bonding 2 pairs into a group

Hi i have decided im going to try bond my 2 pairs into a group next week end(can start friday night then have 3 day with it been bank holiday then can go from there) pair 1 is (female/female), and pair 2 (male/female). soo far the 2 girls live in the shed, and the male/female live in a hutch in the shed. they eat at the side of each other and lay at side of each other.
as iv not bonded either pair myself (2 girls bonded themselfs when one escaped her hutch) and the other 2 i took in about 3weeks ago when a friend has had to move her landlord has sold the house.
im wanting to get them bonded as soon as i can as i feel awful 2 ben in a cage and 2 havinf the run of shed, they dont get to play in the run at min as garden is been redone. so they get to take it in turns on the lead and harness.
so basicly i need to know everything about bonding them. where would be good to put them for bonding as i have 3 dogs(and 1 puppy who stays over every now and then) and 4 cats so need to be away from them so upstairs is the better option(bathroom is down stairs) what will i need? what do i look out for? im no good at this and i panic over things simple.

Are you SURE you want to bond them? Do you know that there is potential for the existing bonds to break down?

I bonded my pairs, I also bonded Nutmeg to the lops before I had Smudge, but getting them into a four proved very difficult for me and ultimately I had to give up. Fortunately their existing bonds didn't break although i had to do some repair work on Nutmeg and Smudge's bond.

If you do bond them the principle is the same for bonding a pair but everything becomes much slower. Any increase in space needs to be done gradually. So a small neutral space and stay with them watching them for at least 48 hours, preferably longer for a quad and then gradually increase the space over several days if there are no fights.

It there a reason why you want to bond them? I would leave as pairs unless there is a good reason to bond. I have a foursome, and while they get on fine there are squabbles and if I had room I would probably split into two pairs.

I too have 2 pairs....a female/female pair (getting spayed tomorrow) and a male/female pair that are already fixed. I too am bonding them once the two girls have settled after their spay. I plan on swapping litter trays for a week, then swapping territories for a week, then a car journey followed by bonding outside with me in the extention of the house for very VERY close observation, but will probably bring them inside to do it knowing me being panicy and worrying. Needless to say, let me know how they get on. I'll be updating my 4 status' when the time comes

LauryStevens said:

I plan on swapping litter trays for a week, then swapping territories for a week, then a car journey followed by bonding outside with me in the extention of the house for very VERY close observation, but will probably bring them inside to do it knowing me being panicy and worrying. Needless to say, let me know how they get on. I'll be updating my 4 status' when the time comes

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I would be really careful about swapping litter trays and territory unless you are bonding single buns, just the smell of another bun can cause bonded pairs to fight, I really wouldn't recommend this method unless both buns are single.

louise and Gus said:

I would be really careful about swapping litter trays and territory unless you are bonding single buns, just the smell of another bun can cause bonded pairs to fight, I really wouldn't recommend this method unless both buns are single.

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Absolutely agree with Louise. Risky business giving a pair a reason to squabble and swapping trays is going to do just that in most cases.

I would bond them. I love to see bunnies in groups. I must try and post a picture of our group of permanent bunnies. They all pile into a hay filled dog bed in winter and it always makes my heart melt. In Summer they line up in the sunshine and groom each other.

I have just bonded a sixsome which was 3 bonded pairs. I have a group of 6 here that was upto 8 of our permanent health issue bunnies. I start them off in a big area with lots to do - tunnels, willow balls, readigrass and treats sprinkled on the floor, boxes and things to do. It is almost as if exploration takes over the need to fight. I observe for at least an hour and then keep checking very periodcially. I don't leave them together until fighting subsides. Gradually I will limit the amount of room they have (once I am confident there are no major scraps). The worst scraps I find happen between the girls!! Our resident bunnies has always been more males than females.

I would warn you that even though I have a big group the hierarchy does change. There will always be an underdog but as bunnies in the group get older then cruelly sometimes the others will try and push them out. I sort this by locking them into 2 groups at night and then letting them mingle during the day. You always have to be on your toes with a group but it is amazing to see how they interact and see all their characters and how they behave. I think you learn a lot about rabbit behaviour from keeping groups of bunnies.

louise and Gus said:

I would be really careful about swapping litter trays and territory unless you are bonding single buns, just the smell of another bun can cause bonded pairs to fight, I really wouldn't recommend this method unless both buns are single.

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So would you and The Dutchess feel I should just go straight in for the bond then once they've recovered? The pair live side by side and they toilet right next to each other (divided by bars) and this has never bothered them....or is it the fact of it being in their territory more of an issue?

What would you say I do then?

I'm limited for space which is why I'm wanting them to bond, I have a 8ft by 6 ft shed and 8ft by 8ft pen build on the side, if it fails then I have back up plan, can either seperate the shed into 2 and attache 2 runs where pen is, also have 2 hutches in shed one been 4 ft double and one beening a 5ft single. And 2 indoor cages, my oldest girl pippa is the boss and she's guna let any1 know that lol, she seems really good with the girls its the male one she isn't fond of! Lol