I have a bonded trio (2 Female 1 Male).  When I first introduced Deanna to the existing pair, I made the mistake of trying to bond all three at once.  Our male, DJ, went nuts with two girls at the same time, and started chasing everyone.  I tried again, this time introducing the new bun to each of the pair separately at first.  This worked much better.  Another thing I did once I knew that they would not fight, was to set up a large play area in a neutral space that the pair had not been in before.  I allowed all three to play together in neutral space, giving them meals there too so that they got used to each other.

Osprey, thanks for sharing your very helpful first hand advice 🙂  i think a lot of people have better success  working with them as pairs seperately from the trio. Buns have a pecking order and can sometimes be very posessive of their partner. I think that’s part of the reason the small pair bonding can be so helpful.

One important thing, as Osprey mentioned , is finding a neutral zone to work with them. It might mean having to bond them somewhere outside your home if you used the bathroom to bond your two girls.

I think one of the most helpful things is to be consistant and patient.  It really depends on the bunnies how long it takes for them to bond. You’ll want to keep up the car rides and sessions with them.  I also think sharing meals is a great way to bond and will also try things like swapping houses and litterboxes too.

Bonding a trio can work by introducing as a trio, but many times, like in Osprey’s case, it can work better when they are first paired up. I have seen both methods work, it really depends on the dynamics of your group.  

One thing to note though is if you do divide the bonded pair up to meet the new bunny, be sure that the bonded bunny in waiting doesn’t become aggressive with the returning mate.  The scent of the new bunny will be on the returning bunny and that can sometimes cause problems.    My suggestion is to rub the bonded"waiting" bunny with your hands, and then rub the bonded "returning" mate with your hands so the "waiting"bunny’s scent is mixed in.    If aggression still seems to happen, then it might be a good idea to put the bonded pair together in a nuetral space for a few minutes – give them treats, pet them, and make them feel comfortable around each other just by letting them be a pair again before returning them to their territory.

A good website that discusses multi-rabbit bonding is http://www.mybunnies.com/bonding.htm

Keep us updated one what ends up working for your trio.

I think that bonding the two boys would be the toughest part – so I would start there if I were you, and work on those two first. I would also think that doing Cinnamon with Digger, and then Floppy with Digger each day would also help a lot – that way all the scents are getting even more mixed together. One thing I’d also recommend is do NOT let them run free in a big space until they are totally bonded. I made that mistake and ended up with pee spray all over and two bunnies in a spiral under a chair where I couldn’t get to them!

Unfortunately, I don’t have much experience with boy/boy pairs, the vast majority of the pairs that I have worked with were boy/girl.  I did work with one boy/boy pair that worked well, almost love at first sight.  Both of these males were the submissive type, and they got along right away.  My boy DJ hates other males, he would be very hard to convince to tolerate another male, so alot of it depends upon the personality of the buns involved.

As for the trio, there are so many variables involved, having the third bunny there changes the dynamic and they may behave differently, so if I were doing the bond, I would try the boys first, make sure they don’t fight, then try the new boy with the girl.  I’d keep the initial meetings short, so no one gets too scared or tired.  Be prepared to take it slow and steady, and see how it goes.

I may be seeing some very experienced bunny people tomorrow, if I see them I’ll ask for other opinions.

YEAH, no fights. That’s the biggest thing. A quick exploration without pushing it too much seemed to make for a good start!

I think you are doing wonderful! You are extremely smart to go slow, especially with the males. The fact they are humping each other means they both want to be dominant, but one of them will have to back down and accept a passive role, or at least a less dominant role for it to work.

So I have a couple of suggestions regarding mounting:

1. Pet the one that is being mounted to comfort him.

2. Allow mounting for 20 seconds at a time (unless the one being mounted is getting agitated and angry)

3. Give a two minute break between mountings. IF the break seems to make them more anxious as they are eager to prove their dominance, then cut the break down to one minute.

4. Stay calm yourself (sounds like you are) but just in case, as bonding can be very stressful. So for example, if one bunny nips the other’s backside, or it’s time to stop the humping, just push the other away gently and stay calm and keep your voice at a even keel even during times of stress.  (I bring in a radio and play calming music to keep myself calm)

Well congrats on your first day. I have feeling the boys may get a bit more aggressive with each other , but since you are going slow, they hopefully will get their hierarchy issues worked out without it getting nasty.

Sounds like you started off well!  Let us know how it goes.

CUTE!. And I am glad to hear this is not causing problems with Floppy and Cinnamon! Regarding the biting. Is he just biting when he mounts? That is normal. That’s also normal for males to do that to females during mating. It just seems to go hand in hand with some bunnies. Usually that kind of biting is not vicious, but lighter – still irritates the one that is being mounted. My suggestion is to wear gloves and while you are comforting and petting the Cinnamon, slowly put your hands over where Digger is biting. If Digger bites your THICK gloves, than that’s okay, as long has he is not hurting you and just getting his anxiousness out.

Now if he ends up getting vicious and it’s clearly intent to hurt and do harm, then that’s another story, and other techniques would be needed.

It sounds like Cinnamon has given Digger a boundry.   He could also be trying to fight back for dominance. Time will tell whether he just wanted to draw the line of how passive he is going to be, or if he plans on making an attempt to become the dominant bunny.  How did Digger react Cinnamons rebellion?

Once you feel Cinnamon and Digger have gotten all their kinks out and they both have accepted their roles, then I think it would be a good idea to bring in Floppy.  You may find that once you bring her into the mix, humping may begin again to reestablish roles as a trio, but at least some precedence was made before she came in.

