Why do you say this pairing is not recommended, out of curiosity? They also say two boys are hard to bond and my two bonded boys are absolute LOVE bugs together.

As for bonding into a trio — how do your other two take to the third? You said he gets out quite a bit and visits them. What are ALL of their reactions to this situation? It sounds like not much has happened between them or escalated? Just because a bun is aggressive towards a human doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be that way to other bunnies. One of our buns is this way which is why I’m asking how they all have reacted towards each other when he’s escaped.

Typically, when bonding a trio you can begin by bonding the new bun to both buns. This is what I did with my trio. Bonding sessions with each pair until they were comfortable then I began bonding sessions with all three together in a small area with lots of supervision.

My bonded trio consists of two boys and a girl! And they are all very, very happy together.

That’s not always true. Dominant buns can just be harder to bond, I mean… there are cases where that’s true but I wouldn’t let it stop you from trying to bond your trio. As long as they are closely supervised until fully bonded, nothing can go to bad. Have a spray bottle on hand so if they get into a scuffle you can squirt them to deter them from each other. I’m not a huge fan of people saying things are impossible as everyone seems to say that about bonding two male rabbits together. One of mine wasn’t even neutered when they became pretty much fully bonded. LOL. They were love bugs at first site.

Ignoring is a really good sign! Sounds like a positive start for those two. As for Toshi and Joshua, this sort of behavior is very common in rabbits when they are trying to establish a hierarchy. My girl actually did this to my boy when she first met him. Was very grouchy and pushy towards him also. And it sounds like he’s just trying to do that again since he did the same thing with Paige. How does Toshi respond to this? Does he fight back, is he submissive, or does he just tend to ignore the action? Since there doesn’t seem to be any full out wars on your hands I think you have a positive attitude towards bonding your three. I would try some stress-situations with your two boys. Usually doing a bonding session in the bath tub or a car ride together. The thought is to stress them out so they feel the NEED to come together (since this is their instinct) to figure out any bad situation they may be in. It really helps a lot of buns begin to develop a sort of connection to each other.

Also, now that I think of it … Toshi may just be doing this because Joshua is coming into “his territory” . You’ll want to make sure you keep Joshua out of Toshi’s area for now until you can work on furthering their bond in a very neutral territory. This will help eliminate any fighting that may happen over “their areas”. And usually makes bonding WAY more successful.

I don’t really think that’s correct. As long as you make them associate good things with each other also they should be fine. When my “dominant” boy Fleury digs into or nips Tanger (the other boy) he often has the same confused look! LOL. I think you have a very good chance of bonding these three. Especially because it sounds like they would’ve fought already if the boys were really very aggressive towards each other. They really don’t seem to be.

If you don’t feel comfortable with the car ride idea, put them both in the bathtub and put one on either side. When they see each other, give them a treat or two to distract their attention but at the same time you will probably get a hint of their feelings. If someone gets aggressive, then separate them with your body and give them both another treat. Keep anything out that could be considered “mine” and see how they react. From what you’ve mentioned, I merely think Toshi just seems it as “his area” and Joshua as the intruder and that’s why he’s nipping him.

I would try and stop with the three together thing and work on your two boys the hardest. Paige is quite obviously whatever with the situation so, in my opinion, I would introduce her into the situation after your boys are close or bond her and Joshua separately without Toshi in the picture. Strengthening one bond may help with bonding all three finally. Since Toshi is quite obviously territorial I would try the towel trick. Put a towel or blanket in with Joshua and one in with Paige and Toshi. After a day or day n a half (just enough to get their scent) switch the towels into the other cage. This will help them stop viewing the area as “all mine” when the other bun comes around since they’ll slowly become use to the scent being permanent.

If you need any other help or any other issues come up — feel free to make another thread or restart back this one up and I’ll offer any advice I can to the process. I’m HOPEFULLY adding a fourth bun to my trio this spring SO I’ve been doing even more research than the research I had done for my trio currently. Also, if you find a certain situation or activity helped with getting your buns closer feel free to make a thread about it! These types of threads really help other bunny owners that are interested in bonding!

Wait, I’m confused. So are they together or separated? Nothing can really break Toshi and Paiges bond, but I would be careful to stress either bunny out from being away from his bonded mate. If theres a barrier between the boys then this isn’t really “bonding” per say. You definitely want them fully together for bonding sessions so you can see their reactions to each other and then go from there slowly to what is most comfortable for them.

Have you tried putting them together yet? That’s when you will really see their attitudes together and can work on bonding them in a way that is needed for their reactions. Even if you only try bonding them together for 5 minutes every day. It’s a start.

Awww, seems like the bonding is going relatively smooth so far then!

My boys and girl sometime do something similar where they will dig the other one til the move if they’re in the way.

It shouldn’t be harmful to their bond. The bonding between Joshua and Toshi is going it seems but very slowly. And I’m not sure I would try a 24 hour bond with the tension between the two still there. I worry that during the 24 hours (I imagine you would sleep during this time?) they may break out in a fight from chasing. This could potentially lead to more harm than good.

Ohhh! Well then. It may be worth doing!! I didn’t stay up with my trio until they were grooming and playing around fine with no incidents. But I’ve been told a MILLION times with bonding you have to do them in the steps you think fit your bunnies better!! I’m learning with bonding another one into my group that it’s all about doing them with what works well for each pair. And if they are doing well after a half hour, you may be ready! If it goes bad in the middle of the 24 hours, you can end on a good note.. separate, do a few more sessions, and try again!

I enjoy having someone to talk to about bonding! Especially multiple bunnies. It’s funny because what worked with my trio is turning out to work the LEAST for the four bunnies! It is sooo stressful. I forgot how much so. Until now. Haha! I’m always hoping someone posted on my bonding thread so I can get some more input or advice or anything or even just a positive comment. Makes me feel better about doing all this work. I even posted on BunSpace to look for more comments but no one has replied to that thread. Which is fine as I don’t recommend A LOT of advice people have received on that website.

I’m learning the laundry basket doesn’t do well for Sidney and Simba but is working PERFECTLY for Simba and Fleury and has at least stopped the fighting between Tanger and Simba. The tub hasn’t worked for Tanger but is perfect for Simba and Sidney! It’s so confusing. I wish they could just talk to me and tell me what they want — and then TALK it out instead of duking it out with their teeth and feet! UGH.

So are you going to try the 24-hour bond?!? I think you should just go ahead. Have you thought about putting all three bunnies together for a 24 hour bond to see how it works? The dynamics of the trio are MUCH different than in pairs.

I know what you mean — the bonding with Simba has created a few fights between my trio so I also am cautious about putting all of mine together right now. As I think either Tanger or Sidney may get VERY defensive. As Tanger showed that aggression when we first brought Simba home and he just looked at him!

I would do a 24-hour bond with them and spend lots of time with Paige when you know it’s her active time so she doesn’t get too lonely or depressed. I don’t think it can hurt and definitely won’t hurt their bond. My buns kept hopping out of the bath tub too. Not Simba but the other three. We had to close the bath tub door and peek over the top so they couldn’t get out. I feel like it’s always harder to get them to focus on each other when I’m in their view too! They just focus on me! And I’m like NOOOOOOO.