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Trio bonding, when one bun is fairly ill?

GrahamL

Wise Old Thumper
Pasteurella + other issues such as kidney issues and random GI oddness.

If bonding a trio, from a currently established pair, what would be the least stressful way of doing it to avoid too much of a flare up of any illnesses, brought on by stress?

Sorry if i've done this thread before, i couldnt remember, or find one.
 
No idea Gray! Been on and off on here so might have missed something. Any plans for a trio yourself??
 
Obviously I have no idea. Do you think the ill rabbit being bullied would be something to watch out for though?
 
To be honest, and this might not be what you want to hear, I'd say the least stressful way of doing it in that situation is not to do it...

You run the risk of a failed bond resulting in three singles, which in turn would increase the stress on the already poorly one. Without being certain about causes and contagiousness, you don't know if the poorly one has something that would pass to the new one, or equally whether the new one has something sub-clinical that would pass to the existing poorly one. And bonding itself is a stressful event regardless of how smoothly it is done.

Personally, I would suggest that if the bond ain't broke, don't try and fix it by adding another at the moment.
 
To be honest, and this might not be what you want to hear, I'd say the least stressful way of doing it in that situation is not to do it...

You run the risk of a failed bond resulting in three singles, which in turn would increase the stress on the already poorly one. Without being certain about causes and contagiousness, you don't know if the poorly one has something that would pass to the new one, or equally whether the new one has something sub-clinical that would pass to the existing poorly one. And bonding itself is a stressful event regardless of how smoothly it is done.

Personally, I would suggest that if the bond ain't broke, don't try and fix it by adding another at the moment.

Hi Santa,

Thanks for taking the time to post :)

I have a kind of issue, in that Biscuit suffers from some severe seperation anxiety, or did before Ginger anyway. I have an inherent fear that when/if Ginger goes, he's going to suffer majorly, so do i

a) bond a trio so he has a friend even after that event
b) leave it, and bond ASAP post event.

I wish i didnt have to think about this again, but it popped into my head and here i am :/
 
I was very wary of bonding Sue with my trio because she was so poorly but I am glad I did. The bond didn't seem to stress her out too much and she never stopped eating.

I put them all in a small pen in the lounge but separated Sue from the other three initially so they could just rub noses but not reach each other. Then I removed the barrier but they still had a small space and I gradually made the pen bigger.

I found that they bonded in pairs - ie one at a time with Sue. I was terrified of her being set upon and bullied but they seemed aware she was vulnerable and it was a relatively easy bond.

Having said that she did spend a fair bit of time on her own, even after they all went back outside, but I found the other three would almost take it in turns to spend time with her, as she wasn't as active as them and rarely left the hutch. It was sweet - one or other would hop into the hutch to see how she was and spend a bit of time with her and would then go and see the other two and later on a different bun would go and check on Sue.

Molly kept looking for Sue after she died:( but it was definitely easier on the three having each other for company when Sue went to the Bridge. They didn't pine in the same way as my remaining bun has done when their sole companion has died.
 
I think if you were to do it I would go the short route, ie put them together and not seperate. I think repeated introductions or 'dates' would be alot more stressful. I think Santa's reasoning is very valid, but appreciate this is such an individual situation. I myself am considering it as Willow has become very dependant on Bluebell lately and I am worried about her reaction should the worst happen.

I think the important thing is you know Ginger, you know what she can handle and as long as you have assessed the pros and cons carefully and are super vigilant during bonding I wish you the best of luck.

I would also be very strict about quarantine for the new bun and want him/her panacured before introduction, as with Gingers low immune system you don't want to expose her to any nasties.
 
To be honest, and this might not be what you want to hear, I'd say the least stressful way of doing it in that situation is not to do it...

You run the risk of a failed bond resulting in three singles, which in turn would increase the stress on the already poorly one. Without being certain about causes and contagiousness, you don't know if the poorly one has something that would pass to the new one, or equally whether the new one has something sub-clinical that would pass to the existing poorly one. And bonding itself is a stressful event regardless of how smoothly it is done.

Personally, I would suggest that if the bond ain't broke, don't try and fix it by adding another at the moment.


I agree 100%
 
My only observation has been with healthy buns. When Sonic was pts, Floppy was distraught and went from place to place looking for him and took a while to start eating again.

When Mittens was pts, Floppy had Millie as well and they honestly did not seem to bother much at all. This is obviously very limited experience however!! I now have a trio again because I feel the two left behind cope better. The illness and stress issue is real though and only you along with someone helping to bond could make the call of whether it was adversely affecting the ill bun.
 
I have to agree, I wouldn't do it either. When I had a four Peanut used to be a right bully, and in the end I separated them back into two pairs, I then found out he was unwell, and he was probably being a bully because he was stressed out.

Now I have a trio and they are very happy together, but they are all healthy so its a different situation. I wouldnt bond any stressed or unwell buns because you are messing about with their bond already, and then you could end up with singles, or a bun that is left out. And I agree with what Santa says about potentially spreading illness.

The cons far outweigh the pro's in my opinion.

xx
 
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