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Adding a third bunny to an established bonded pair (ANOTHER UPDATE-29/10/15)

k1984

Mama Doe
As the title really! Greyie and Pete are a happily bonded pair (female and male, both neutered). Greyie is definitely the dominant one....being a generally more dominant character, and the older of the two (no idea of her exact age as she was a stray, but over a year). Pete is 5 months old and quite enjoys being bossed about by Greyie (poor boy) :lol: :lol:
The two are always together, snuggling and cleaning each other. Greyie will happily nose/push Pete out of the way though if he's blocking her access to food or something! He seems to be quite happy with this! :lol: :lol:

My mum has a beautiful mini lop. He's approximately 9 months old, neutered and very friendly. He lives by himself as an outdoor bunny in a shed and is very, very loved and spoilt!
I've been trying to convince my mum for a while now to get her bunny a friend for company. She adores my Pete and wants him, but obviously, she's not having him! :lol: No, on a serious note, she's not sure whether she wants two bunnies. I've ran the argument that it really isn't that much work etc etc....but she's thinking seriously whether or not she wants the responsibility of two.

She appreciates that bunny being on his own is not the best option. I have offered to take him and see if he could be bonded with Pete and Greyie as a three. However, would this be doable?

Thoughts/suggestions much appreciated! :D :thumb:
 
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As the title really! Greyie and Pete are a happily bonded pair (female and male, both neutered). Greyie is definitely the dominant one....being a generally more dominant character, and the older of the two (no idea of her exact age as she was a stray, but over a year). Pete is 5 months old and quite enjoys being bossed about by Greyie (poor boy) :lol: :lol:
The two are always together, snuggling and cleaning each other. Greyie will happily nose/push Pete out of the way though if he's blocking her access to food or something! He seems to be quite happy with this! :lol: :lol:

My mum has a beautiful mini lop. He's approximately 9 months old, neutered and very friendly. He lives by himself as an outdoor bunny in a shed and is very, very loved and spoilt!
I've been trying to convince my mum for a while now to get her bunny a friend for company. She adores my Pete and wants him, but obviously, she's not having him! :lol: No, on a serious note, she's not sure whether she wants two bunnies. I've ran the argument that it really isn't that much work etc etc....but she's thinking seriously whether or not she wants the responsibility of two.

She appreciates that bunny being on his own is not the best option. I have offered to take him and see if he could be bonded with Pete and Greyie as a three. However, would this be doable?

Thoughts/suggestions much appreciated! :D :thumb:

You wont know unless you try. Just bear in mind that in a 'worst case scenario' introducing a third Rabbit to an established pair could cause the pair's bond to break down. It certainly isn't inevitable that this will happen. But neither is it impossible.
 
If your mum is agreeable I really like the idea of giving this a try - i'm not a great fan of solo bunnies outside.

I added a third doe to our existing pair, Joey & Boo earlier this year. Boo sounds very similar in character to Greyie. I've found it pretty hard work but may have complicated things by going for a F F M combo & Boo is deaf which I don't think helps much :lol:. Mouse (3rd bunny) is a peacemaker & very gentle soul:) Its been super rewarding & a very interesting process though.

What I've noticed never seems to get mentioned is the risk that your current pair remains bonded but only one of that pair bond with third bunny. Boo & Joey as the original couple have happily remained really close. From the outset Joey & Mouse bonded (1st day grooming) but Boo & Mouse were not a winning combination. I hated having to separate my bunnies but they weren't safe to leave for the first week so when i needed sleep Mouse had to be put away from J&B, this felt so mean as she was already bonded to Joey. I hope that makes some kind of sense?

Of course it could well go a lot smoother for you & I hope that it does. Trio bonding generally requires a lot more patience. I guess the beauty of your situation is that you could see how the bonding goes & if it doesnt work out return to Mum?
 
I did it with mine. After Skye died I had Woody and Jessie (m-f) and Noah (m) and tried a bond, it worked fine and since then they have been rebonded twice due to illness with no issues.
 
Despite (or because) of its ups & downs I'm glad I did it too. It worked out for the greater good of all 3 bunnies
 
I was wondering the same when I saw a third bunny I really wanted to add to my two, he really deserved a good home... but the lady who bonded my two, who also had them when I needed them boarded for a few days, said that while she bonded many trios and would have happily bonded any other bunny with mine, she really felt strongly about not doing it with my two. Simply because they were so nicely bonded and because they are both still young just felt that it could harm it more than be a good thing. So I guess it also depends on the actual bond the two have. Both of mine were inseparable from the first moment they met, there has never been a single fight between them... and I even saw them "doing it", and enjoying it by the looks of it, even both are neutered... so I was told not to do it with those two. I am with Babsie on this whole issue... I personally wouldn't risk it, even though I would love to have a trio myself, but it could cause more issues along the way. Joey&boo I remember had loads of stressful days, like she just mentioned here too... but it worked for them all in the end. but it can go a different way for sure. (by the way I don't know if you know it, but I can communicate with bunnies and was told that Mouse is not happy being left out in the name.... she is happy she's now in the picture, but would like you to change your name from "joey&boo" to "Mouse is the best" to show you care) ;)
 
:lol: that is so true, I would like to change my name to Joey, Boo & Mouse too. I only got Mouse about a month after joining here too. Don't think you can change though? Poor Mouse doesn't get to go upstairs either - she's welcome too - but never has.

