Trio Questions

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 10sd replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 7 months ago by AnnaW.

Viewing 10 reply threads

Author

Messages
- 07/31/2015 at 9:53 AM
  AnnaW
  Participant
  569 posts
  Hi everyone
  
  Some of you might know I have Barney and Belle, both rescue bunnies … both are fixed and Belle only has 3 legs and her back legs are severely splayed. Recently she’s struggling quite a lot even to just sit comfortably and spends a lot of time lying down … it is so sad to see but she’s still a really happy bunny and will come running for treats. Dang those silly back legs, they slide all over the place even on the most grippy of surfaces!
  
  So with this in mind, we decided to adopt a baby bunny … a continental giant!! I’ve said on here before I always dreamt of having a giant bunny …. oops! I didnt really anticipate having another bun to join our current family of 1 dog, 3 cats, 2 bunnies and a horse … but never mind.
  
  So baby bunny is coming home tonight (only a baby so has not been neutered) and will be living in a cage downstairs whilst my current buns have their own room upstairs. Is it best that until he has been neutered and had 4 – 6 weeks to recover (and hormones to die down) to keep them completely unknown to eachother? Some people have said to let Barney and Belle hop around his cage where he is safely contained as an introduction, but I wanted to ask you guys.
  
  Also, I’d like to make it clear that Barney and Belle are still my priority and as they have such a strong bond (never even had to bond them they just fell in love) so maintaining their bond will be my priority. If they buns dont get on I will not try to force it
  
  Thanks in advance everyone.
  
  Love Anna, Barney, Belle and Baby (new conti bub!)
  
  xxx
- 07/31/2015 at 11:59 AM
  AnnaW
  Participant
  569 posts
  Also, I have read of a fair bit of trouble getting two females to accept each other when bonding a trio … but seemingly much less trouble when introducing a male to a male/female pair? My female Belle is definitely wearing the trousers so I am hopeful she wont be too mean!!
- 08/01/2015 at 1:23 PM
  AnnaW
  Participant
  569 posts
  Can anyone offer any advice?
- 08/01/2015 at 1:48 PM
  IsabellaRobyn
  Participant
  592 posts
  Hey! I have no experience with bonding but I have been reading a lot about it as I will be bonding my two in the near future. From what I’ve read it would be best to keep them separate until you are ready for bonding them after the neuter. Also it might make him less likely to try and hump, which might hurt your girl rabbit if she has difficulty with her legs. I’m not an expert though so hopefully some experienced bun parents will be along to offer some better responses haha!
  
  Good luck for bonding!
- 08/01/2015 at 2:13 PM
  AnnaW
  Participant
  569 posts
  Hi Robynisabella thanks for your reply!! I think that is the best plan too, would love some experienced bun bonder advice though Thanks so much for taking the time to reply x
- 08/01/2015 at 11:14 PM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  Hi Anna! How jealous I am of you! A giant, so jealous!
  
  Really, I would do a few things and see how your bunnies react. Housing next to one another until he is old enough to be neutered & healed is a great idea & can really help with bonding but it can be stressful for an already bonded pair. I would see how they do and if they begin bickering, wait until you are ready to begin the bonding process to introduce at all. Either way though — in the meantime you can do things like swapping litter, toys, blankets, etc so they become familiar with the scent in their territory!
- 08/02/2015 at 1:36 AM
  AnnaW
  Participant
  569 posts
  Hi Tanlover! Yes that’s a good idea – I think I will begin swapping blankets, toys etc and then maybe in a week or two I will let them hop around the outside of his cage (which is in a room they’ve never been in before) and see how they react. Will leave physical contact until after he is neutered and healed
  Thanks so much for your reply x
- 08/02/2015 at 10:09 AM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  To add on — I don’t doubt you will be careful — but I wanted to tell you that with a bunny who could be considered disabled, I would definitely take the bonding process slow. Watch their interactions A LOT to ensure your disabled one does not get bullied at all during the process. I have seen rabbits LATCH onto the disabled ones and adore them quickly b/c they hold little potential disruption to the heirarchy in the group. But I have also seen some try and run a disabled one out with the mentally that an injured or sick rabbit can be dangerous for the group (in a wild rabbit mentality).
  
  I have struggled with this mentality A LOT with Tucker from him and his medical issues (though they are not physical minus the weight loss he goes through). It has taken me much longer to bond them but I have also given a lot of breaks and tried to have been accommodating in the process. Just be aware, it can go either way and to watch their progression closely to ensure they are on the right track!
- 08/02/2015 at 11:07 AM
  AnnaW
  Participant
  569 posts
  Thanks Tanlover that’s a good point, luckily Belle is fairly feisty I think!! I’ve swapped some towels and toys for each of them to smell and allowed Barney and Belle to hop around while I was holding Baby so they could see him. No aggression so far and I am hoping that doing regular non contact dates (with heaps of treats!) could mean that they have positive associations with him. Of course I won’t be allowing any physical contact until Baby is neutered and healed, but I don’t think these sessions could do harm as no negative associations can be formed? xx
- 08/02/2015 at 11:27 AM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  Nope, just be careful! Sounds like really good positive interactions so far though! Always an exciting sign!
- 08/02/2015 at 4:58 PM
  AnnaW
  Participant
  569 posts
  Great, thank you Tanlover!! Barney hasn’t seemed himself the last few days, all vitals normal (he has severe bouts of GI due to abuse in previous home) but he really seemed to perk up and play today. Am so relieved, have rushed him to bunny hospital limp before now!!! He’s so precious, I don’t think people realise what bunnies mean to us! x
Author

Messages

Viewing 10 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.