Bonding three rabbits

[Suzy1]

I have a female rabbit Mabel and male rabbit peanut they share a hutch and big enclosed area so they can go in and out when they want whilst being safe from foxes. I have recently took on another female rabbit called ruby who wasn’t spayed at the time my other two rabbits have both been spayed . I kept ruby in a separate hutch with a fence between her and the other two rabbits I made the mistake of letting Mabel and peanut sniff ruby I was shocked to see peanut and Mabel have a bad fight it went on several minutes till I was able to get to them and separate them were they went off to there separate cages , I was scared in case they did it again but after about ten minutes they went back to each other and were ok I then put ruby the female who hadn’t been spayed back into her hutch I then had ruby spayed and she as now had a week to recover and I have kept Mabel and peanut together and ruby in her own hutch and run but I’m terrified when I come to putting the three together then start to fight again what is the best thing to do I feel sick every time I think about it and if I keep Mabel and peanut together and ruby apart will they turn on each other if they sniff ruby even after she’s been spayed .

[DanaNM]

Hmmm, are you set on having the three as a trio? There is a risk of the original bond breaking, but it was likely made a lot worse because Ruby wasn’t spayed.

I don’t have any trio experience, but once Ruby’s hormones have settled (she needs at least another 5 weeks), I think a first step would be to place her hutch near Mable and Peanut and see how they react. They might not be as hostile now that she is spayed. But yes, wait a bit more, as her hormones are still draining.

Sirius and Luna had this same problem with their pair: https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/164686/Default.aspx

They chose to separate the pair until it was time to try to bond all three, as they also started fighting with a new bunny in the house.

People have different strategies for bonding trios. Some like to put all three buns together, other’s like to work with each pair combo first. I think a lot of it depends on how much bonding experience you have and what you feel comfortable with.

. . . 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.  

[Mikey]

Females take two to six months to drain their hormones, so one week is way too soon. I also recommend reading through Sirius and Luna’s post

Remember that worst case outcome for bonding a trio is that all three refuse to bond and now you have three single bunnies. Its also possible for them to completely reject her so you have a pair and a single, like you do now, because they refuse to bond with her.

[Suzy1]

Mabel and peanut seem ok together now but I’m scared in case they see ruby threw the fence or smell her and fight again , I’ve put a temporary wooden fence up for now but was going to remove it once the month is up of ruby being spayed so they can see each other and sniff do you think that’s a good idea ? My Biggest fear is that peanut and Mabel fight again it was so sad to see as. They get on so well

[DanaNM]

I think removing the fence for pre-bonding will be necessary, but if they act aggressive again you’ll need to separate all three during prebonding and bonding. Hopefully once her hormones settle she won’t be as upsetting to them.

. . . 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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