P.S. Didn’t mention:
They always get along great in car rides. Either sit with heads squished together or taking turns poking heads over the top of the laundry basket.
Ginny is the dominant bun and has mounted Sally and Boliwyf multiple times. Sometimes when she does it, it gets Sally wound up (whether she’s being mounted or Boliwyf’s being mounted) and it leads into Sally getting more aggressive. I usually pet Sally and Boliwyf during these times to keep them calm.
When they are in their pens, Sally no longer tries to bite through the fence. The screen is still there, but usually Boliwyf and Sally just lie on either side.
I have some pictures and videos from good bonding sessions, but not quite sure how to put them on here yet…
Ginny and Sally were “free roam” bunnies, so it’s sad not having them out and hopping about anymore Hope the bonding finishes quickly so I can have 3 happy buns hopping around the living room!

Thank you so much! Your advice is so helpful
Last night, after posting this, I did a 30 minute car ride with just Sally and Boliwyf and then put them back in the bath tub. They pretty much ignored each other for about 5 minutes, and Sally eventually sniffed him then started cleaning. No nipping! Yay! I made that one short and ended it right after Sally laid down next to Boliwyf (about 20 min session) — video below!
I’m going to do both bonding sessions/day with just Sally and Boliwyf in the tub until I start to see grooming again (and regularly).
Reading your response and looking through this forum gives me much hope. I was starting to feel like that’s just the way Sally would treat Boliwyf.
Keeping my fingers crossed and will keep you posted…

A short video clip from one of the earlier bonding sessions, but after Sally stopped chasing maniacally after Boliwyf. Has Ginny in it so you can get a good look at her  Although she’s eating almost the entire time .. haha

Excuse my fiance’s feet

Not exactly sure what Boliwyf is… adopted him. They thought a Himalayan mix..? But he is a cutie

Yesterday Sally and Boliwyf were GREAT during bonding sessions! A shorter one in the afternoon – about 30 minutes, and then a long one before bed – about an hour. Lots of ignoring and grooming themselves. They ate a lot, too.

The first session today, unfortunately Sally started nipping again. Boliwyf was much more active than usual – hopping around the bathtub and grazing on parsley. He and Sally touched noses a couple of times and nothing happened. Lots of grooming themselves and eating together. Sally got very close to Boliwyf and laid down. Boliwyf later moved and did a flop

But I noticed that when Sally moved toward Boliwyf and sniffed she was pretty curious and did not nip. It was when Boliwyf hopped toward Sally that she nipped… I clapped and she stopped. Only nipped him twice, two different times. But right after nipping him the second time, Boliwyf turned around and pushed his nose against hers… I pet them on the heads and then ended the session.

Progress sure is slow… but at least it’s somewhat steady

Good to know that what Sally’s doing is normal… just frustrating
And Boliwyf is little – Sally weighs almost 11 lbs, Ginny about 9, and he weighs about 3. He’s the little boy with two large ladies to love

Was getting great improvement with Sally and Boliwyf. Been doing car rides followed by bonding sessions 2x/day… She stopped nipping and while they hadn’t been groom each other, they were grooming themselves right next to each other… eating together…nose bumping (with no nipping!)
Today I introduced Ginny back into the bonding session, and Sally started doing some nips again, but nothing serious
The sessions have been getting much longer since Sally has been showing no aggression
The three of them were together for about 2 hours when Boliwyf ran up to Sally and nose bumped again. I pet them for a little bit, and then remembered the fruit smear trick to get bunnies to groom. I rubbed some mango on Sally’s head, and Boliwyf immediately started grooming her! He sat there and licked every bit of mango off and kept grooming Sally on her head.
Unfortunately (and what is most disheartening) is that immediately after he finished grooming her, she lunged quicker than I could blink. She grabbed ahold of his fur near his shoulder and did not let go. He tried to run away and squealed for her to let go It makes my heart break! I could not end it on that… so I calmed them both down until they both got relaxed again.

