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My group - please help - what do i do??

what do i do?

  • Keep trying - and hope the bond of all 4 will strenghten

    Votes: 15 57.7%
  • Split into 2 pairs

    Votes: 11 42.3%
  • Rehome Mittens :( and have a trio

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    26

kaths101

Warren Veteran
:wave: My group of 4 have been together for about a month now and after a few problems a week ago - all are together again...
i started with a pair (sooty and oreo) and 2 singles Charlie and Mittens.
This is the problem i have - they all tolerate each other but one (mittens) is getting excluded...
sooty and Oreo still snuggle, Sooty and Charlie snuggle, Sooty, Oreo and Charlie will snuggle together quite happily.
As soon as mittens comes close to Sooty - Mittens gets nipped - no real fighting but a little nip then mittens backs off and sits on her own in the corner - Oreo will occasionally nip Charlie-what do i do..

a bit more explanantion about the options

1) Keep trying and hope the bond between all 4 will strengthen - they are still working out the pecking order.
2) split into 2 pairs - which I really dont want to do, as since the group bond charlie has bonded really closely with sooty - he is madly in love :love:, but sooty and oreo the original pair are still really close.
3) rehome mittens :cry::cry::cry: and have a trio?

I have tried everything to strenghthen the bond again - I have taken them all for several car rides, have limited the space (all 4 were in an indoor cage for 3 days), i have extended the space a little every few days but the nipping is still happening! I have tried squirting water after every nip happens but still after a week its still happening..

What I do do???? hellllllp - i really dont want to rehome one of my rabbits but mittens was last in and seems to be the one excluded - she is also the softest sweetest bun and wouldnt hurt a fly - which seems like why she is getting picked on :cry: she is also craving somebun to snuggle to and none of mine are obliging at the mo :? I would have to make sure she went somewhere to be with a husbun and go to a 5* home :cry::cry:

edited to say - getting another rabbit isnt an option to pair with mittens - 4 is my limit on finances and space :(
 
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If there's no actual fighting I would keep trying for a bit longer before going for one of the other options if you need to. I would remove anything that they could get territorial over such as bowls or toys and limit the space right back to very small again, so that they can't actually get too far away from each other...and only extend it a bit at a time after they are all choosing to be together and groom each other. If you extend the space before you see this behaviour then it won't consolidate the bond, it will just make them more territorial so it's really important. It isn't nice to see them cooped up in a small space but a week or two in the great scheme of things isn't a lot if it means a better long-term outcome.

You can sometimes help it along a bit by finding a fruit pureed baby food that they all like (something like the hipp apple and banana maybe) and smearing a bit of it on their heads to encourage mutual grooming.
 

but which pairs? i dont want to spilt Sooty and Oreo up or Sooty and Charlie :?:?:?

sooty and oreo will still sit together every night in the way they used to - but Charlie adores Sooty and hasnt really bonded closely with any other bun!!
 
Split into pairs - personally I feel the nipping will continue and best sorted asap. before she gets depressed and starts to have behavioural problems.

The pairs will be very happy:D

A trio can also end up with one left out - there is nearly always somebun bottom of the pecking order and if you rehome Mittens and have a trio it is very possible that one of the others will start to get left out.

.
 
but which pairs? i dont want to spilt Sooty and Oreo up or Sooty and Charlie :?:?:?

sooty and oreo will still sit together every night in the way they used to - but Charlie adores Sooty and hasnt really bonded closely with any other bun!!


Who does mittens get on with best?
 
What are the 'space' consequences of them being in pairs rather than in a 4? Will they all have the same amount of space or will it be smaller/shared exercise time out?
 
Who does mittens get on with best?

:? none of them really... i guess I would have to keep Sooty and oreo together and try charlie with Mittens - he might swap his love from sooty to mittens if Sootys not there??? or will Charlie just get sad/frustrated because sooty is not there :cry::cry::cry:
i will observe closely for a few days and see who she seems to get one with the most...
 
When i first bonded Belle with Stew and Dumps,Stew got left out for a while and i felt awful and considered splitting them. Now they are all happy in the threesome,sometimes they all snuggle together,sometimes not but they are very close now. I'd maybe give it a bit more time? hope it works out for you and them - i know just how you feel atm! :)
 
What are the 'space' consequences of them being in pairs rather than in a 4? Will they all have the same amount of space or will it be smaller/shared exercise time out?

At the moment they will have a lot more space as the group - they have a 7 x 5 shed with 2 levels (not yet finished) I ordered this a few weeks after they came back from bonding and all was fine :roll: and a 6 x 6 run.

So i would have to split the shed so each pair would have 7 x 2.5 ft each and either share the run or I may be able to get another run in - I will have to have a measure so they may be able to have a 6 x 4 run each...

they have been in a small space for over a week now, and the nipping did calm down so i extended by 1 NIC Cube and its started again - so do I go back to the small space again?? at the moment they are in a 3 x 3 ft cage so they dont have a huge amount of space and NOTHING in it apart from a water bowl and a bottle - gosh i feel cruel.
They will eat happily together with no food agression and mittens is happy - she flops alot and is quite chilled about it all - I just dont want her to get picked on!
 
I agree with Santa, it took a good 6 months for my 4 to settle down so I would keep tying as long as no bun is suffering :)

Same here, It has even taken several months for some of my pairs to settle down.

I have also never had a problem with trios, all buns have generally piled up together and I have never seen one seem left out :)
 
Same here, It has even taken several months for some of my pairs to settle down.

I have also never had a problem with trios, all buns have generally piled up together and I have never seen one seem left out :)

When mine were a trio Sweetpea wasn't left out as such but her and Poppy weren't close so Gus spent his time between the two, now I often find all four in a big pile :love:
 
they have been in a small space for over a week now, and the nipping did calm down so i extended by 1 NIC Cube and its started again - so do I go back to the small space again?? at the moment they are in a 3 x 3 ft cage so they dont have a huge amount of space and NOTHING in it apart from a water bowl and a bottle - gosh i feel cruel.

I would go back to the smaller space, for a while longer, I always found a big pile of hay in the middle and some veg scatted around is a good distraction :)
 
On and off, Poppy was the worst, Dinky and Gus had a few episodes too :roll:

Is it nipping of the skin or just fur?

as far as I can see just fur - there hasnt even been fur scattered about so theyre not even pulling it out - its just she will get a quick nip on the bum as if to say get out of my space...
 
i would keep going for a bit longer. My 4 had to be in small completely neutral space for 2 weeks, gradually increased the space to the normal size that they would have and only after another 2 weeks could they go in to neutral space. The are generally loved up now although the bigger buns do still like to remind the neddies that they are boss from time to time.
 
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