Re-bonding three rabbits

[oreoswithmilk]

Hiya,
Over the summer I left my two bonded Netherlands dwarf rabbits (Oreo, Female, 1.5yrs old), (Crystal, Female, 1.5yrs old), with my teacher who originally gave me them, who is also a rabbit breeder. We then saw a bunny we absolutely adored (Norman, Male, 1yr old). Our two main rabbits had previously fought a couple of times but we were able to bond them back. My teacher said she would keep them together for us. One day she came back from her usual rabbit shopping trip to find Crystal fighting with Oreo. She immediately separated them and Norman and she said she believed that the hate that they previously had may have brewed up into a fight over Norman. She is also an extremely experienced rabbit owner having looked after them for 60+ years. She tried rebounding them but they both chased and bit each other. So she tried to give them her run outside so they could run away from each other but instead they both kept seeking each other out to fight with. When we arrived back from our two week holiday they were covered in scars bruises and both looked extremely tired and were missing tons of fur. She explained to us she thought it would be best that we take Oreo and Norman since Crystal was initiating the fight and so we did.
Fast-forward a few months later and we also took Crystal home. We kept her separate from them and were rebounding them in our shower cabinet. They were even able to stay there a whole night long without a single fight! I would like to know how I would be able to relocate them from my shower cabinet into the living room where they usually live since this area is Oreo and Norman’s territory and I am sure they will fight. The area contains a cage and a run of the whole room including a sofa and a dining table. I would really appreciate it if someone were willing to explain how to relocate them into this space without them fighting and I also do not want to give them too much space so they are able to fight. I was thinking about keeping them in their small cage ONLY FOR THE REBONDING PROCESS after having cleaned it and properly disinfected their smell and slowly starting to give them more space.
Thank you!

[Asriel and Bombur]

Are they all fixed? If not, this is definitely causing some issues. Can you tell us more about the bonding process you used initially and what you’ve done to rebond them. To be honest, they don’t sound like they’ve ever been bonded. True bonded pairs don’t fight so often. Keep them completely separate for at least 2 months, then you can prebond them. If you can don’t even have them in the same room. They need to completely forget about each other. They’ve had too many fights to simply bond back together. They’re holding grudges at this point, and if they continue to fight like this they probably won’t bond at all.

[oreoswithmilk]

They are all fixed. My first two rabbits were bonded together since birth and both got along perfectly for a good year, constantly kissing each other and is sleeping together and usual bunny behaviour – trust me I know what bonded rabbits are. During the change of seasons in spring – because of the severe weather change we had in London, they became hormonal and had a large fight. We rebonded them in around three days using a mixture of car rides, keeping them in the bathroom and eventually bringing them back together. After this they began having frequent tiffs due to the seasons and before we could properly sort this out we had to go on holiday. Over the holidays my ex-teacher looked after them and introduced them to Norman. I am not sure how this worked out as I wasn’t there. However after the huge fight we brought Oreo and Norman home. They got along perfectly and lived in our living room for two months without even a sight of Crystal. Last week I brought Crystal home and put her in my bedroom. Oreo and Norman were kept completely isolated from Crystal. Every day I started slowly reintroducing them in my shower cubicle – a totally . neutral area from times ranging from 1-3 hours and yesterday night they got along in there during the whole day. This morning I decided it was time to try and move them into their cage. I completely disinfected it with washing up liquid which I rinsed off EXTREMELY WELL and sprayed a mixture of vinegar and water onto a cloth and wiped the cage all around with it to completely neutralise the scent. I reintroduced them in my bedroom which I also neutralised to get rid off Crystal’s scent and places them all in the cage. After 8 hours in the cage with perfect behaviour I opened the door so they could run around in the room as I didn’t want to give them too much space too quickly (my bedroom is small). They are still on their best behaviour and being absolute angels. All I am wondering is how to relocate them back downstairs as this is an area which Oreo and Norman have spent a huge amount of time in and how I would be able to neutralise this area and place them downstairs.

[Bunny House]

I agree with A&B, just because they are litter mates doesn’t mean they are bonded. They don’t recognize family units. You need to prebond all the buns for at least a month or two. Then you can do bonding dates.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Just in general, bonded bunnies don’t have tifts because of the seasons changing. That’s not being bonded. I think you’re moving really fast and are going to have issues again in the future. I would suggest reading Sirius&Luna’s thread on her successful trio bond. Because this method that you’re using doesn’t seem to be working for your bunnies. After 3 days or even a day of being in a cage and then let back to a larger space to permanently live is not enough time for them to work out their issues. And odds are you’re going to keep seeing them fight. But that’s just my peace.

You can neutralize the scent the same way you did previously with a spray of vinegar and water and give everything a good wipe down. You can also spray with some Nature’s Miracle cage cleaner on everything to be extra sure. Make sure to wash blankets as well.

[sarahthegemini]

Yeah I agree ^ Bonded bunnies shouldn’t be having frequent tiffs just due to weather change. I mean, bunnies aren’t always going to be lovey dovey 24/7 and they will have some disagreements in their life together but it certainly shouldn’t be a frequent occurence and not just because the seasons are changing.

Can you describe a bit more about what their tiffs entail?

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