Bonding a foster doe with two sisters

[ShakyBun]

Hi,

Newbie here so apologies in advance for any naivety but keen to learn from the experts and help my girls be the best they can

I’ve had two sisters (Chicken & Waffles) since they left their brood following an accidental pregnancy (their dad had no penis after being attacked by another rabbit but somehow still did the business!) and although their is a clear hierarchy and the occasional chasing / humping, things have never gotten really nasty between them beyond the dominant sister getting the occasional mouthful of bum hair!

They aren’t yet spayed, are on the wait list at the local vet and hopefully will get sorted soon.  Just about to hit 1 year old.

They’ve visited a couple of other buns in that time.  

One neutered buck (Peter Bunny) that Waffles (the dom bunny) went to town beating up (and then spent the rest of the time separated) and which Chicken (the sub bunny) seemed to insta-love and spent almost a whole 48 hours constantly grooming him.

The other visit was a trip back to visit their Mama bun a couple of weeks ago. Waffles got a bit frisky but was quickly put in her place and then just sat in my lap for the rest of the visit too scared to fight, Chicken just flopped behind her mama and barely moved the whole time.

That brings it to now – I’ve taken in a foster doe (Sparkles, also unspayed) who’s a bit older (nearly 2) and became homeless after her buck died and the family didn’t want her to live alone.  She’s staying with me until she gets spayed, before heading off to (hopefully) live with Peter Bunny.

I have had a couple of days with their respective cages either side of the bunny room, alternatively letting the sisters / Sparkles out to run around but not at the same time.

The first run together wasn’t planned, it turns out Sparkles adopted cage can be undone somehow (new lock on now!).  I heard an almighty racket and quickly ran in to see her and Waffles properly going at it, fur flying everywhere.  Chicken did what Chicken always does (hence the name) and jumped into her cage and hid inside her wooden house

The trouble is now, although I’m keeping buns separate again, Waffles is constantly attacking her sibling. Piles of white hair everywhere.  Am now having to have periods with one bun per cage and one running free to minimise the amount of hair being pulled out.

Which takes me to my question that hopefully some more experienced owners may be able to guide on – what should my next steps be trying to bond the sisters with the new bun (or as they won’t be together for more than a month or two, should I just give up and keep them separate?)

And is there anything I should do to stop the bond between the two sisters deteriorating further through this period?

I hope that the spayings will calm things a bit when it finally happens but want to keep them all happy and safe until then.

Thanks in advance for any help.

[jerseygirl]

Welcome Shakybun : )

Since the plan is to get all 3 desexed, my advice is to not doing any bonding until after that. Ideally, bonding is done with all rabbits spay or neutered. It makes the process easier without hormones driving the behaviour.

It sounds as if you are already seeing that, with the presence of the new girl upsetting things between the sisters. Are they all in close proximity?

If the sisters are becoming aggressive toward each other, it will be safer to separate them, then patch up their relationship once healed for their op.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Bonded bunnies are just that, they’re bonded. If the third bunny isn’t going to remain with the sisters when all is said and done, don’t bond them. Separating a bond can cause problems for all the bunnies involved. As for the sisters, bunnies don’t recognize family units, so I’m actually surprised they haven’t had any issues from not being spayed and still being together. I’d separate them, as they could one day get into a nasty fight. Get the sisters fixed and separated asap, then prebond them by switching their enclosures between them (do this for 1-2 months while they heal and hormones settle) then you can begin introductions for a short time in neutral territory.

[Nutmeg]

Hey there!
I agree with the above….

1) I wouldn’t try to bond the 3rd bunny if she’s just going to leave a few months down the road. Introducing a new bunny can upset the two that were already getting along, and if you did manage to bond the 3 of them it could upset the other two when you remove the 3rd as well.

2) I would separate the other two girls, get them spayed – give a month or two to heal and pre-bond – like A&B suggest above – and then start bonding them again through formal sessions in neuteral territory

[ShakyBun]

Hi,

Thanks for the responses.  

I was obviously naive and just assumed from having seen pics elsewhere of people having multiple buns all playing together that brining another girl in would be ok, especially with no boy buns to fight over!

Will definitely not make any attempts to have the foster bun on the loose at the same time as the sisters.  Feel a bit mean as that means limited running time for her and, due to money, here hutch isn’t as big as would be ideal.  Hopefully no issues bonding her with her new long term home after the spaying and she can be off to live a life of luxury with her husbun after xmas.

It sounds like I’ve been really lucky with the sisters.  Had them since they were free to leave their mum bun and aside from a bit of chasing there has never been anything overly aggressive / violent.  It probably helps that the submissive one is so docile and never really chases back in any form.

Finally gotten an opening to have them all spayed in just under a fortnight.  Will keep separate for a few days after just in case, but with cages next to each other and hope that they are cool with each other after.  I assume as they have had a year together, they don’t need to be bonded in the normal sense and can be expected to be OK with each other straight away post-spay?

I mean, most of the time, this is the sort of calm, cute loveliness when they are together

[Asriel and Bombur]

So bunnies don’t recognize family units, and honestly the sisters should’ve been separated from the get-go because bunnies can fight to the death. So no, you will actually have to go through the proper bonding process with the sister. After they get fixed they can go through a post-spay craze where they get worse before they get better. Their scents change and their hormones are all over the place. Girls are notoriously territorial and aggressive, especially during this time. So keep every bunny separate at all times. The last thing you want are injured bunnies 2 days out from their spay. You can begin prebonding them after the spays and about 1.5-2 months after you begin prebonding you can start short sessions in neutral territory. But for the sake of these girls, please do not put them back together. It will be dangerous.

[ShakyBun]

Hi Asriel,

Thanks for the feedback – and apologies in advance if this is just naive, these are my first buns so still learning every day!

They’ve been caged together for a little over a year now without any major injury or fights (bar the nipping of bum to tell the other to ‘do one’!) – is that pure luckiness and they should be separated, or after that length of time can it be assumed they have bonded enough to have removed the risk?

Just want to check that’s all – especially with the temporary foster bun in the house, getting another suitable sized cage and circulating 3 ‘out’ periods to let them stretch their legs in isolation is going to take a bit of financial juggling!

Thank you,

Shaky

[Asriel and Bombur]

Defintiely separate them and go through formal bonding once they’ve been spayed. Like I said, scents change and hormonal behavior can get really our of hand a few months after a spay. Which means there’s an even greater risk that they could hurt each other. So it’s even more important post-spay to have them separate. Because there are no guarantees they won’t fight and end up hurting the surgical site, or a few days later hurting each other in general.

The thing is baby buns don’t really become bonded. They can be friends and tolerate each other, but they will have to go through formal bonding after their surgeries and will need to be separate.

And I totally understand! I had my boys together before I understood proper bonding, then I saw them fight and before their neuters and I went OHHH OKAY xD

[Author]

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