Bond a trio

[PrincessPenny]

Hello, my wife and I love rabbits and have had 3 (all at separate times so no bonding was necessary) in the past.  We adopted Penny and Domino in November of 2017, and they bonded really fast and with little issue.  We have room for a 3rd Rabbit and live next to an animal shelter so we decided to adopt Dean.  Domino and Dean are males and Penny is a female all are fixed.  Penny has no issues with either of them, she gets along with both, however, Domino it seems, has lost his mind.  We have been doing the car rides, and bathtub sessions to stay in the neutral ground and for a while, it was typical mounting for domination for a while but within the last 3 days, Domino has got extremely vicious and bit Dean’s bottom and would not let go and kept kicking Dean with his hind legs.  Fur was flying all over the tub.  We finally got Domino to let go and inspected Dean.  He is fine but I am really hesitant to put them in the tub again.  I was ready for the humping and even rough circling but what Domino did to Dean scared me.  Is this normal?  I have read so many forums and posts about bonding and I haven’t come across the viciousness I saw.  I would love any kind of advice.   Also, I read that this is to be expected when messing with his comfortability but Domino has started urinating and pooping everywhere but his litterbox.  I would also love any advice on this too.  Thanks for your time!

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome

Sorry you are having a tough go of it!

So, I’ve never had great luck with the bathtub! Small spaces work well for some buns, not for others. I would try a much larger space, and make it very very neutral. The idea is that if they try to get away from each other, they have enough space to do so, so are less likely to feel so threatened as to get into an all out fight.

How did the car rides go? Might be good to keep up with those if they didn’t fight in the car.

The other thing I would suggest is to really work on building trust between the two boys, since they seem like they will be the toughest. Whenever they approach each other, pet them both A LOT to swap scents and keep them calm. Don’t be afraid to have your hands on them constantly, and DO NOT let them fight. It’s very confusing if you read every bit of bonding info out there, because you’ll read “they need to sort things out” and not to intervene too much. But when things escalate as they have in your case, it’s very important to prevent that behavior from being ingrained, and of course to prevent injury!

The last thing is have you done any pre-bonding cage swaps? This can really help a lot.

Are Domino and Penny still doing well together? Sometimes the addition of a third bun can upset the pair, so keep an eye on them and separate if needed. Trio dynamics are different from pairs, so often they will all reestablish who is top bun when a new one comes in the picture.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[PrincessPenny]

Hey I want to thank you for your rabbit response. Bun intended! The car rides go well they bunch up together in fear like is excepted. We are going to continue to take them in car rides. I understand the difference between “sorting things out” and the intense fighting that is happening. As for swapping scents, Domino has never liked hands so we never been able to pet him like we have the other buns we have had. We have swapped cages already, not just for scent purposes but for the cage he is in right now, we can monitor if Domino has done his business, because he has been holding it in until we let him run around our home then he just goes everywhere. Penny had been getting along with them both. She is acting like a mother to both, she grooms both and cuddles both when she is around. However we have isolated Domino since the incident. I will keep post about progress as it happens and I will still welcome any advice.

[DanaNM]

Gotcha. For the cage swaps, you’ll want to swap which bun is in which cage daily or every other. If that’s not possible, swapping litter boxes (somewhat dirty) works too.

So yeah, I would definitely keep up with some stressing, and try a much larger space (like 2 xpens linked up) and see how that goes! Since they are fighting pretty badly, I would do a stress session, then pop them into the bonding area together for a few minutes, then end it. Of course make sure no one is getting too stressed, and take a day or two off when needed (for you and the buns)!

Also, expect litter box habits to go out the window during bonding as they mark everywhere against the “other” bunny. That should get better once they are bonded, and might decrease a bit once you do more pre-bonding.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[PrincessPenny]

Cage swapping might will be a good idea. We have a 3 story cage that has a lot of room and we hope to get all 3 living in there at some point and we also have smaller single cages that are decent for only one rabbit. Penny and Dean are in the large one and Domino is in the smaller one now, but I feel Penny might be missing him so putting him back might be good for her too.
Tonight we are going to try a car ride again and maybe put them in our back room (which rabbits don’t normally go in) and see how the act. I’ve read that squirting them with water when fighting is a technique that causes them to stop and clean themselves. It is worth trying that?

[PrincessPenny]

Cage swapping might will be a good idea. We have a 3 story cage that has a lot of room and we hope to get all 3 living in there at some point and we also have smaller single cages that are decent for only one rabbit. Penny and Dean are in the large one and Domino is in the smaller one now, but I feel Penny might be missing him so putting him back might be good for her too.
Tonight we are going to try a car ride again and maybe put them in our back room (which rabbits don’t normally go in) and see how the act. I’ve read that squirting them with water when fighting is a technique that causes them to stop and clean themselves. It is worth trying that?

[DanaNM]

The water squirt can work if they aren’t really fighting, but I’ve never had it help with rabbits that are really going after each other, so be ready to intervene in other ways. A loud noise can work, like a vacuum cleaner. If you have to get your hands on them, try to pin them to the ground and pet to calm them.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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