies2&3 go to cage1. Repeat. Since one cage is inside and one is outside, this might cause them a lot of stress, though. Basically, though, to get them bonded in the cage together, youll start the same process of few minutes of pets > remove. Youll do this until they dont show any aggression towards one another and you feel comfortable leaving them over night together alone


        • Kittensmew
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            Thank you! I’m glad to hear of someone who does have three males together. We’ll hopefully be calling the vet tomorrow to set up an appointment for Domino to get neutered.


          • Mikey
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              Yep, they are my three loving little boys! Good luck with the neuter and with the bonding


            • Kittensmew
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                It’s getting close to the time where I bond them. Should I put them all in a group or try bonding just two at a time?


              • Mikey
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                  Two at a time is easier because if there is a fight, its just a simple separation, but using adding groups together is easier because they can, in a sense, choose who they like. But for the initial fast (2 to 5 minute) meetings, i would do one on one, then when you move to longer sessions i would add all three together. Make sure to have items on hand that will help you separate them if something happens. I know a lot of people use dust pans as a quick block during a scuffle


                • Kittensmew
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                    Alright. Put them in a neutral area, right? I can start with Domino and Oliver once Domino has had a bit more time to heal. Them I can add Pip in. I’m worried that Domino might get protective over Pip and attack Oliver. Pip is a baby and is bonded to Domino. Domino protects him from everything, even if it’s not a threat.


                  • Mikey
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                      Yep, always start neutral so there are no initial territory fights. My Blue protects everyone from everything, so i understand that. Just show him the other bun is not a threat by petting everyone often


                    • Kittensmew
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                        Alright. I think that’s all of my questions for now. I’ll keep you updated on when I start bonding and how it goes. I just want to thank you. You’ve been so helpful. ^.^


                      • Mikey
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                          Thank you for the updates; i am excited to read them! :3 Im glad im able to help you and your trio out


                        • Kittensmew
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                            Alright. I just brought Domino and Oliver into my room. Oliver has only been in here once and I quickly shooed him out when he was in here. So it’s a neutral area. I put the two play pens we have side by side so they could see each other and go up and sniff each other. At first they kind of sniffed each other and then seemed to ignore each other. Domino was trying to figure out how to get over to Oliver. I wasn’t sure if he was trying to do so to fight or to try and make friends. Then Oliver went up to where it separated the two. Domino went up shortly after him. Oliver would stick his little mouth and nose through as much as possible (which isn’t very far because the bars are very small) and would try and nip at Domino. I’m not sure if I should let them work it out on their own or use a spray bottle when Oliver tries to nip? After that I put them back into their own cages for the night.


                          • Mikey
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                              With my trio, if one tried to nip but failed at doing so, i would just say “no”, but let them continue on like normal afterwards. I would only use the spray bottle if he actually ends up nipping or getting very close to (like nipping the tips of your other bunnys fur)

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                          Forum BONDING Is it possible to bond three males?