Bonding Cheddar, Pepperoni, and Meatball

[Cheddar33]

Hi everyone. I need help bonding my three Holland lops – Cheddar (buck), Pepperoni (doe), and Meatball (buck)!!! I’ve been at it for weeks now and am running out of neutral places in my apartment. 

Cheddar and Pep have been previously bonded before I brought Meatball in. Pep is the dominant one. They are all spayed/neutered.

I have been trying for weeks to bond the trio and all the signs have been really unusual: 

1) Cheddar and Pep are still bonded except when Meatball is out playing in their territory. They start to fight when Meatball is out.

2) Cheddar grooms Meatball and vice versa, but Cheddar has attacked Meatball before. 

3) Meatball is very scared of Pep because she constantly nips him, but he keeps going up to her and puts his head down to be groomed. 

4) Pep is very dominant and she will NEVER groom Cheddar or Meatball. 

5) While on dates, all three have laid down and groomed themselves constantly. These are all good signs but they still won’t get along as a trio. 

6) They only humped for a day or so and haven’t done so since. 

7) I have switched cages constantly, so they should be used to each others’ scent. 

8) It seems to me as if Meatball is ready to let Pep dominate him, but she won’t have it. 

Please help with any tips or advice. I’d really appreciate it! I’m tired of having all these tense dates with them.

 

 

 

 

 

[Deleted User]

This is actually not unusual but it is a really good summary of the challenges of trio bonding.
–You say you are running out of neutral space, do you have trio sessions, including all three? Then you should only need one and the same neutral space over and over. However, it sounds as if most of the trouble is between Pepperoni and Meatball, so you could try some paired dates between just these two to get them past the nipping stage. You could use a bathtub or a car for these meetings.

[Cheddar33]

I’ve tried dates between Cheddar and Meatball, and Pep and Meatball. Cheddar is okay on the dates. I think that he can accept Meatball since he’s such a sweetheart. Pep nips Meatball and grunts all the time while on dates together.

[Deleted User]

Posted By Cheddar33 on 11/18/2010 12:57 PM
Pep nips Meatball and grunts all the time while on dates together.

 

Don’t let her. They have to get through this stage without incurring injuries so you have to intervene when the nipping gets out of hand. What size space are you using?

[Cheddar33]

Thanks, Petzy!

I’m using varied sizes of space. I have used the bathtub, the table, and mostly an area fenced in with a gate…pretty small spaces. Should they be bigger or smaller? Also, where is nipping in relation to the bonding process? They haven’t humped much. Is nipping past humping? 

[Deleted User]

In the nippy stage many rabbits do better in a very small space such as a box or bathtub where you can really stop them easily. Some rabbits do well in a larger space where they can outrun the nippy rabbit. Most of the time, though, the larger space leads to escalating aggression, where the nippy rabbit catches up and a fight ensues; therefore you are safer to start with dates in an open box that you can set on your lap.
Nipping is very common in the bonding of rabbits. It is hostile whereas humping isn’t. Not all nips are the same in intent: a tail-nipping is often a precursor to mounting, and ‘nippy grooming’ is already a positive development. Don’t let nipping discourage you, it is a phase~

[MirBear]

i suggest trying to use a nic cube on a washing machine.. petzy can explain more about it since im rarly on anymore, but in summery, its a cube made using 6 NIC grids then you put 2 of the rabbits in it and you can either walk around with it or place it on washer or dryer. This causes “stress” and the bunnies look to each other for support, this helps bond them, or at least make it easier.

[Author]

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