Bonding a third rabbit to a pair

FORUM

What are we about? Please read about our Forum Culture and check out the Rules.

BUNNY 911 – If your rabbit hasn’t eaten or pooped in 12-24 hours, call a vet immediately! Don’t have a vet? Check out VET RESOURCES

The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 2sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 15 years, 6 months ago by Deleted User.

Viewing 2 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 08/27/2010 at 10:44 AM
  Corrie
  Participant
  13 posts
  Hi everyone,
  
  I posted a while back about bonding Pellet, a male, to Betty, a female (both fixed). It took a while but all went well and now they are inseperable!
  
  Pellet follows Betty around everywhere.
  
  About a month and a half ago I found yet another bunny abandoned outside. ‘Gloria’ is a female and had ear mites and ear fungus when we found her. We had her treated and got her spayed about 4 weeks ago. She is fully healed and none of the buns have signs of mites. We have decided to try and bond her iwht t
  
  We have been doing cage-switching for about 2 weeks and want to start the dates. My boyfriend did a quick one with the two buns and Gloria and all they did was try to lunge at her while she sat there scared. We have just continued with cage switching since.
  
  I am wondering if it is best to introduce the buns one by one and if so, which one I should start with?
  
  Betty is obsessed with Gloria. She sits outside the baby gate that seperates their spaces and just stares at her for hours. She wil try to bite at the gate when Gloria comes near. Pellet seems less interested, but will also try to bite at the gate when Gloria comes close. For the record, Pellet was the dominant one when I started bonding him with Betty.
  
  Also, once in a while Pellet will start chasing around Betty and rip out some of her fur. The next minute he is their grooming her. I wonder if he is confused by Gloria’s scent. He isn’t the brightest little guy.
  
  Thanks for any advice!
  
  Corrie
- 08/27/2010 at 11:04 AM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  Hello, and welcome back! Trios are such a bonding challenge. It doesn’t matter which one you bond her to first.. I like to get the harder bonds out of the way, but sometimes an easier third bond will help bonding the harder pair in a trio to each other. I think this sounds very confusing.. I mean bonding your male to Gloria to help bonding the two females because they sound to be the harder bond. Either way, you must have neutral territory and use stressors such as carrides, or bathtub meetings with running water in the background.
  Have you read some trio threads on here? Some of them are very long but worth looking over.
- 08/27/2010 at 11:14 AM
  Deleted User
  Participant
  22064 posts
  You may also find these links useful from BB’s bonding info
  
  https://www.binkybunny.com/LINKS/tabid/67/Default.aspx
  
  about Pellet chasing — it is not at all unusual. If he started this around the time Gloria arrived, it is her scent that’s setting him off. Chasing spurts do happpen in bonded pairs though, and as long as it’s only fur being pulled, it should not be a cause for alarm.
Author

Messages

Viewing 2 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.