Newly Bonded Trio (pic heavy) U/D Bad news, please help!

Here they all are... had a few teething problems when they went in the shed. Fidget being a bit of a madam, not wanting to share her toys. All seems fine now though, lots of grooming going on

Gorgeous trio glad they are getting on well. I am surprised your cat climber is still standing Frankie and Kassy destroyed theirs in 4 weeks. :roll:

Am glad it was successful!!

Lovely pics! Beautiful bunnies!! How big is your shed? It looks huge in those pics! They look very happy, bless 'em.

Also; is that the hayrack from Zooplus? Hope you don't mind me asking but I was looking at that one the other week and wondered how good it was!

They all look so GOOD together. Black, White and Grey. Complement each other beautifully

Hanlou said:

Am glad it was successful!!

Lovely pics! Beautiful bunnies!! How big is your shed? It looks huge in those pics! They look very happy, bless 'em.

Also; is that the hayrack from Zooplus? Hope you don't mind me asking but I was looking at that one the other week and wondered how good it was!

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Thanks

The shed is 8x6ft. Yeah the rack is from zooplus. It's pretty good actually cause you can actually screw it into the wall of shed/hutch so it stays put unlike the flimsy ones you hang off the hutch doors

awww gorgeous

Which one was the single bun? which ever it was they have fitted in well

What a gorgeous group

Thank you. We have a brick shed that is roughly that size and I can't help but keep wondering if it would be a good bunny-housing option rather than the kennel I planned....

The hay rack looks good - looks better in situ' than on the website.

They really are a stunning trio xx

absolutely gorgeous really glad its going well

kaths101 said:

awww gorgeous

Which one was the single bun? which ever it was they have fitted in well

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Angel.

She's the mum of Hetty (Spider)'s foster babies

ETA: Angel is the REW btw

Bad News

I have had to separate

I just went to say goodnight and caught Fidget really going for Angel. No serious fighting but fur pulling and chasing and she didn't really seem happy unless angel was up a corner. I have put Angel back in her hutch inside the shed.

I admit I was over confident and think I moved them into the shed too soon but they really did seem fine most of the day! Arghhh

Any advice? Really don't know what to do now except start all over again next weekend... maybe totally gut the shed, disinfect everything etc... The shed is F&F's territory and I can't really change that, I can only hope they, or Fidget (as Frankie seems fine) accepts Angel into it

ohh noo hopefully an expert will tell you what to do but I would have thought you have to start again - back to a small neutral area and i was advised not to move for 48 hours or more.
Im sure it will be fine - first pictures looked great so dont give up hope.. This is what im worried about - the slightest little thing can make them kick off :?

also I heard you must wash everything down with a mix of vinegar and water to get rid of the scents in the shed! as the pair will still see that as their territory..

I have struggled to bond my two girls for the past year so i am afraid i have no great advice.

I do hope they are back to snuggling up together soon tho

How long were they in a bonding pen?

I would have kept them in there for a week under supervision.

Disinfect everything in the hutch, anything that can NOT be disinfected, (ie wooden toys) chuck and replace

if they were only together a day then thats why theres a problem its too early. it was a good sign if they were getting on in the pen, but they didnt have a proper bond yet. id start again

my trio were fine in a pen, but couldnt be in the shed together for a week, they needed to have a strong bond before i could put them in the shed,or one bun got left out.

Thanks for the advice. Yeah I am definitely keeping them in the pen longer as they were only in for around 30 or so hours (I was also worried about keeping them in too long with the cold outside). So I was thinking pen for about 4 days then pen inside shed (after disinfecting) for two/three days then let them out. It did start promising so hopefully if i get the timing right next time it will work

If I am bonding a trio then as it's three personalities involved I would normally keep them together somewhere small and neutral for atleast a week or so (I do them for others so it depends on how the new home can cope with their arrival home). Then they would go home to a smaller area than they are going to live in. Seeing bunnies getting on this early is not unusual in a new bond, but it's way too early in my opinion to be seeing how their true personalities will show. They are all a bit stressed by their new play mates and it's only after a few days that you will see the pecking order properly develop (except in exceptional circumstances where it genuinely is love at first sight). Normally about 48 hours + you will see things shift and the order of seniority you thought you were going to see, might be completely changed.

I think it's a shame your bond broke down so quickly but I think you put them out too soon in a different (and too large) a space. When you have another go, keep them with you for a good 5-7 days and then maybe test the water by increasing their space. When you are totally confifdent that they do want to be together, then put them in their new home (but I'd still keep the shed split to give them less space. Quite often the early signs of bonding can look positive and then it all go down hill, but this is normally temporary and can be managed.

I do understand your concerns about the change in temperature so maybe give it a while before retrying for the weather to change and maybe try and keep the area where they are being bonded cooler. We don't have heating on very high at all in our lounge when we do bonds for outside bunnies this time of year.

Good luck.

Helen

Oh and I meant to echo what has already been said above, there must be no real trace that any of the bunnies have been in the shed previously for this to work relatively easily (there will be exceptions of course) but this means completely de-scenting the place. Taking out anything that was previously used by the bunnies (even if it's temporary like toys), and using a new or at best a totaly clean litter tray. Bunnies mark their territory as you know by gnawing so if there is any sign of this on trays, toys, boxes etc then they will notice it and it can make a difference.

I can only agree with whats already been said i made the mistake of giving my four too much space too soon and set me back, id try again and keep them in their bonding pen for at least a week as has been said. There will be more squabbles to come but you have to expect that and stay strong.