Bonding a Trio

[Darwin]

So, I currently have a pair of bonded rabbits (Darwin and Nova) and have recently brought home a third (Fatboy).

Darwin and Nova live in their own bunny room and I have used x-pens to give Fatboy his own space within this room.  I have draped blankets over the x-pen to prevent fighting between the bars.  Nova seems to be rather territorial, she has been pooping along the edge of Fatboy’s cage and she frequently tries to get under the blankets to nip at him through the bars.

First Question: Should I move Fatboy out of the bunny room? I moved him in there in an attempt to pre-bond, get them used to each other’s smells, etc. but Nova does not seem to be taking kindly to him at all, and I am worried this is maybe making her less likely to bond?  The few times I have let them sniff through the bars, she has tried to bite his nose.

So far, I have tried one bonding session.  I brought them into the bathroom which is as about as neutral as it gets in my house.  It resulted in a fight that could have been worse (no major injuries) but it was far from a good first introduction.  I am thinking from the amount of push back I am getting from Nova, my next session should be an attempt at stress bonding.  I was hoping people could elaborate on their preferred methods of stress bonding? I have read a lot of descriptions, but the whole thing still seems like a grey area to me.  It seems like putting them together in such close proximity will just result in serious injury….

Finally, should the bonding sessions be with all three of them together? Or should I alternate sessions, with Darwin and Fatboy then Nova and Fatboy?  

Thanks for reading this through! My first bonding experience with Darwin and Nova was such a breeze.. I am finding this whole thing a bit daunting!

[Elrohwen]

I would probably remove him from the room, or at least set up an additional barrier so Nova can’t get as close. I don’t know if it will really set back bonding, but it would be stressful for them.

I haven’t bonded a trio, but the members who have here seem to do individual sessions first, though it can lead to difficulty when you put the original pair back together after a session. I would at least keep the early sessions individual to keep the pair from ganging up and make it easier to keep track of what everybody is doing.

[Darwin]

Thank you for the advice! I have moved Fatboy to a new room to give everyone a chance to relax and will probably give him a week or so to settle into his new space before trying to bond again.

[Darwin]

Hello! I have decided it is time for me to attempt bonding again.  I did my first session today, with just Nova and Fatboy.  Because, these two displayed a lot of aggression in the past, I tried stress bonding them today.  I put them both in a plastic tote, shaking it slightly and dragging it around the kitchen.  There were a few scuffles, but I shut them down pretty quick by shaking the tote.  For the most part the two rabbits ignored each other, but there was a bit of time at the end where they did cozy up a tiny bit (not a huge amount of interaction, but it was a definite progression from the ignoring).  I did the session for about 30 minutes, then put them back in their homes.  So, now I am wondering, how long should my next session be? Is there a limit to how long a stress bonding session should last?  What signs should I look for before I move their bonding from a stressful environment to just a neutral one? And finally, when should I bring in the third bunny? I would greatly appreciate any advice you may have, thanks!

[Darwin]

Okay, so, I just did another session! This time it was 1 hour with Fatboy and Nova in the same tub as yesterday. They sought comfort from (and sat next to) each other for a longer period of time today, but overall I feel like I did not see a lot of progress.. There was no humping and no grooming. Overall, very little interaction. There was a moment when they both asked for grooms from the other, but neither obliged and they both gave up pretty quick. About 45 minutes in, Fatboy tried to nip at Nova I did a quick shake of the bin when he did this and he stopped. I left them in for another 15 minutes after that to “end on a positive note”. But, now I am left wondering what to do next? No new pictures because it looked pretty much identical to yesterday..

[Darwin]

Day Three:

I decided to try the tub/stress method one more time today but it was, once again, a whole lot of nothing. Fatboy and Nova did sit nose to nose for a bit, but no more than the previous two days. This session was only 20 minutes long because I am starting to feel that the amount of stress this is causing them is not worth the results we are currently getting. I feel like I am traumatizing my rabbits for no reason, and they are starting to lose their bond with me as I continue to push their trust. I would really appreciate some recommendations about where to go from here… I don’t really want to continue this method, but I am also afraid to try open neutral territory as my very first attempt at that yielded a pretty nasty fight.

[Silwerkitty]

Hi Darwin, I am certainly no expert, but I can share my trio bonding experience with you. I hope your buns are doing well? I hope you haven’t given up, because having a trio is super rewarding in my experience.

I had a bonded male female pair for a year when I got another male from a friend who didn’t want him anymore. I kept him in a large cage in the other buns’ space for a week and the same thing happened as with you. My bonded pair was going nuts, pooping and marking all around the cage, trying to scratch and bite him through the bars. Luckily the bars were close enough together so they couldn’t harm him. They even started chasing each other around and it looked like their own bond might be breaking because of the confusion of another bun in their territory, and I was very worried and sad, obviously.

But I kept his cage in their territory and their craziness gradually calmed down, day by day. I read somewhere about a lady who bonded her buns on her dining room table, so I decided to try that as I didn’t fancy putting them all three in the bathtub and I don’t own an xpen. The theory is that it’s high enough for them not to attempt to jump off and obviously neutral territory, so that and the unsure footing also puts them off guard. I never ever did this by myself, though, I would suggest you get a friend to help you ward them away from the sides, because my male did look about to jump a few times and that could cause serious injury.

I never did single sessions, fearing the breaking of my bonded pair’s bond. We kept towels ready to stick in front of them in case of lunging or fighting, which worked really well. I put a litterbox with hay on the table, with food on one end of the table and water at the other, making sure there were no corners for a bun to get trapped in. The table was against a wall, so I felt like my friend and I could control the remaining three sides well enough. You could try an xpen in a neutral room? We started with 15 minutes a day, if there was a boring day, we’d make it longer and end off the session with a treat. My buns love grapes or raisons, so a half a grape each at the end of the session, then back to their areas. I would be happy with sessions where they just sit and do nothing, if I were you. Give them time to get used to each other just being there, trust me it’s a good sign! Eventually I made the sessions 1 hour each, one session per day. If there was more chasing than usual, I’d cut the session short, but still give the treat at the end. I noticed that if they were chasey, it helped if I spoke or sang to them soothingly while gently stroking all three of them together. I’ve gotten really good at stroking three buns at the same time. Some people say not to touch them at all during bonding, but it helped in my case. Also, try to do the bonding in the middle of the day, when they’re not in full play mode.

After about two weeks of this, I did a session with them on the bathroom floor, there was more chasing than normal, so I did a few more sessions on the table until they weren’t chasing at all anymore and there was a lot more snuggling, flops and grooming. I decided the bathroom wasn’t the greatest choice for my bonding because it was cold and my new bun had just recovered from snuffles, so I kept them in the kitchen for a day and a night, me sleeping on the floor with them. There were no more chasing so I opened the lounge to them. They chased a little bit, but I think they were just excited at being allowed in the lounge again for the first time in so long. After they tired themselves out exploring the lounge, they snuggled together and they’ve been bonded ever since.

[Author]

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