Adding another boy to a trio of 2 girls + 1 boy

I have read so much on bonding that I thought I could pull this off with no problem, but them Clover went mad!
Is there a specific procedure to follow when adding another male to a trio of 2 females and one male?
The new male is the most gentle, submissive little guy. I think he thinks he's human! So far, even with a brief introduction to the new male from a distance and behind a pen, Lloyd started humping Saffy like mad. What the heck does that mean? Is he just showing he's the boss? Saffy is indifferent and Clover went nuts darting about and grunting. Yeesh! I may be too frightened to even give this a try!
All buns are spayed and neutered, by the way.

Anyone? Personal experiences to share? Advice? Please?

Neutral territory is a must. If a male sees another getting close to his border and can't get to him to chase him off he can take out his frustration on the rabbits he can reach ie his companions.

You need to find somewhere neutral to introduce them to see what their real reactions will be. With four rabbits you might want an extra pair of hands just in case and I always recommend doing any bonding during office hours just in case there is an injury.

I have read so much on bonding that I thought I could pull this off with no problem, but them Clover went mad! No bonding is guaranteed, the same as with human relationships we don't all get on with the same people.

Is there a specific procedure to follow when adding another male to a trio of 2 females and one male? Use the same rules as any bonding, totally neutral space, restricting area, time, patience and dont increase the space too quickly.

The new male is the most gentle, submissive little guy. I think he thinks he's human! This doesn't mean he will be the same with another particualar rabbit. In the human world someone can be very gentle and kind with most people but there will be an odd few people that really anoy them and bring out the worst. Same with rabbits.

So far, even with a brief introduction to the new male from a distance and behind a pen, :? Are they in together or is this side by side.


Lloyd started humping Saffy like mad. What the heck does that mean? Is he just showing he's the boss? Yes


All buns are spayed and neutered, by the way. Good that is essential

Janice, they aren't in together. The male I am thinking of bonding with my trio is a foster who needs more 'run around' time, so I let him out to play in the back half of the house. This area is separate from where my own 3 are, but they were able to spot him at one point. That's when Lloyd started humping Saffy and Clover (7 month old female) started trying to attack the new male through the ex-pen barrier I'd put up to be safe.
Clover is the one who concerns me the most because as soon as she spotted another bun, she turned vicious. I know if I decide to bond them I will have to have an overlapped ex-pen so that there is no way a nose could be bitten off!

This area is separate from where my own 3 are, but they were able to spot him at one point. That's when Lloyd started humping Saffy and Clover (7 month old female) started trying to attack the new male through the ex-pen barrier I'd put up to be safe. Responses through the mesh are not something which will indicate whether a bonding will work or not. Rabbits who are defending their territory through the mesh can sometimes bond easily, others may not. Rabbits that lie next to each other alond a mesh fence also may go for the jugular when they bonding is attempted on totally neutral territory.


Clover is the one who concerns me the most because as soon as she spotted another bun, she turned vicious.
Your buns are exhibiting something called referred aggression where one is trying to show their dominance over the other rabbits in their hierachy, this is not a good thing to happen as serious injuries can occur and you could end up totally destroying any possibility of them bonding. I would strongly suggest that you remove the single bun from the area so that the others cannot see or smell him.

I know if I decide to bond them I will have to have an overlapped ex-pen so that there is no way a nose could be bitten off!
Could you explain more about this, I have done many bondings but cannot work out what an ex-pen is.

I personally do not do slow bondings, preferring to use the less stressful 'quicker' metho, however where you have Clover exhibiting aggressive behaviour as a result of the single buns presence doing a slow method of bonding woudl actually be detrimental to the well being of your rabbits and could result in you ending up with 4 single rabbits.

Ex-pen: http://www.sears.ca/product/national-pet-cages-exercise-pen-42-high/606-000849380-2042-EPSP

I opened it up and just used it to separate the front of the house from the back.
The single bun isn't being kept anywhere near the others (his space is actually on a different floor - I just brought him up to play), he just snuck past me and got too close to the other buns' area which is when Clover charged the pen, grunting and trying to bite.
So when I say I would overlap it, I mean I would fold it in half with a small space in between so that Clover can't actually reach the other bun to bite him.

So, a quicker method would be preferable? What would you consider to be quick? Sorry to be such a bother, but I'm not sure what you mean. Do you have a step-by-step sort of guideline I could try to follow?

Thanks so much!