Advise needed please?

So, I am in no way an expert in bunny bonding.. So I don't know if this idea is completely stupid

But here goes....

I have two bunnies (both female). And my mum recently gained another female rabbit.

My mums rabbit lives alone and mine live perfectly together!

Basically, we were wondering if it would be possible to bond all 3 rabbits together? So my mums rabbit had friends! And can all run around our garden as a little group of 3! Instead of having too take it in turns! They are all roughly the same age and under 6 months old! (We know if it is possible, it will be hard work and take a lot of time! Which we are prepared for!)

Good idea? Bad idea? ...sorry if this sounds stupid, I'm just not an expert in bonding!

I wouldn't personally advise it. A pair of girls is considered the most difficult combination, and a trio of girls would be even more risky, plus you risk upsetting the bond of your pair. There's a trio bonding sticky here http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?317003-Do-you-want-to-bond-a-trio-Read-this-first

i agree with zoobec that it may not be a wise idea as females are hard to bond and it may ruin the existing bond between your pair. if they are all under six months old, are they neutered yet? if not then hormones will kick in soon which could cause your existing two to fall out. would a neutered male be a possibility for a companion for your mums rabbit? as you're absolutely right that she would be happier with a friend :wave:

elmoandfern said:

i agree with zoobec that it may not be a wise idea as females are hard to bond and it may ruin the existing bond between your pair. if they are all under six months old, are they neutered yet? if not then hormones will kick in soon which could cause your existing two to fall out. would a neutered male be a possibility for a companion for your mums rabbit? as you're absolutely right that she would be happier with a friend :wave:

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This ^^^^^^^ 100%. If your Mum's rabbit was a neutered male then I'd try it but I wouldn't recommend adding an unrelated female to an existing female pair. It COULD work with some hard work BUT is more likely to result in 3 single bunnies . I completely agree with elmoandfern - make sure your two girls are neutered if they're not already as at 6 months of age, hormones will kick in very soon and fighting will probably follow. Then get a neutered boy companion for your Mum's bunny :thumb:.

And just to add, a big 'well done' for thinking about the happiness of these bunnies. Every bunny deserves a bunny friend :thumb:.

Thankyou very much for your advise everyone!

We do have a male bunny! He is about 5 years old now, we had him from a family member who could not look after him any longer!

Is a 5 year old male bunny okay with a female that young?

I honestly couldn't tell you if he has been neutered or not (because we don't know what the previous owner did with him!) If not, is he too old at this stage? Is it too dangerous?



My mum does agree her bunny definitely needs a friend!
She has been thinking about adopting her a friend if there isn't any options with our current bunnies!

Age doesn't really matter if 2 bunnies like one another. Is your female neutered in order to prevent unwanted babies? Also 5 is not too old to have a boy castrated as long as he is healthy and the Vet is happy to do it. It would solve the problem of your single girl

No, she isn't neutered yet! We have only had her two days!

I will talk to my mum about having them both done and hopefully having a happy bunny pair

The trio could work, but it would probably be a bit tricky, have a look at the sticky thread on trios at the top of this section of the forum.

As there is a male that is in need of a friend too, I'd suggest bonding him to the new girl. They will both need to be neutered first, a vet will be able to tell you whether he is or not. 5 years old is fine, unless he is a giant, in which case you may want to discuss it with the vets and get tests done first.

It would be best to neuter all the rabbits, especially the females, as unspayed females can often bully other rabbits and fight. They also have an 85% chance of getting uterine cancer, which spaying prevents.

Good luck! A male/female pair is the best.

I've only had one trio before, thinking it was 3 girls, when actually the 3rd introduced bun was a male ( whose plums hadn't dropped :lol. It wasn't horrendous, but the male favoured one sister over the other and i felt so bad that I'd messed up the perfect bond between the two sisters.

fruitandnutcake said:

Good luck! A male/female pair is the best.

I've only had one trio before, thinking it was 3 girls, when actually the 3rd introduced bun was a male ( whose plums hadn't dropped :lol. It wasn't horrendous, but the male favoured one sister over the other and i felt so bad that I'd messed up the perfect bond between the two sisters.

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This is the same as my trio. Benji was introduced to my two sister girlies, Pea and Pod, simply because he'd lost his partner. He definitely favours Pea over Pod, although the girls do still cuddle up together. But poor old Pod often gets chased out of the shed . Still, it keeps her active, otherwise she's THE laziest bunny in the world!