Adding a rabbit to a pair – Some questions

[FluffyBunny]

So…to make a long story short, there’s a bunny at the Colorado HRS who I’ve entirely fallen in love with.

It’s certainly not a done deal yet, but there’s a possibility that I might be able to adopt her in the next several months, if she doesn’t get adopted by then (which wouldn’t be a surprise; since she’s very cage-aggressive, she’s been at the shelter for about a year).

I’m a bit worried about the implications of adding a third to my (male and female, both fixed) bonded pair. My male bunny, Mr. Bunny, is quite territorial and attacks my other rabbit, Ms. Rabbit, any time he smells a bunny who he doesn’t like. That always spooks her very badly, causing her to be afraid of Mr. Bunny for a few days – which significantly weakens their bond temporarily. I’m concerned that if I add a third rabbit to my pair, it might permanently weaken my pair’s bond.

However, if theyr’e in a semi-neutral or neutral space, the “foreign bunny smell” doesn’t bother either rabbit. So, I’m not quite sure what to think about that.

Does anyone here have any experience adding a female rabbit to a male/female bonded pair? If so, was the bonding process overall easy or hard? Do all three rabbits still have a close bond with each other?

Thanks in advance!

[Beka27]

If their bond is so easily weakened, I do not recommend you adopt a third rabbit. Even the strongest pairs can get broken up over the presence of a strange bunny. It’s not worth it unless you are able to keep the third bunny entirely separate in a different area of the house, different exercise space, etc… If you can do that with no expectation of making a trio, then I would consider it. Don’t adopt a third on the condition that they all bond.

[Sarita]

I agree with Beka. For me, I wouldn’t want to risk my 2 rabbits weak bond – it wouldn’t be fair to them and I would not want to endanger the weaker rabbit who gets beat up.

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