My fiance and I checked Boliwyf and neither could see any wound… Sally just had a huge puff of fur in her mouth. She must have just pulled out a big enough clump to make him squeal
They eventually lay with their heads about 5 inches apart facing each other and Ginny came over and did a flop between them. When Sally started grooming herself, Ginny pushed her head under Sally’s and Sally started nipping Ginny on the face! I am really surprised by this, because Ginny has always been dominant and I have never seen Sally do this to Ginny…
Ginny left and Sally settled back down and pushed her nose toward Boliwyf’s while laying down. I pet both of them on the head and then separated and ended the session.
I know her nipping would probably return when I added Ginny but I am so surprised by these strikes!
It is so disheartening after seeing such progress in just a few days… Did I rush it and move it too soon? Not exactly sure when to add Ginny back into the sessions, but figured since Sally wasn’t nipping Boliwyf anymore and they were nose bumping that it would be a good moving point…
Ginny and Sally lived next to each other in separate cages for about a year before my fiance and I decided to bond them, so by that time all they had to do was establish dominance. Their bond was super easy and now that Sally’s acting this way toward Boliwyf it is so frustrating!!!
I think for my sessions tomorrow I will go back to just Sally and Boliwyf again… with a long car ride…

Just did another session – only Sally and Boliwyf. It was as if this afternoon had never happened… the same they have been in any other session with just the 2 of them…
20 minute car ride, 30 minutes in the tub. Right after I put them in the tub, they munched some cilantro and then Sally laid down and shoved her face in Boliwyf’s side. She laid there like that for a while, and I eventually scooted Boliwyf to the side, afraid that if she got annoyed and nipped it could get something vital in his stomach area.
Wondering if it’s normal for Sally to act out so much with Ginny present? It really scared me when Boliwyf squealed earlier… and still think it’s weird that Sally would have lunged at him like that immediately after he groomed her… Any ideas why? Any suggestions of how to introduce Ginny without such a rough session…? Thanks

Thank you so much Petzy!
It makes sense about the treats… and I definitely will not be doing that anymore!
And what exactly should I be looking for in Sally and Boliwyf’s sessions to know when to start introducing Ginny…?
Your advice is so helpful

I keep Ginny and Sally together when I’m not doing sessions, so I’m glad I’ve done that right
Sally is now acting like she wants to groom Boliwyf – she will come up to the side or behind him and start kind of chomping at the fur on his back – almost like she forgot how to groom correctly… and then it turns into her biting him and him running away But she always responds to me clapping and stops biting right after. Sally’s approaching Boliwyf more and is laying down next to him. She will lay mostly relaxed and complacently next to him for up to 10-15 minutes at a time now. Half of the time she just hops away after, but unfortunately the other half (and almost always when he moves away from her first) she starts biting… Slowly but surely is the motto I guess

Great news! For the past 4 sessions there has been no nipping !
Sally and Boliwyf have been laying next to each other grooming themselves or eating lazily. They both seem really relaxed now…
Still haven’t seen them grooming each other, but I stepped out of the bathroom really quickly during the morning session today and when I stepped back in it looked like Boliwyf was either about to groom Sally or stopped grooming her (on her head)… Haha caught ya!

URG!
Bonding is such a roller coaster… Sally was tricking us all

She started cornering in the bathtub… meaning that she camped out at one end and started waiting for Boliwyf to come down. As soon as he goes to her side she nips until he runs away It’s turning into her lunging nips again, not just the “get out of my way” nips she was recently giving him.
My tub is slanted so I’m filling it with enough water to cover the one half with less than half an inch of water. Is she really that territorial?? I tried something different today and set up an x-pen in a circle, covering the floor and sides to make it more neutral. Even in a circle Sally can somehow claim a “corner.” Her attacks became more aggressive…
Worked on calming them both down, petting them…
Urgggg… She is so frustrating! Now it seems like the only place they get along well is in the laundry basket during car rides.
Boliwyf is now not approaching her anymore and even during the car rides, he’s not snuggling into her. They just sit next to each other.

