Bonding 3 buns

[Yuki Kathleen]

I am trying to bond my 2 boys with a new girl (all are neutered/spayed). So far it has been a bit difficult as one of my boys bites her. Any tips? Thank you!

[Sarita]

What have you been doing so far?

[Yuki Kathleen]

I have put them in a play pen together, and also in my bathroom which has a tile flooring (all of this is supervised). I keep a close eye on them. Sometimes i sit on the floor with a towel over my lap and have them all lay next to eachother and pet them to calm them down. That usually works for a while, but as soon as they are in a large area together again, Bugsy will bite maybellline.  There has been no mounting so far, just chasing and latching onto eachothers fur. Also i have put them all in a kennel together and that worked really well, they never fought also they were a bit nervous. I have tried the “scare” method where you shake the kennel just a bit (not enough to hurt them!) and then the bunnies will go to eachother for safety. 

[Sarita]

Are you 2 boys already bonded?

[Yuki Kathleen]

yes, they get along really well. After a few bodning sessions i was worried they might “un-bond” but so far they have still been just as friendly with eachother as always.

[Sarita]

I would try bonding sessions with her one on one with the boys rather than both boys at once. Try first with the one that is not biting Maybelline.

[Yuki Kathleen]

Ok, thank you!

[Elrohwen]

I definitely agree with Sarita – try sessions with just two rabbits at a time and see how it goes. I’ve never bonded a trio, but I’ve known others who will bond the new pair (so your girl plus boy A) fairly thoroughly, then try the girl plus boy B. Once the girl can get along with each individually, try all three together. There’s debate on whether to do the harder bond first or the easier bond. If you start with the hard one, then you get it out of the way. If you start with the easy one, it’s possible that when you try all three together the easy bun will play peacemaker.

Just remember that stressing is your friend! The first time you try all three, I’d do it in a car where they’re most likely to snuggle up and not start a fight.

[Yuki Kathleen]

Thank you! I will definitely be trying it! I haven’t tried the car trick yet, but I have put them in a carrier together and shook it around (not too much though). Would you say that is equal to a car ride??

[Elrohwen]

The shaking thing works too, it’s just tiring for you 😉 I know a bunny shelter owner who swears that a couple hours on a car ride together will bond any pair. I think she’s exaggerating a bit, but it definitely helps move things along and you can easily take a 20min car ride (while you can’t easily shake them around for 20min).

Some people get the same effect by putting them on top of a washer or dryer, but I haven’t tried that.

[Yuki Kathleen]

Maybe I will try puttting them on top of the dryer…I do need to wash some clothes…haha(:
Today I tried bonding Maybelline and Milo (Milo is the “peacemaker” of sorts). It went really well and they get along just fine, although maybelline was a bit tense, niether bun bit or lunged at eachother. After a while I tried having bugsy join in just for a bit (because things with Milo and Maybelline were going so well). It went a little better than other times, but Bugsy was still trying to bit a bit, so I took him out right away. I think after a few more sessions, Maybelline and Milo will be perfectly fine around. Then I will try to work with just Bugsy and Maybelline.

My goal is to have them bonded by the end of the summer, because I start highschool next year, and it will save me a load of time if all three buns can live together. Ah well, I supposed we will just see in time…

[Elrohwen]

Sounds like you’re off to a good start! I think some focused sessions between Bugsy and Maybelline will really help since you’ll be able to focus on just the two of them instead of the chaos of three buns. The fact that two are already good with each other is a great sign!

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