Would you try a trio?

This is purely just me pondering, nothing will be rushed into as there is no rush to unsettle anything with any of the bunnies. Besides Jake has only neutered last monday and I will be away a couple of nights the end of next month and would need to be around so nothing will change any time soon. I've been doing lots of research on trio's and have read a lot seems to depend on the individual bunnies so will give some info on them and Beano and Gordon's current bond and would you be able to help me see if they could potentially make a good trio?

So I have Beano (spayed female) and Gordon (neutered male), they're both five years old and were bonded together when they were both under a year. Bonding was very smooth with them, at first Gordon was nervous and wanted to run away or freeze when Beano approached. There was no fighting or fur pulling and only very slight humping from Beano. Within a week there were snuggling and perfectly bonded, although I still took things slow with introducing space there was no issues. Beano is the dominant one, and does have a bad habit of nipping Gordon whenever she wants him to move, groom her etc although she does groom him a lot and they spend a lot of time lied down side by side, although I don't see Gordon groom her very much at all, he's far more interested in grooming himself! :lol: Beano also chases him at feeding time so I have to be quick with the pellets as they did have a fight which I presume was over this, they just kept going at each other so I had to separate but as soon as I put them in the pen to be rebonded they were fine and went back in the bedroom together again fine. It was just shocking to see them fighting, fur was flying and they both ended up with a few small scabs.
I did actually begin a trio with my bridge bun Boris, I don't think I posted it on here as I was having a bit of a break at the time as I was busy with college etc. Beano took to him straight away although Gordon was less impressed with a bit of fur pulling and chasing from him directed at Boris, Boris just kept out of his way. Boris groomed Beano a bit and all three were eating in front of each other and there was peace most of the time so I do think that would've worked. I however couldn't continue with the bonding as Boris took ill, he must have been poorly for a while but showed no symptoms (liver tumours and kidney failure) and he needed to be admitted to the vets often and my vets wouldn't let another rabbit stay with them, let alone another two! So rather than risking putting them back together after when Boris was ill I put him back with me in my bedroom where I kept him comfortable until he had to be pts. Beano and Gordon settled fine back on their own, there was no scuffles or anything after the removal of Boris.

So it would be Jake I may consider bonding with them this time, he is very laid back, estimated to be young at around 6 months. However before we adopted him he was kept with a male (both unneutered) and he ended up biting the other males bits, I don't know if this was during a fight or whether the other male just humped him and obviously wasn't impressed so just bit what was in front of his face! But would he remember this as a bad experience of other rabbits? Or male rabbits and therefore more likely be iffy around Gordon?

Sorry for the huge post there!! Just a lot to ponder but have plenty of time, all three bunnies have enough space and are happy atm as we try to give Jake as much attention as possible, they're all indoors so this is easy.

I see no reason not to try, as long as you're aware of the potential pitfalls. They could work as a trio of 2 boys and 1 girl but equally you could potentially end up with 3 singles. I don't think the fact that Jake has previously had a scrap with another male put me off. He was un-neutered so hormones would have had a large impact on his behaviour. I don't suppose Gordon will be too impressed at having to share Beano but that doesn't mean he won't accept it.

Can you let let them interact through mesh for a while to see what their reactions are? If they eventually accept each other through mesh then you could try a speed date in an enclosed and neutral space just to see what happens.

I obsessed about getting a trio for ages & adopted Mouse 11 days ago (to attempt to bond to Joey & Boo). If you'd asked me in week one I'd say don't even think about it. Its getting better now we are in week 2. I've possibly made things more difficult by having a deaf bunny & 2 does in the mix. As you'll be getting Jake anyway I'd probably try. I have to say that how Boo bonded with Joey was very different to how she is finding her feet with Mouse. We did try to personality match & had an initial date which went well, but it was on neutral turf.

Tried it... Failed miserably... My Loki is a miserable sod :roll:

In theory though I would say its worth a try especially by a savvy owner who understands the risks!

Thank you all. Yes I am most concerned about Beano and Gordon and their bond, but they showed to do well with the addition of Boris.

Mackers, yes interacting through mesh first sounds the best way to go about it thank you.
Joey&boo, glad your trio bonding is looking more settled now.
Hele, sorry your trio didn't work out, I do understand the risks and would be very careful with everything like no increase of space too soon etc as I read trio bonding usually occurs more slowly as there's more to work on hierarchy etc wise

I don't know how to multiple quote! :lol:

I bonded a trio of 2 girls and one male. It was actually a really fast bond and took about 3 days before they were back outside in the shed. I actually forced them into a very confined space for about 12 hours. They could stand, sit, lay stretched out or periscope - but that was it. 2 hops and they'd gone from end to end of their space. But it worked because otherwise the 2 girls just ran away from Benj all the time and he was getting frustrated as he desparately wanted to interact with them.

After 12 hours,nthey moved to a larger cage. The following morning they had a large enclosure and bybthe afternoon, the whole conservatory. After one night running free indoors, I moved them to the shed the following day and watched them on cctv for the next 24 hours. They were fine.

But they had never been strangers as they were always nose to nose through wire mesh when one couple was free-ranging. So they'd had contact with each other for about a year before being properly introduced.

I wish you every success and may your sleepless nights be short-lived :lol:.

Mackers said:

I bonded a trio of 2 girls and one male. It was actually a really fast bond and took about 3 days before they were back outside in the shed. I actually forced them into a very confined space for about 12 hours. They could stand, sit, lay stretched out or periscope - but that was it. 2 hops and they'd gone from end to end of their space. But it worked because otherwise the 2 girls just ran away from Benj all the time and he was getting frustrated as he desparately wanted to interact with them.

After 12 hours,nthey moved to a larger cage. The following morning they had a large enclosure and bybthe afternoon, the whole conservatory. After one night running free indoors, I moved them to the shed the following day and watched them on cctv for the next 24 hours. They were fine.

But they had never been strangers as they were always nose to nose through wire mesh when one couple was free-ranging. So they'd had contact with each other for about a year before being properly introduced.

I wish you every success and may your sleepless nights be short-lived :lol:.

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Thank you for sharing, if only every bond was that successful! And ooh yes the sleepless nights! :lol: Has to be better than with B&G though as I adopted Gordon in december and they were both outdoor bunnies and the only space I had at the time was the conservatory and just had a small heater for myself, didn't want the bunnies over heating! I was freezing! :lol:

If you think your lone bun would benefit then yeah, i'd definitely try it. With my ex we had a group of 5 eventually which started out as various different groupings and they all bonded quite well.

Deelove said:

If you think your lone bun would benefit then yeah, i'd definitely try it. With my ex we had a group of 5 eventually which started out as various different groupings and they all bonded quite well.

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Thank you, I do. If not it would probably won't be until next year when we move into a house that we could get him his own friend.