With all of the progress we were having… During last night’s bonding session while Sally was eating Boliwyf was grooming her back
Today Sally’s acting like she did before she was spayed – I can’t understand why she’s suddenly being so nasty?? And so territorial (if that’s what her “cornering trick” is)? It makes me wanna cry!

EDIT: My fiance – who is usually absent during bonding sessions went in the x-pen and calmed them down a lot. I also gave them some rescue remedy and they acted as they have been recently – although not laying as close together. Grooming and eating, much more relaxed  Trying the “wear them down” method – had them out for about 6 hours now… much much less aggressiveness. A couple nips, but not the aggressive scary nips – weird that she acted up so much.

P.S. Started using an empty can filled with loose change to shake for my loid noise distractor (instead of clapping) – it’s a miracle! Heehee

Thank you for the advice – it is very encouraging
When I first put them in the x-pen it was not good, but I guess you have to take a step back to move forward for bonding sometimes…
Have done 2 days of “wear them down” sessions – about 6 hours the first day and 8 hours yesterday. Starting another one now. Caught Boliwyf grooming Sally’s ear (from behind/to the side of her) at one point! She seems to now nip because she wants him to move, or she’ll bite at his head if she puts hers down to be groomed and he doesn’t groom her within about 3 minutes.
He’s approaching her sometimes. It’s funny because she’ll sit on the opposite side of the x-pen, then will sit up and act like she’s searching for food, then move closer to Boliwyf and do a flop right by him
Thinking that her aggression may have come from being moved out of the bathtub and into the x-pen for sessions… I also think that they’re making some good progress during these long sessions. She wasn’t being territorial at all yesterday – must have just been her throwing a little fit after getting moved! Heehee
They’ll sit on opposite sides of the pen for a while, then will switch sides, then eventually move closer.
Something weird- and maybe it’s a boy bunny thing- but Boliwyf, when he approaches Sally from behind, she’s usually laying down with her legs out and he will lick directly under her tail. Sometimes she allows it, other times she sits up and spins around really quickly like “what do you think you’re doing back there?!”
Sometimes instead of nipping Sally does quick head turns, which makes Boliwyf kind of spasm and jump back really quickly. It’s so funny (maybe it’s partly from the glass of wine during bonding haha) but he’s so funny springing up really quickly.
Thanks again for the advice! and I’m trying to find some little furniture around the house now to add to their pen

A lot of just ignoring and laying out in the x-pen. Had a 40 min car ride last night and did a tub session again – and Boliwyf cleaned Sally’s head and ears! She laid out in front of him and stuck her nose down, and in about 2 minutes she was getting lots of licks from the little man  !

She seems a little more cranky today… they’ve just been ignoring each other in the tub and eating. But I guess as long as there’s no fighting it’s good

Thank you for all of your advice so far – it is definitely paying off! First is two videos showing how Sally and Boliwyf have been acting during the day long sessions:

And since they’ve been doing so well (and because we’re a bit impatient people) my fiance and I decided to add Ginny when we fed them their bedtime pellets. We were a little anxious, but we just watched the three of them eat peacefully, and then this!:

So… again – since they were all doing so well (and Ginny was dividing grooming and snuggling attention between the two of them) we decided to just keep them together for the night! My fiance has insomnia, so he usually only gets 3-5 hrs of sleep/night. He said nothing happened while he was awake and we weren’t woken up by the bunnies – and they made it through to the morning just fine! So here is them getting their morning veggies 

They have been doing great with the three of them living together! We made the cage about twice as big yesterday and they’ve been fine and flopping out most of the day. If Boliwyf jumps quickly out of the litter box toward Sally or does a binky and lands on/right next to her head she sometimes nips and gets a little tuft of fur, but it’s becoming more of just a nose bump/head turn toward him! My coin can shaker and water squirt bottle are working wonders 

Sometimes Ginny gets wound up and likes to chase-play and it kind of freaks out Boliwyf and he takes off. This can sometimes get Sally wound up and she nose butts/nips toward him if run near her, but this afternoon when Ginny started to chase him, he snuggled into Sally’s head and she just kept laying there! He sat there for a second and then it was like he realized who he was snuggling with and hopped away really quickly. But I am so proud of Sally! She is making so much progress! When she’s not ignoring Boliwyf, she’s usually just sniffing him and either hopping away or laying down right by him (like in the video of Boliwyf cleaning in front of her). She’s chomp-groomed him twice on his back - and it didn’t lead to biting! 