If you can communicate with bunnies can you ask Boo why she is such a darling one second & a rotter the next - talk about mixed signals :lol:
 
What an interesting thread!

It sounds like something to go for if you're up to it and realise the possible pitfalls ...

I have bonded trios, and what I would say is that it can be very stressful if any of the rabbits are not up to par. I know it's difficult to know when something's wrong with a bun, cos they hide it, but it would be wise to stop the bonding if any health issues arise (like stasis, or weepy eyes, for example).

Joey&Boo has the patience of a saint with her bunnies, it would appear to me. Oh, and a very excellent hoover :D
 
:lol: that is so true, I would like to change my name to Joey, Boo & Mouse too. I only got Mouse about a month after joining here too. Don't think you can change though? Poor Mouse doesn't get to go upstairs either - she's welcome too - but never has.

If you can communicate with bunnies can you ask Boo why she is such a darling one second & a rotter the next - talk about mixed signals :lol:

yeah I don't think you can change your name, I would have changed mine already, but yeah, mouse isn't happy being left out, but I told her you still like her. just not as much as the other two :p
oh and boo says, she's that way cause she can. she's cute enough to get away with being a rotter....
you know... I am wondering now... am I actually talking to your bunnies or have I gone slightly mad. :lol:
 
Thank you so much for all your replies. I love hearing about other peoples' experiences...it's really helping me try and decide what to do.
Half of me thinks try it...if it fails and Greyie and Pete don't accept Henryk (my mums mini lop), then he'll go back to my mums (and more reason for her to get a second bunny :thumb: :D )...if it works, brilliant!....if Pete and Greyie fall out and Greyie bonds with Henryk, then they stay together and I get Pete another partner.

So many combinations! :lol: I'm really pushing for Henryk to have companionship either way, as I too don't believe in solo bunnies except for in extenuating circumstances (like my Snowy...house bunny who's 7.5years old and in his early days was attempted with bond with 3 bunnies...all of whom he fought with so I gave up and he's lived in my lounge every since :thumb: :love: )
 
I had a brief trio. However, Elphie & Galinda (both female) were living seperately, but in sight of one another. Archimedes was adopted to bond with one (or both) of them - and I managed to get them into a trio. However, Archimedes was a lot older than the rescue thought he was - they were told he was 2.5, but he was more like 10. He passed away 2 months after we adopted him. He spent about a month with my girls before having to come in for his last 2 weeks alone for his sake more than anything.

Before Artie, the girls would not bond at all - and I had tried. Now they are completely inseperable. They are even more closely bonded than my m/f pair, Athena and Apollo. I'm glad I tried the trio (and had Artie in my life in spite of the heartbreak) because that wouldn't have happened otherwise.
 
I have done this and then added a further pair to the trio.. it really depends on personalities. I'll also be attempting it when toby is well as he needs friends.
 
Ive got three bunnies and they have to have turns out.

I had two sisters...they were fine until puberty and then dominance started.
They were fine too until the neightbours rabbit came to visit and then they started fighting.
I got a third bunny -= buck by chance ( long story) but he stayed and oe of my does fell in love but the other doe felt she was the dominant one so should be able to chose her husbun but the other doe was having none of it/
i managed to bond all three and then they started fighting again - either due to too mcuh space at once but we think it was more along the lines of the neighbours rabbit coming over again and upsetting the balance. All mine were of course neutered and the neighbours was not so that might have contributed...

I now have one pair and a single doe - but she does get about 3/4 hours a day with the buck from the other pair...I let the pair out in the morning and then later put them away but the buck if he wants to go out will often let himself out the back kitchen door to psend time with the other doe. They seem to not mind....as long as he goes back to his waiting wifey who either watches them or eats or sleeps...but we woud lke another buck to give the single doe a permanent partner but do wonder how our buck will react to another male. Who knows..but three is often a crowd and usually one gets left out and if the female you already have has to fight for her husband it can turn ugly pretty quickly.

i had a few vet visits fro staples to wounds and I had to check them every day for any new ones..its turbulent and i slept on the sofa for 11 niughts bonding mine. It was exhausting, emotional and worked but then all fell apart so at 1 am and 3 am inand 5 am inthe morning it all kicks off and you have to work out the dynamics etc - its stressfull.

Saying all this it does depend on the bunnies personality - some buns dont mind who they snuggle with as long as its some bun whilst others want their own bunny to themselves.

We might try a quad eventually but until then even though my does which are sisters do love each other and often want to be togther - they just cant help but start fighting after a while...

Allso Ive two females and one male its possibly eaiser with two males & one female? not sure
 
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