I am about to be in a very similar situation, I wish you luck, and I hope someone else with more information replies!

I am about to be in a very similar situation, I wish you luck, and I hope someone else with more information replies!

I am about to be in a very similar situation, I wish you luck, and I hope someone else with more information replies!

I’m confused by your second sentence – are they bonded? What are their interactions with each other? Do they cuddle? Do they live in the same space? 7 weeks is young. I’d keep the baby bunny on it’s own, and start bonding sessions only after the baby is neutered or spayed. This could be 4-6 months of age. . Young bunnies need unlimited pellets. You can taper the pellets off to 1/8 cup per 4lb body weight, between 8 and 12 months. Unlimited pellets are bad for adults. So the dietary differences will be a challenge if they live together while the baby is still young. I have a pair with dietary differences – Guin is overweight and needs less pellets. She is a good hay eater. Lancelot is a poor hay eater, underweight, chronically ill, so I supplement his pellets with homemade hay cookies. But I don’t want Guin to eat all his hay cookies.
Here’s an article on feeding. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html
Is the baby a male or female? By waiting till the baby is spayed/neutered, you can avoid hormonal fights, and the baby will be able to grow and eat unlimited pellets – without affecting the weight of the 2 adult buns. After recovering from the spay/neuter, the bonding could last anywhere from weeks to months. Probably by the time they are ready to live together, the baby will be old enough to be on limited pellets, like the adults.

It sounds like you will be having 3 singles, until the baby is old enough to be bonded… and unless you are able to make progress with the adults. If they are biting eachother, I think your bonding sessions are going too fast, or they have too much access to eachother. When I started bonding Guin and Lancelot, I did the rabbit smoosh technique, where I maintained control over them. I placed them on the floor between my knees, and I started with a piece of cardboard between their bodies, so they couldn’t fully see eachother. I reduced the cardboard till they could see eachother and were smooshed side-by-side, but I have my hand on each head so they couldn’t move or attack. Gradually I gave them freedom to move their heads, but not to move their bodies etc. I did everything to slow it down and avoid a bite. You can google the smoosh technique on youtube. The goal is to prevent those early fights because it only builds distrust, and you don’t want that. I realized I had to do that after Guin surprised me and launched into a full scale attack on Lancelot. 8 months later, they became the cuddliest bunnies I’ve ever seen. I really think you are giving them too much space during the bonding sessions.

Are the brothers neutered? You won’t be able to bond them otherwise. If they are, it may be that they will never be able to be together if your bonding attempts haven’t worked so far. You didn’t say how long you how tried bonding, maybe they can be together and be bonded with further attempts. Rabbits can also hold a grudge, so the fact that one bit the other’s ear might make future bonding harder.

It would be best to keep the new bunny separate from your other two, until he has been neutered and a month has elapsed. I have never had a trio, so I’m not sure if it would be better to go ahead now and try again to bond your two, or to wait until the new bunny has been neutered and try to bond a trio. Sometimes, a new bunny coming into the house can cause upset and even bonded rabbits can have problems with each other. If you aren’t able to get the brothers bonded, the 3 rabbits may have to always live separately.

Unless I’ve read it differently I don’t think Velvets two boys are bonded, nor is she trying to bond them.
They just live side by side now in separate cages, following failed bonding attempts.
(Not sure if both are neuteured though)

Once the baby is neutered and old enough – you could decide if you want 3 singles, or a trio, or 1 single and a pair? But I see 3 singles for at least the next 6 months. And it’s not just about the bonding – feeding two different diets is difficult with a pair. Apart from the quantity of pellets, you might also want to use 15% protein for the baby, and 12-14% for the adults. I like 12% for my adults.