Bonding a Trio (Need Help!)

[GooberBunny]

I’m currently in the process of bonding my trio of rabbits. Pooh bear (7 Months), Eeyore (8 Months), and Kanga(Roo) (3 Years). Pooh and Eeyore are both males, and Roo is a female. Pooh and Roo have created a strong bond. We we them together in an ex pen, with a separating barrier for two sides. Pooh and Roo stay together 24/7 and Eeyore stays on the other side. They can see one another through the barrier. I usually give them at least two 1 hour long bonding sessions a day. One in the morning and one in the evening. They started in the bathtub and graduated to the bathroom floor. The biggest issue that I’m currently facing, is that it doesn’t seem like Eeyore wants to bond with either of them. He has certain days where he grooms them and flops on the floor, and other days where he gets onto one side of the room and chases away the other bunnies if they get near him. Some fights get out of hand and need to be separated at times to prevent any bad damage. I’m afraid that Eeyore won’t bond with them. I don’t want to give him up, but I don’t know if he will ever accept them. If anyone has any information and can please help, I would greatly appreciate it. Thank you so much.

[DanaNM]

How long have you been working with them?

A couple things to try would be working with individual pairings, trying a new location, or doing some car rides/stress sessions to see if you can break the ice.

. . . 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.  

[GooberBunny]

We’ve been at it for about 3 weeks now. I’m aware it could take quite a long time depending on how stubborn they might be. We have a carrier big enough to fit all three. My girlfriend is just afraid of them fighting if they are too close in a cramped space. I recommended the car ride initially, however we haven’t tried it yet. They do extremely well in the bathtub. All of them snuggle together in a corner at times, but when they get a little more space, they tend to stick to specific corners. We may try putting them on the dryer as well and see if that could help. Thank you so much for the suggestion.

[DanaNM]

If they do well in the tub, I would keep going with that for longer and increase the length of the sessions. 3 weeks is not much time at all. You could try doing a 2 hour session and see how they do.

Sticking to opposite corners in a larger space isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It still means they are choosing not to fight, and they will start interacting more when they are ready.

It doesn’t sound like you necessarily need to do any stressing, but if you do, have one person drive, and the other person sits with the bunnies and makes sure they don’t fight (have thick gloves on). Have the car running and ready to go. I usually bring a spare carrier in case I need to separate.  If they aren’t fighting in the tub, they prob won’t fight in the car.

. . . 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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