Right it's time to bond! And I need all the advice I can get!....

Hi you may have seen my post in rabbits in need about 4 rabbits I rescued- well it turns out I'm keeping them all ( thanks to assistance from Furry friends and donations from 2 members on here :wave so at least some have to bond!!

I've build a new 11ft by 8ft aviary with shed attached and my ideal would be they all live happily ever after!! I know i'd be very lucky for this tto happen but I'm giving it a go! If not i can split it in to two and have two pairs- if none get on some may have to be rehomed!

They were all spayed 2.5 weeks ago ( it turned out Chester was a girl too! Can't believe the breeder lied to my face about how many lovely litters 'he'd' fathered etc!!) so they are 4 ex breeding females! 3 are about 3/4 and one is about 1 (apparently!) They have lost a lot of wight while they've been with me- were very overweight- but still overweight) I did put Willow and Dusty in together before the op just to test the water and a bit of scrapping but nothing too horrendous... however when Chester sniffed at Jaffa thro the bars Jaffa really went for her but she was nest building etc at the time so I'm hoping after hormones die down etc it may be ok.

SO questions are how long do I need to l need to leave it before attempting bonding (they look and act healed but I had twins by csection 10 months ago and know how painful that was for a long time!!:shock

And when I go for it do I just put them all together at once or what??!! I've never bonded more than a pair before and I'm certainly a nervous bonder!!

They are all doing so well now and Willow and Misty are sooooo friendly- amazing how much they've changed in a couple of months- they love head rubs and will lie for ages just being stroked. Chester likes to come up and take food and be nosey and will be stroked but doesn't like the initial hand moving towards him movement.. Jaffa is still very scared and hides in the corner when I'm around but will be stroked and is never nasty just scared. None like to be picked up at all!! and I'm not surprised after the way I saw her handling them - on top of being rabbits who aren't really keen on being off the floor anyway.

Any advice really appreciated

I'm not speaking from any experience but I think it would definitely be worth waiting another few weeks before trying to bond. Their hormones will still be all over the place. Maybe in the meantime you could have them so they can all see and smell each other so they're getting used to everybun's scent! I definitely think that has helped with the two I'm bonding at the moment - last time they hadn't seen each other at all and they fought but this time they had been living in rooms next to each other and sniffing each other through the door! I actually didn't think it had helped because Freda would try to attack Fred when he went near the bars so I was very nervous of putting them together but actually it was fine so I think it was just a territory / frustration at not being able to investigate thing. Sorry for waffling on...

I'm in a very similar situation!! We've had one of our male buns for a year and have somehow managed to rescue 3 more buns within a month!! We've got a large garden so have the option of free range house buns or a shed and run/aviary like you mentioned.

I would also LOVE to bond all 4 together but am very nervous about it! I've read that it can be very difficult to pick up on illness with quads too so am a little concerned about that, especially as we only really know our original bunny well enough to pick up any illness with him.

I can't offer any advice but am looking for some myself aswell so will keep a close eye on this post. If you do start bonding I'd be really interested to hear how you get on!

Patience is the best advice from me just don't rush a bond, take time exchanging scent and allowing looks/sniffs through mesh - after all if someone just walked in your house, sat next to you and tried to lick your face it wouldn't go down too well :lol:

Good luck