Bonding

I am hopefully getting another rabbit at some point in the future (I was going to get one next March, but it may be sooner) and I'd like some information on bonding please. I might get a rescue one, but I don't know for certain yet, and I'd like information on bonding anyway
Does the age/size of the rabbit matter? I thought it was just personality that mattered but I just wanted to check. Also, as I have 1 neutered male and 1 spayed female already, does it matter what gender the new rabbit is? My friends got rabbits and she said that I should get a girl because boys can become quite dominant but Archie's quite a laid back rabbit and I thought girls could be dominant too?
How should it be done? I'd need to wait until the rabbit was neutered/spayed (unless I go to a rescue) and I would keep him/her seperate until then, and then I was going to get a metal pen/run and keep them in the house for a couple of weeks, but I don't really know how I should bond them.

Do they have to be in a small pen? Should I put anything in the pen? How old should the new rabbit be before I introduce him/her to Archie and Molly? Sorry for so many questions

Ok firstly, why are you wanting a third rabbit? When I got my 3rd I wasn't even looking for one, I just fell for Jasper and had to get him!

Also is your accommodation big enough for 3? A new bun might upset your current pair if they are happy and may not bond so that is something to think about. So it would be best to go to a rescue so that the bunnies can go on some dates to see if they get along. If not you may be stuck with a pair and a single. :|

I have found that girls are much harder to bond! I'm finding it impossible for my females to get along but usually it's the other way around and apparently boys are harder to bond. :shock: Sounds strange to me but that must be because I have 2 very laid back males who are pretty much gay and in love with each other. :lol:

I have always wanted a group of rabbits, and Molly and Archie are both quite laid back and I think they'd accept another rabbit, though I'm not getting the other rabbit for a while so I can think about it. I am hoping to move them into an 8ft x 6ft shed, but I don't know if I'd be able to attach the run to it so I don't know if that would be any better than the hutch and run they have now, though they could go in the run for a couple of hours each day, but I don't know which would be better.

Alicia said:

I have always wanted a group of rabbits, and Molly and Archie are both quite laid back and I think they'd accept another rabbit, though I'm not getting the other rabbit for a while so I can think about it. I am hoping to move them into an 8ft x 6ft shed, but I don't know if I'd be able to attach the run to it so I don't know if that would be any better than the hutch and run they have now, though they could go in the run for a couple of hours each day, but I don't know which would be better.

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An 8 x 6 shed is 48 square feet
What you currently have is 36 square feet.

So the shed would be bigger that what you currently have. But as the new recommended accommodation size for 2 buns is a 6 x 2 hutch and 8 x 4 run which is 44 square feet then for 3 I'd say you'd need at least a 6 x 4 run attached to your shed for a trio...

However it would be good if you could put shelves in the shed or add a second level.

It's got a 2nd level in it already I can't add a run because the shed is in the middle of decking and there's stones all around it, which my parents won't let me change :?

Alicia said:

It's got a 2nd level in it already I can't add a run because the shed is in the middle of decking and there's stones all around it, which my parents won't let me change :?

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Sounds good then.

If you talk to a number of people on here trios do not always work with one rabbit being either bullied or left out.

If you get a third and it does not bond with your existing rabbits, can you afford to sort out another set of accomodation for it, pay for vaccinations etc and also get it a friend if the bonding is unsuccesful? You need to have a back up plan. If it works you are lucky.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=262676&highlight=hour This is something I quickly wrote a few months ago which may help you. When bonding 3 you really should double the length of time you would for a pair for any action.

janice said:

If you talk to a number of people on here trios do not always work with one rabbit being either bullied or left out.

If you get a third and it does not bond with your existing rabbits, can you afford to sort out another set of accomodation for it, pay for vaccinations etc and also get it a friend if the bonding is unsuccesful? You need to have a back up plan. If it works you are lucky.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=262676&highlight=hour This is something I quickly wrote a few months ago which may help you. When bonding 3 you really should double the length of time you would for a pair for any action.

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I agree. My trio has not worked out and I now have a pair and a single. You have to be prepared for anything and if I'm totally honest with you Alicia I would not get a third rabbit.

Yeah, there are some successful trios but I don't think I would risk it. Am I wrong in thinking any odd numbers can be tricky? Like 5 for instance? I think rabbits can often pair up and leave one left out :?

William said:

Yeah, there are some successful trios but I don't think I would risk it. Am I wrong in thinking any odd numbers can be tricky? Like 5 for instance? I think rabbits can often pair up and leave one left out :?

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That's what happened with my three, and then it turned to aggression between the girls. Janice has kindly offered to have a go for me in a few months, but if that doesn't work out then I may end up with a pair and single, or three singles, who knows. It's just not worth the risk if you already have a happy pair, IMO.

many years ago I added a rabbit who i believed to be female, to a bonded pair of females. (The new rabbit had been abandoned and brought to me, so I hadn't intended to have 3 at the time). However, the new rabbit was actually male and mis-sexed by vet - and was promptly neutered. The bonding went well initially, but then the male formed a stronger attachment with one of the females and the other female was pushed aside ( though not attacked, just ignored) so I always felt sorry for her. If I'd known then what I knew now, I would have left the two females as a pair, and found the new bunny a partner.

janice said:

If you talk to a number of people on here trios do not always work with one rabbit being either bullied or left out.

