Re-bonding three males?

[Pigeons]

Hey there!

I have three male buns – Saruman, nearly three years old, and Gandalf and Radagast, 1-year-old littermates.

I took in Gandalf and Radagast from someone who was careless enough to let their rabbits breed; if I hadn’t taken them in, they would’ve been given to a pet store. When I brought them home, Saruman was more than happy to take them in and adopt them as his own babies. The three were absolutely in love for a while.

http://embed.gyazo.com/0d1c9ad1fc6348e246d661053c5b7806.png

(seriously, look at how close they were <3)

In December, Gandalf and Radagast reached sexual maturity, and after a brief ‘fight’ (that is, some chasing and humping/circling), I seperated the three. The three cages have been right next to each other, and after the babies’ castration in Feburary, they’ve all had frequent playtime together around my apartment.

My problem now is, how do I rebond them? And is it even possible?

They get along very well when on neutral ground – they’ll shove their noses in under each other to demand grooming, there’s a bit of mounting once in a while, but aside from that they tolerate each other very well and will even cuddle up together when in a small space.

I’ve tried letting Radagast into Saruman’s cage (as it’s by far the biggest one, and bought specifically for the purpose of keeping the three together in a reasonable space when I can’t keep an eye on them). Despite being a very sweet, tolerant, and even-tempered guy, Saruman does lose patience and feel territorial about his space. Of course, I’ve moved Radagast before a fight broke out, but it’s pretty clear that Saruman isn’t cool with having his territory ‘invaded’ by some young whippersnapper.

Any tips? Am I simply being too impatient, or attempting to do the impossible?

Thanks in advance

[Little Lion Head]

It sounds to me like you might want to start bonding sessions from scratch in completely neutral territory (like a bath tub or a room in the house they aren’t allowed in). It may take awhile and when it comes time for the three to live together, you should completely sterilize their living space. So if that is Saruman’s cage you’ll want to clean everything and make it as neutral as possible.

With Shamrock and Pumpkin, we flip flopped their living spaces while we were working on bonding in neutral spaces. Pumpkin lived in Shamrock’s space for a week and Shamrock in Pumpkin’s for a week. They ended up living together in Pumpkin’s cage but only after it was cleaned and the blankets were washed, etc.

You just need some patience I have no experience with bonding three buns, but best to start fresh. Good luck!

[Pigeons]

Alright, I’ll try with some more patience

Playtime around the apartment together seems to be the furthest I can have them go at the moment, but that’s still a good step in the right direction, I think.

I’m having bonding-sessions with Gandalf and Radagast in the tub every day, which seems to be going reasonably well – Gandalf gets humped a bit and there’s some mutual grooming.

[Little Lion Head]

That’s definitely headed in the right direction!!

Something else I did and I know member Cottontail is doing, is dinner dates through a gate. Put each bunny on a separate side of gate so they can’t get to each other and serve their salads there. Make sure they can’t get to each other and supervise this in case they decide to try to get over the gate and hurt each other.

[Author]

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