Bonding my trio.

[Bunny Daddy]

So I’m making this thread to say I’m starting to bond my trio, right this moment! I’ve had them beside each other ever since I got Clarke last April, and they’ve groomed each other through the cage bars and slept by each other. It started off with a little bit of humping, but they’ve calmed down now and Duchess has been grooming Clarke. I’ll update with more pictures each bonding session, and I’m open to any suggestions, but they seem to really be getting along. 

[Bunny Daddy]

Day two, no humping at all, and Duchess began grooming Clarke immediately. Nala’s always been stingy with her grooms, even with Duchess, so I don’t really expect her to groom Clarke. However, whenever someone reaches in the box to pet Clarke, she grunts and sometimes lunges at us, not him, then starts to groom him. She doesn’t do that for Nala, so we’re thinking she may be protective of him. 

[vanessa]

I like the box size. Please keep writing! I’m doing a trio myself and it’s not that easy… It’s helpful to read other people’s stories.

[Bunny Daddy]

Posted By vanessa on 2/12/2016 10:46 PM

I like the box size. Please keep writing! I’m doing a trio myself and it’s not that easy… It’s helpful to read other people’s stories.

Not gonna lie, I’m pretty sure I got the idea about the box from one of Tanlover’s posts about bonding. It’s just the box from a 50# order of oxbow hay. :’) I was planning on using it to make a huge box fort as a treat for when they’re fully bonded, (I’ll probably end up posting about it in the habitat section when I do.) but my parents have been bringing home so many boxes for me, and my sister has been ordering a lot of stuff online that I don’t need it anymore. But I digress. I’m gonna try and keep updating often, I had them in an xpen with one panel by two panels instead of the full size earlier while I fed them, and they did well together. They were together for about 7 hours before they started getting irritable and started chasing, so I ended the session after they calmed down and flopped out. I had hoped they would be bonded by the beginning of April, but at this rate, it may be way sooner than I thought.

[Bunny Daddy]

Day three. No photos (Yet) because my phone’s dead and I’m lazy. They’re in an xpen that’s one by three wide, I might make it a tiny bit smaller, but I had it big enough so I can give them food last night without them having to be in the litter box. There was some chasing at the beginning, but not much, I slammed together some pans to make a loud noise to get them to stop. The girls are cuddling together and Clarke is extremely interested in grooming his ears, but they’re on opposite sides of the xpen, so making it smaller is probably my best bet. Or they can just go back in the get along box. :’) When I fed them together last night, I was surprised at how good Nala was being, she always chases Duchess at meal times, but didn’t this time.

[Bunny Daddy]

This was dinner from yesterday, Nala didn’t chase Clarke, OR Duchess, which is interesting, because Nala’s always a jerk to Duchess at dinner time, always have been. 

Day… 4? They’re doing well, I ditched the get along box because they peed in it because I didn’t think to put a litter box in it. But they’re getting along pretty well in the xpen, they do chase sometimes while they’re in it, but not that much. Fur does fly sometimes, but they don’t actually hurt each other, usually they calm down after Nala or Clarke get a mouthful of fur. Clarke’s stopped humping altogether though. 

[vanessa]

I’m so jealous…

[Bunny Daddy]

Posted By vanessa on 2/14/2016 10:11 PM

I’m so jealous…

I was just reading your thread! It sounds like it’s starting to get better with your last post, you just have to take it slower than me, but I’m sure it will all work out. I think mine are doing so well because Clarke has been literally right beside them since I got him last April and he was just a baby then, so they always slept beside and groomed each other with the cage between them for months before I even got him neutered. 

Although, I looked over just a few minutes ago and saw this, and cracked up, because he looks so angry about not being cuddled.

I do have a problem though about Clarke wanting Nala to groom him constantly, which she doesn’t really do much, not even to Duchess, however, she did groom him for a bit earlier today, but then she expected him to groom her back, and he didn’t, so she started chasing him. 

[vanessa]

Lol. Yeah I had grooming issues with Lacnelot and Guin. Lancelot isn’t a groomer. He learned to groom Guin a small amount, but not nearly as much as she wanted him to. So she got annoyed and started nipping him. I got him to groom her by putting plum juice on her head. He loooooves plum juice. He is the only of my 4 bunnies who would go for that trick… the others aren’t as easily tricked… Maybe a fruit-trick on the head might help them groom eachother?

[Bunny Daddy]

Posted By vanessa on 2/14/2016 11:30 PM

Lol. Yeah I had grooming issues with Lacnelot and Guin. Lancelot isn’t a groomer. He learned to groom Guin a small amount, but not nearly as much as she wanted him to. So she got annoyed and started nipping him. I got him to groom her by putting plum juice on her head. He loooooves plum juice. He is the only of my 4 bunnies who would go for that trick… the others aren’t as easily tricked… Maybe a fruit-trick on the head might help them groom eachother?

It might, if it continues to be a problem, I’ll try it.  

[Bunny Daddy]

Day 5 of bunny bonding: All three rabbits are cuddling and Clarke is being groomed by Duchess, there hasn’t been any chasing in the hour since I’ve put them together today. I was going to get up and grab my phone to take a photo, but they move when I get up, so maybe next time I’ll be able to grab my phone in time. 

[Bunny Daddy]

Day 5, pt 2: They’ve been together for quite awhile now, no chasing at all, and now they’re having dinner, no squabbles. I’ve gone with the leaving them together as long as I’m awake route, and it seems to be working out pretty well. I think if it continues to go this well by the end of the week, I’ll leave them in overnight, but I’m a bit worried because I sleep like the dead. Even if they’re in my room not even two feet away from my bed. So if they get into a fight, I worry I won’t wake up.

[Azerane]

I like the idea of using a cardboard box as a bonding area, not only is it a good size but it forces the rabbits to focus on each other, rather than something that may beyond the bars of a playpen. I’m wondering if that may speed up the process.

[Bunny Daddy]

Posted By Azerane on 2/15/2016 10:18 PM

I like the idea of using a cardboard box as a bonding area, not only is it a good size but it forces the rabbits to focus on each other, rather than something that may beyond the bars of a playpen. I’m wondering if that may speed up the process.

I’m not sure if it speeds up the process any, but it worked well as a small neutral space until I got the xpen all set up.  

[Bunny Daddy]

Day 6: They’re all cuddling and grooming on and off and have been together 12 hours without chasing each other. I’m actually going to attempt letting them stay together overnight in my room. I have to separate them in the morning though for about 4 or 5 hours because I have some appointments and won’t be able to watch them and no one in my family will be home to watch them either, but I’ll put them back together as soon as I get home.

[LittlePuffyTail]

Awww….that last pic is sooooo sweet….face snuggle

[Bunny Daddy]

I already announced it in the February photo post, but they spent two whole days and nights without chasing or humping and were cuddling and grooming, so I moved them into the bigger space and saying they’re bonded.  

Here’s Nala and Clarke cuddling in their box castle.

And when I first moved them into the bigger space, they were all so excited, Nala kept running and binkying back and forth. 

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