They are all bonded in the loosest sense of the word, ie they recognise each other and are quick to identify any new additions to the groups. But it's like living in a mini-soap opera sometimes - relationships do shift around a bit and some buns have self-bonded into pairs, like Toadstool and Jack, Mulberry and Twilight, and Captain Carrot and Scamper, all without any intervention from me!
The Brock/Bluebell (formerly Snoopy) break-up did surprise me, as they came from Eastbourne as a bonded pair and seemed very happy together. But then Brock became less keen to enter their shared hutch at night, and Bluebell was spending a lot of time hanging out with Honeybunny's Truffles (formerly Foggie). At that point I gave in to what they seemed to be telling me, and let Bluebell share her hutch with Truffles while Brock joined the big group in the shed. But I felt bad that Brock had been "deserted", so when I went to meet Sue (Mackers) to get April and Noah I took Brock along for the ride and he and April shared a carrier all the way back. It seems to have started something because last night they were hanging round together and were last to enter the shed, and in the end I suspect theyll end up as a loosely bonded couple. I have loads of those. Very little mutual grooming with my pairs but lots of companionable sleeping in the sun together. Carrot and Scamper do groom each other though, and helped clean each other's eyes when they both got nodular myxi.
I suspect the relationships are less intense than between "real" bonded pairs but all of them have one or more bunny they hang out specially with, and all are also part of a mini-group within the big group. There is chasing and fur-pulling occasionally, but touch wood no latching on, and lots of space for them to run off to hide in if they feel it best to do so. Generally they get on really well as a big group, and certainly pick up each other's signals about food/going to the shed at night and so on. And when Angel was freaked by the puppy (he's been trained out of that now, thankfully) her little "group" stood around her guarding her until she felt better.