Hi!  I have been reading your posts because i am in a similar situation.  i have a bonded pair and one that is not bonded.  i have seen aggression from all three at one point and have been to the vet with almost all of them.

i guess i get worried because my bunnies do what you mentioned…. one charges at the another and i separate them before they bite or hurt each other but i never know if i should just let it happen and see what goes on (like if they don’t bite or 1submisses)

they have been used to each others scents for a long time now but i am just so scared of fighting.  i am going to try the step by step instructions they have on this site.

any thoughts what to do with the aggressions?

Thanks!

Gina

p.s. has anyone ever heard on rubbing garlic or onion on their butts and anal glands??????

Gina – I have never heard of rubbing garlic or onion there….what is the purpose supposed to be?  Also, garlic and onion is noted to be toxic (though I do know garlic is given at very low doses is used for medically on rabbits) but I do not  know about a regular onion – meaning I don’t know if even small amounts can cause problems.

I have heard of rubbing a little banana on their heads to encourage grooming though.

As far as how far you should let things go – It’s okay for humping, a little chasing and nipping, but when you start to see true aggression (ears back , tail up, growling) then you want to slow it down a bit. Once a nasty fight happens, it can really be difficult to get things back on track. Allowing them to establish dominance through humping and chasing is okay, but you still have to prevent even that from escalating so that they don’t go into what we call here "the death spiral" which is when they basically kick the poop out of each other! There is a line where you should and shouldn’t interrupt. I think you do have to let them work out their issues but if you see true aggression coming out more often, then you may need to try stress methods – like car rides.

luvmybuns – it sounds like Cinnamon is giving Digger a "warning". The good thing about these two so far is that they don’t seem like they are eager to fight, but they are definitely giving each other signs that either one of them want to play the less dominant role, so they are still figuring out who is going to give in.

I think that what you are doing is best. You are going very slow, and I think it’s a good idea to put their cages together at this point. Hopefully that will help. You may find some aggression between borders. If you start seeing that, you may have to be extra careful when you put them together again.

In the end I think your patience will pay off.  On average it takes rabbits 3 weeks to bond, but you have two males and I wouldn’t be surprised if this took a couple of months.

i have heard the garlic thing before and its in one of the rabbit books i have.  the idea is that you rub it all over and it covers up THEIR scent, so they probably won’t fight because they smell the same.  its sounds crazy and i dont think i could deal with my bunnies smelling like garlic for weeks!  LOL

Gina

unfortunately yes, we have had some bad fights.  i have been RIGHT there but they roll around and i would literally have to GRAB one and toss it lightly  far away from the other one.  i tried to just separate them but they would start again right away or bite me.

i took elvira to the vet once because she had a bite wound and i was afraid that her eye was injured.  another time i wasn’t home but flops and obbie got into big fight and flops ripped obbie’s lip.  i wasnt home so jay rushed the little guy to the vet to have him stitched (well they used glue).

i am hoping that if i try to rebond them it might be a little easier now.  they have been in cages right next to each other for almost a year.

we’ll see!
Gina

Hello – Sorry about not responding to this one for awhile – I was in the middle of a move and had to get caught up!

Gina – I’d recommend going verry slowly with the bonding and using the techniques recommended on this forum, especially since there has been some fights. The fighting usually makes the bonding tougher because now the bunny’s will be anxious and scared around the other bunny that “attacked” them – so two key points you want to remember are to introduce them in COMPLETELY neutral territory. Meaning somewhere that none of them have ever ever been (its a good idea to go to a different house if you can, because the car ride will make them a little more unsettled, and if they are in a new place they won’t be so territorial). Also, don’t forget to wear gloves, and as soon as you see bunnies starting to go into a “spiral” immediately separate them. Also, make sure you are doing the bonding in a small enclosed space where the bunnies cannot start fighting out of your reach.

Luvmybuns – its grea that Cinnamon and Digger are grooming each other!! When you bring a girl back into the “mix” I’m thinking it might get a little harder because of what I’ve seen with my boy bunnies. Whenever I let Raymond out to run around, if he gets near Juli and Kramer’s cage, it starts a fight between Juli and Kramer because Juli sniffs Raymond and Kramer gets jealous and so he pokes Juli and then Juli smacks him, and it turns into quite a ruckus But since you’ve done such a good job with Cinnamon and DIgger it will definitely help when you inroduce the third bunny – of course, keep going slowly like you are now, and I’d recommend keeping oven mitts on or nearby just in case you have to break something up.

Good Luck!

Maybe see how Floppy and Digger do together and after they are getting along then try to intro all three buns.

Ooo good luck with all three today!!! Let us know how it goes!

wow, that’s great that it went well – keeping our paws crossed to see how the session with all three with go!

wow it’s great that no one got aggressive during the first session. the humping is just about dominance and is perfectly normal.
maybe try feeding them their veggies together and see how they do?

Haha, it’s like a tiny furry business dinner!

It’s normal for them to re-establish dominance when they are all three together because even though they may have worked some of it out as pairs, they will set up a heirarchy as a trio. Having them get along in pairs doesn’t mean they won’t show dominance and light aggression, but it can help with full blown aggression when they are set-up as a trio. So, you will have to do what you did as pairs – go slow (as you well know).

I also think car rides are good too, especially if you begin to see true aggression starting, but also just to encourage them to see each other as comfort during stress.

Keep us updated.

I wouldn’t really think of it as two steps backwards, I think its more of progressing by establishing the hierarchy between the three. Very rarely do all bunnies get along right away, and even the ones that do can have a couple spats after being introduced, so its pretty normal to have a couple arguments between bunnies as they figure out who is top bun. Also, the hair eating thing, Kramer eats Juli’s hair too, I haven’t got any idea why!

well, what is a “tiff” mean in your group? Hair pulling and a bit of chasing, and a harmless nip here and there are rather normal. You just want to prevent it from escalating. So if one bunny retaliates with full blown aggression from another’s more harmless nip, then you do have to step in.