Bonding 3 females

[LittleCrazyBunnyLady]

Okay so this is my first official post! Hi everyone! I am very new to being a bunny owner. I actually started out with 2 guinea pigs in September. One died very young (heart defect) so I wanted to get another one for my grieving Munchkin. I ended up getting a another guinea pig (Maddy) AND a little grey baby bunny (Daisy). Daisy has always been chilled and she actually got on very well with the two guinea pigs. I found out that guinea pigs and rabbits are not supposed to be kept together so I moved Daisy to an open room (its my study but its been bunny-proofed). At the same time, I went out on a whim and got another bunny for Daisy (Lily – 11 weeks old). They bonded within hours. They are both girls. This was about 2 weeks ago. Yesterday, I impulsively got another female rabbit (Sophie). She seems fine with Daisy (the boss) but she is afraid of Lily… I feel very anxious. I hope that it doesn’t ruin Daisy and Lily’s bond… I mean it’s only been 24 hours… but I’m worried that I’ve made a mistake.

[Deleted User]

Welcome to BB It’s great of you take on so many buns.

Regarding bonding all of them, you need to actually have all three girls separated, and remain separated at all times until 2 months after they have all been spayed. Baby bunnies can get along with each other until hormones kick in around 12-16 weeks. When hormones kick in they can become very violent towards each other, especially females because they are notoriously territorial. When bunnies are given the chance they can fight to the death. They should also be separated due to the difficult nature of properly sexing a bunny. Bunnies sometimes sold as female end up actually being males because testicles sometimes don’t drop until 4-8 months. If you do by chance have male and any humping occurs, you could find yourself with an accidental litter or two. You also need to let all of them settle in. They are all so very new to your place, and they need time to get acclimated without the added stress of meeting potentially harmful bunnies.

If you absolutely want all three of them to bond properly, you need to separate them immediately because if a fight does break out, it will be difficult to bond them in the future as they can hold grudges. The best thing to do would be to partition the room off so each bun gets their own space. Make sure that they can’t get to each other at all because they can fight, nip, and mate through openings. After all three have been spayed (most vets won’t do it until around 6 months (make sure they are bunny savvy)) then you can begin prebonding them by switching their items between each enclosure and switching them among the different enclosures. You do while you wait the 2 months for their hormones to drain. After this, you can begin bonding them in neutral territory.

I know this is all daunting for a new owner, but it’s for the buns’ safety. Hope this helps

[Wick & Fable]

Hi LCBL, and welcome to BB! Getting into a whirlwind about rabbits is quite natural, because they are so. darn. cute.

You need to separate all the rabbits from each other. Read below to see why.

You’ll need to take a step back and do more research about rabbit bonding (https://binkybunny.com/BUNNYINFO/tabid/53/CategoryID/9/PID/940/Default.aspx), and from there, assess your situation and what you think is the best course of action to implement immediately.. Important items to keep in mind:

1) All your rabbits seem very young. Sexing rabbits is very difficult; professionals, breeders, owners, etc. can get somewhat of an idea based on what it looks like down there, but on a young rabbit, nothing has really developed, so it’s an educated guess. Because of this, having 3 young rabbits together is very dangerous because one, two, or all three could be males, and pregnancy occurs in literal seconds with rabbit mating. I’m unsure the age when pregnancy can occur, but you must separate all three rabbits from each other. The likelihood of a mis-sexed rabbit is quite high, and you do not want a surprise litter or litters on your hands.

2) Especially (required) for male-female bonds, all parties in a potential bonding scenario need to be fixed (spayed/neutered) first before putting them together is all right. This is important for a number of reasons. Without being fixed, the rabbits will have hormones coursing through them, driving them towards territorial aggression and mating frustrations. This causes rabbits to fight to the death, breed whenever possible, and get into tussles. Currently, all your rabbits are young, so they may be getting along because their hormones have not activated yet, but within the next month, or even tomorrow, the hormones may kick in and you may find a fight broke out, or a humping episode has occurred, in which case pregnancy may be in the midst. Bonding aside, spaying females is extremely important due to the high risk of cancer associated with un-spayed females. Both spays/neuters cannot be done until your rabbits are ready. For males, it is when testicles descend (anywhere from 3months to 8months) and for females, I believe it’s generally 5-6months is the minimum so the rabbit is strong enough for the procedure. Until all rabbits are fixed, and after waiting a month after the fixing procedures so the hormones regulate to normal, the rabbits need to be separated.

3) Due to the information above, you’ll need to dedicate a good amount of space for each rabbit. I suggest a cage and x-pen for each. If this is something you cannot accommodate at this time, considerations for re-homing one or two the rabbits may be wise. At times like these, sometimes such a decision is necessary for the betterment of all animals/owners involved.

It’s wonderful that you’ve opened your heart to these rabbits, and worrying about breaking bonds is very thoughtful. To ensure the longevity of both happiness and survival for all these rabbits, think about what you’re able to provide, and if it falls short of what 3-rabbits require, there’s nothing wrong with responsibly letting one or two go to rehoming associations and rabbit rescues. Your anxiety and worries are natural, so reading and educating yourself can help you fele a bit more stable and figure out how to make all the rabbits happiest.

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.

[Sirius&Luna]

I’m afraid I also agree with Wick and A&B, its safest to separate.

But, as an idea for separating – I see you said that the bunnies have a whole bunny proofed room, so perhaps you could use xpens to divide the room into three portions? You could then also easily swap them between areas so they get used to each others smells while you waited to spay and bond them.

I currently have three bunnies living separately myself. It’s hard work – the cleaning seems to be endless since they’re all relentlessly marking the room I give them turns to run around  But it is doable! 

[Author]

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