Bonding Trio

[AlfieMaxCharlie23]

I had two buns Freddie and Alfie who were so well bonded from when we had them at 8weeks. Freddie broke his back at 3 months and we managed to get him back to full health and back in the hutch (two storey!) a couple of months later. However Freddie has died now and Alfie has been on his own. We decided to get two more rabbits to give him some new friends. We have introduced them slowly over the last 8 days and Alfie is absolutely fine with them when there is a cage or barrier between them, Max and Charlie are very curious and they rub noses with Alfie through the cage. The first day of introducing was a few nips through the cage but nothing since then. I have introduced them in the bathroom (neutral zone) 3 times so far and Alfie then becomes very nippy. Each time has got slightly better however this time we had to separate them before it got too aggressive. How is the best way to help this? Am I doing it too quick? Max and Charlie aren’t neutered yet and wasn’t planning to put them completely together until they have been but should I still continue the meets? Alfie hates being on his own since Freddie died but I worry that he won’t accept new friends?

[LBJ10]

It would be better to wait until the new additions have been neutered. Once that is done, work on doing the bond one bunny at a time. Throwing all three together at once changes the dynamic of the bonding process. It is often easier to bond two into a pair first and then introduce the 3rd.

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