help and advice to bond a male and female bonded pair with another male ADVICE PLEASE

Hi all,
I started the bonding process of my two already bonded male and female rabbits with my lone male rabbit yesterday, They have been living outside in hutches and runs which are side by side for several months now, As the weather is getting better I thought it time for introductions,

i put them together in a small neutral pen on the patio, with me in it also, my male and female pair Milo and Tilly were quite nervous as they hate being handled and out of their own enviroment, Marley is the young male bun and he was very curious and alot bolder than them,
This is how it went,

I sat with Milo behind me while Marley and Tilly greeted eachother, Tilly kept her head and body as low to the ground as she could, they were nose to nose, and I stroked them both whilst they were like that. she allowed him to mount her, which I let him do for a short time before pushing him off, Their meeting seemed successful ( although I know Tilly was a little stressed and out of her comfort zone)

Then I let marley discover Milo, Milo was also quite still as he was also out of his comfort zone, Marley also mounted Milo, but Milo was less acceptable of it, when face to face, I stroked them both, but Milo kept nipping at Marleys face, and started boxing him. I have a hunch that if I wasn't in the run with them that milo would of been much worse.

Can you let me know if that is a normal first meeting or not between the boys? I am pretty nervous about the boys fighting.
Am I better off in the pen with them,at least for a few sessions, or should I stand outside then pen and let them get on with it???? (she says nervously)
Any advice or tips would be great, Thanks in advance

anyone????

bump

I wouldnt be in the pen with them-just be an observer ready to interrupt if fighting occurs.Dont push them off if mounting-its a normal part of bonding,they're sorting out who's who,let them get on with it.I wouldnt keep stroking them either,just let the bunnies do the business.Dont keep splitting them up either once together leave them together you'll only prolong it as they will have to go through the who's who each time they meet,for that reason would it not be possible to bond indoors? so that you can watch them 24:7 if needs be.
Best of luck

i would love to be able to bond them indoors, but it's not possible, I can't be with them 24/7 either which is a shame, so will have to go down the slow route, but i will stay out of the pen and let them figure it out. I have my broom and thick gloves at the ready.

Should all 3 be in the pen at the same time, or should i bond them seperatly??
Thankyou

Dunno if I will be any help, but I'm in a similar situation. Bonding a new bunny with 2 bonded and neutered brothers. The gentler of the 2 brothers is really not bothered but the other one keeps biting the newbie and the newbie boxes him. At the moment they are separated by the pen but can see each other and touch between the bars.They haven't yet cuddled up to each other or relaxed so I'm just carrying on very very slowly. Good Luck!:wave:

i would suggest bonding all three at once, you dont want one feeling left out!

OK,
This is how the 2nd meeting went

Tilly and my single male bun Marley have been absolutly fine, there has been no agression only dominance, she is submitting to him, they have been sitting very close together and Tilly even groomed him for about 10 seconds.

Milo on the other hand had a few nips at Marleys face, a brief boxing match before both retreating to the corners, Milo actually relaxed and layed down to chill out, while marley just kept himself very still in the corner, they were both grooming themselves and didn't seem bothered, they were sat seperate for over half an hour, Tilly went from one to the other.
eventually they ended up fighting again after Marley tried asserting his dominance over Milo. It looked pretty fierce and Tilly got dragged into the scuffle too, This is when I decided to end their session.