If you get a third and it does not bond with your existing rabbits, can you afford to sort out another set of accomodation for it, pay for vaccinations etc and also get it a friend if the bonding is unsuccesful? You need to have a back up plan. If it works you are lucky.

http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=262676&highlight=hour This is something I quickly wrote a few months ago which may help you. When bonding 3 you really should double the length of time you would for a pair for any action.

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Thanks for that Janice, I have been nosy and had a read. I will follow your advice when I attempt to bond my 4. :wave:

Mischief and Tinker's Mum said:

Thanks for that Janice, I have been nosy and had a read. I will follow your advice when I attempt to bond my 4. :wave:

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Preparation is the most important part of bonding bunnies. Good luck

janice said:

Preparation is the most important part of bonding bunnies. Good luck

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Thank you

I'd like a group on bunnies too, but I wouldn't risk upsetting my current pair. I'd never forgive myself if Beano and Gordon fell out and say one of them or both was left as a single. You could end up with three single rabbits, or one single and destroying your rabbits origanal bond. Or if they do bond one may always be left out. I'd recommend sticking to your orginal pair, maybe in the future you could adopt a larger group, I have seen some in rescues. But if you want a third rabbit soon in the future then make sure you do lots of planning first for every possible outcome

The rabbit will stay indoors until he/she is neutered or spayed, so I will always have spare housing in case the bond doesn't work, I don't know what to do, because I really would like to get another rabbit, but I don't want Archie and Molly to fall out. My friend has got a few trios of rabbits so hopefully she'd help me bond them. Has anyone successfully bonded a trio? It sounds very unlikely that it will work :? If they don't bond (and I would try everything first) the rabbit could be kept as a house bunny. I wasn't thinking of doing this until March so I've got a while to think about it.

Alicia said:

The rabbit will stay indoors until he/she is neutered or spayed, so I will always have spare housing in case the bond doesn't work, I don't know what to do, because I really would like to get another rabbit, but I don't want Archie and Molly to fall out. My friend has got a few trios of rabbits so hopefully she'd help me bond them. Has anyone successfully bonded a trio? It sounds very unlikely that it will work :? If they don't bond (and I would try everything first) the rabbit could be kept as a house bunny. I wasn't thinking of doing this until March so I've got a while to think about it.

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I have trios, but, as I said on your other thread, I would only (and have only) add another bunny into a situation if I felt it was best for the bunny- and can justify and explain each trio and why and how it worked, not because of myself. In my eyes, because you want a group of rabbits, that's not about your rabbits and what is best for them, that's about you and what you want. Sorry if that sounds harsh or anything, it's not meant to, just bad wording.

Alicia said:

The rabbit will stay indoors until he/she is neutered or spayed, so I will always have spare housing in case the bond doesn't work, I don't know what to do, because I really would like to get another rabbit, but I don't want Archie and Molly to fall out. My friend has got a few trios of rabbits so hopefully she'd help me bond them. Has anyone successfully bonded a trio? It sounds very unlikely that it will work :? If they don't bond (and I would try everything first) the rabbit could be kept as a house bunny. I wasn't thinking of doing this until March so I've got a while to think about it.

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Would it be possible to get 2 rabbits? That way you'd have 4. It would still be a risk to disrupt your current 2 but I think a quad would be more likely to work than a trio and in case of it not working you could have 2 pairs.

I don't have space for 4 and I don't see why I should have to justify reasons for wanting another rabbit to everybody? I said I'm going to think about it, this was not an invitation for people to tell me I'm being selfish. I don't know if I'll get another rabbit or not, I'm going to find out more about it, talk to some rescues and see what they think and then decide

Alicia said:

I don't have space for 4 and I don't see why I should have to justify reasons for wanting another rabbit to everybody? I said I'm looking into it, this was not an invitation for people to tell me I'm being selfish

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That wasn't what I meant. ETA- from rereading my post, it looks like I missed out a crucial 'I' in one of the sentences. Sorry.

What I meant was that for me, specifically, I am able to justify (to myself) why I added a third into the pairs that I did do, and that each time I did it, it was for the best interests of the bunnies.

I also didn't say you were selfish, although I said that you're doing this because it's what you want. That said, being selfish is human nature and not a particularly big deal, but it is important to look at all points of view when making decisions that affect others.

What you need to consider is

-what happens if you get another rabbit and all three divorce and end up as singles, and not bondable with any of the others?

-what happens if you get an additional one and it chooses one of your existing pair and they bond as a pair, and the single left, if one of the rabbits from your original pair, and if that's fair?

-What happens if one of the rabbits (especially one of your existing two) ends up unhappy due to adding, or attempted adding of a third?

Also, I have already said I'm bad at wording stuff. The warning was there. So, once again, you do need to take it as a warning because I suck at it, so I'm sorry for that.