Bonding Bunnies with Medical Issues?

[Sam&Rex]

Hello! 

I currently have 3 bunnies, my 5 1/2 year old male, Rex, currently lives with me. My other two bunnies, 2 1/2 year old siblings, currently live with my sister (she thought that she might want a bunny of her own, and after seeing the work it takes she has decided to return them to me sometime soon &nbsp. In the past they have lived separately, I got them from a friend when they were both very sick and he couldn’t afford the medical bills, and I wasn’t sure if I would keep them or not when they became healthy enough to adopt out.

Long story short, they are great bunnies and I love them , so now that I’m getting them back I would like to try and bond them with my current bunny. I even have a bedroom in my new house (moving in this month!) that would be perfect as a Bunny Room!  (Also, all 3 rabbits are spayed/neutered!)

This is were it gets tricky, I’ve never bonded rabbits before. Rex has a nerve problem and has difficulty moving around, walking is fine and some hops here and there, but he occasionally falls over (not flops) and moving around in tight spaces is difficult. I worry that he could get attacked/hurt and not be able to run away during bonding, and I don’t know what kind of stress he might be put under.

The other two bunnies, Ruby (female) and Jasper (male), are brother and sister and have always been together as a bonded pair. The vet says that both of them are at a higher risk of GI problems than the average bunny and need to be watched closely. Ruby is also at a high risk for back problems, when she got sick her spinal cord deteriorated to the point that she couldn’t walk. She’s fine now but we still need to watch her.

On the last vet visit they had (January) the vet said that all three of them were about as healthy as they could be!  So bonding at this point could happen and now would be as good a time as any, plus with moving into the new house it’s uncharted territory for all three bunnies.

We also have an Animal Behaviorist in our area who specializes in helping problem animals and is a licensed vet, I’ve been considering calling her to have her help with the first few sessions if I need it.

My Questions:

1. Should I bond these three rabbits? (I’ve been told that any rabbits can be bonded, it’s just whether or not it’s worth the stress to the bunnys.)

2. If yes, what’s the best way to go about bonding them? I understand the basics: keeping cages side by side, introductions in a small space where they can be easily separated, ect. I’m not too worried about bonding Rex and Ruby, they seem friendly to each other, but Jasper HATES Rex (both are male) and that is were I worry the most.

Sorry about the length! Thanks for reading! 

-Sami, Rex, Ruby, and Jasper

[LittlePuffyTail]

I would probably give it a go, just go slowly to makes sure no bunny is getting stressed out or that your older bunny is not getting bullied. I have no advice on bonding 3 buns we have several members here who have multiple bunny bonds and I’m sure they will be able to help you out on the best way to get started.

[Sam&Rex]

Thanks! I think I’ll give it a try with Ruby and Rex first with some bonding sessions and see what happens. I have been reading up on some older posts about bonding three bunnies, it might take a while, but I think it’s possible!

[LittlePuffyTail]

Good luck!!!

[Author]

Messages