We’re going to let them live like this for at least 2 weeks so long as they keep doing so well together 

Happy and proud bun-mom and bun-dad here – and thank you everyone that has helped us on our bonding journey!!!

Will keep you updated with any more developments!

Part of the reason we moved quickly is because I’m in school and wanted to start cementing them before I had to return It makes it easier when I can be home any time of day everyday. At the end of two weeks when they started living all together will be the day I go back to classes so it worked out perfectly. We know it’s still going to take some time but we’ve been trying to look at all of the positives – especially where we came from with Sally chasing and terrorizing Boliwyf if he was in sight a little over a month ago.
Right now what we’ve been focusing on is a couple of times a day sitting in their pen with them and petting them all together. Boliwyf’s still a little wary of cozying up to Ginny with Sally right there, too, but he loves being pet enough to lay there. We’ve also noticed that while he used to lay on the opposite side of the cage as Sally and would wait for her to move, he’s gradually been moving closer to her while she’s relaxed. Think the presence and love from Ginny gives him some courage

GREAT NEWS!!!
Boliwyf has been kind of following around Sally until she turns her head at him quickly – and today I looked over and he was grooming her head!!! All three were laying together, noses touching and he started grooming Sally  And she did not nip at him when pushed his head under hers (but she did not return grooms – still waiting!)
Lots of progress being made. I woke up last night because I heard thumping and the fence rattling, but every time I went out there Sally was hopping playfully toward Boliwyf with ears forward and as soon as she’d sniff him he’d thump and run away. So I guess last night Sally was trying to call a truce which turned into grooming today !! So excited!

I want to say thanks again for all of the advice I received on this forum! It has been the most helpful source during my entire bonding experience.
Sally is still a little nippy toward Boliwyf, but it’s only a couple of times a day now and she almost never gets anymore fur – almost always more of a nose nudge/lunging.
Otherwise, they are getting along beautifully!!!
The picture files on my computer are too big to put in here for some reason But I have some very cute videos instead

Boliwyf grooming himself beside the two girls:

Some snuggling. And little stinkers – as soon as I put my camera away Boliwyf started grooming Sally’s ears and face!!!

And some more snuggling just because it’s so darn cute! (And notice that Boliwyf always lays on the other side of Ginny as Sally.. he’s still working up the courage to snuggle into Sally’s side – but understandable considering the couple of nips/day he gets from her)

So I now officially declare them BONDED! Yay! 

We feel comfortable enough leaving them alone and knowing that they’ll be ok – so much that we went to Disney Land for about 7 hours the other day — and when we came back they were like they always are  No problems!

We have figured out that Sally will nose butt/nip toward Boliwyf (doesn’t pull fur anymore) when she is behind him and wants him to move, or when he approaches her quickly from behind (like doing a binky).

While Sally is yet to give real grooms to Boliwyf, I have seen him grooming her a couple of times… and… today I saw him do a flop into Sally and snuggle with her!!!

 After Boliwyf flopped into Sally’s side: 

Thank you! It ultimately took 2 months, but the end definitely went quickly. They now have the run of the apartment again (still in the x-pen at night) and are doing great! Next time they get really energetic and start doing sprints and binkies I’ll have to tape it and post one last video. It’s great having them as lovey house bunnies

The three always stop running around when I pull out the camera. But my fiance made a hilarious video that I thought you’d enjoy (the music is the funniest part) – and it’s a chance to see how much they get along now!