Bonding bunnies, going well or bad?

[Katy]

I have a spayed female of four years, she’s been on her own since she left the litter at 8 weeks old.

I rescued Dini, a mini lop x netherland dwarf, a couple of weeks ago and decided she needed companion. Long story short ive come in to two 8 week old male mini rex’s and decided to see how dini is with them.

As the two boys are litter mates they are already bonded, and with them being very young they have no issue with Dini and actually long for her proximity. It’s just the other way round.

I wasn’t expecting it to be perfect first time as dini had not been with another rabbit for over 4 years. The initial introduction found Dini nipping the two boys on the head (no wounds were made). I then panicked and took dini away from the two boys. A couple of hours later I introduced them again but with dini on my knee stroking and the two boys hopping about. There was no nipping this time (could be due to the stroking). For the next day I just allowed them to meet through mesh, to which both parties didnt seem particularly bothered. The day after that I put them in a large run together and it was alot better. Dini seemed to ignore them generally, unless they became too close or in her way to which she nipped to get them out the way. I decided to leave them In the run as even though there was nipping it wasnt too bad and the boys were very submissive, even though didnt seem too shook up by the ordeal.

Ive been doing this every day, for the past three days, whilst having them in joining runs whilst im out so they can scent eachother before I introducing them again. Today had them in the run together again and the nipping seemed to lessen, although still there. I read up on the “car ride” method (having them in a box together in a car journey) and found that an equivalent can be a hoover or something. I hoovered next to the run they were in and it worked well, all bunnies huddled together at the sound of the hoover. After that the nipping stopped for a good half an hour until she started doing it again.

The boys don’t seem too bothered by the nipping, they keep pushing their luck and trying to snuggle as far as Dini allows (which is allowed to a certain degree lol). However, she still doesn’t seem very happy with them. Im looking for suggestions to help the bonding, or if anyone has had any similar situations. I do realise not all bondings work, and I have the space to deal with that if needed. It would be a shame if Dini was on her own though.

Do you think I should stop ALL nipping? Could it be seen as a dominant thing? She doesn’t actively attack them. The boys are desperate for her affection. They try to sit with her and close to her as much as possible. Dini doesn’t ALWAYS nip, just if they push their luck.

Disclaimer: – the boys will be neutered as soon as the testicles descend.

– dini is happy to eat with them nearby (she’s even shared a carrot)

– I wouldn’t let them be together if I thought she was a real risk to the boys

– all introductions are done on neutral grounds. With the boys being in the run first

– Dini is slightly blind

P.s I’m not interested in “you shouldnt have got two boys” as unfortunately a friend needed a home for them desperately and I said I would take them on. No harm in trying right?

[tobyluv]

You unfortunately will not be able to properly bond all of your rabbits until after the two new bunnies have been neutered and a few weeks has passed for all of their hormones to be flushed out of their bodies. At 8 weeks old, they are still bonded with each other, but in another few weeks, you will have to separate the two. When they start maturing, at around 12 weeks (or sooner) they will be ruled by their hormones and may very well start getting aggressive with each other. Rabbits can severely injure each other when they fight.

For the next 2 or 3 weeks, you can keep the males together, then they should be separated. I would hold off on all bonding until after the surgeries and recuperation time. The three can all be kept in the same room until bonding can be started in earnest.

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