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Adding a third bunny to the mix?

harte

Young Bun
Hi all,

We have 2 wonderful house rabbits. They are brothers and extremely close. Over the Xmas period I had to get hay from P@H and saw a beautiful boy in their adoption section (a cage about the size of my thumb). Anyway, turns out they love this hay - so we went back last week to get more... Beautiful bunny is still there.

Speaking to my other half today about it has raised the question; can we adopt him? We absolutely cannot have a rabbit living outside (London = foxes) we also don't have the space to keep them separate (unless we restrict the new bunny to a bedroom which, I don't feel is anywhere near enough space).

What would we have to do to bond the 3? Is it even possible?

Thank you!!

Em




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I actually think that a bedroom is plenty of space for a bunny (as long as it's not like, cupboard size). My two outdoor bunnies live in a very large run the size of a medium sized bedroom and that is definitely more than big enough for them. Just think, even if it is a slightly smaller bedroom than normal, it is much better than the cage he is living in now, plus he will probably also be treated better as you will have more time for him than those at P@H.

If you are still not convinced though, you can certainly try bonding them as long as all three have been vaccinated and neutered. There are several things you do need to be aware of though:
The bunnies personalities should go well together otherwise it is highly unlikely that you will be able to bond them.
It will be even more difficult to measure input/output of each bunny if they all live together.
It can be very stressful for the bunnies and yourself and you need quite a lot of time to successfully bond them.
You will need to bond them in an area that none of the bunnies have been in before and you will also have to start of in a small area first, so they are forced to interact.
There WILL be small fights and this is natural behaviour, however some much larger fights may also occur so you need to be watching them closely while they are together until bonded.
One bunny may be bullied by the other two and this doesn't necessarily mean the new bunny will be the one being bullied-aka the bond between the two brothers could be damaged (this shouldn't happen if they are bonded correctly though).
It can take months for bunnies to be completely bonded.

There are lots more things you need to be aware of though, and the points I brought up will need to be looked into in more detail so it would be a good idea to research and ask rescue centres for advice. BUT, although I have made it sound scary and off putting, as long as you follow the correct steps and do lots of research beforehand you and the bunnies should be fine. I personally would take the bunny even if I wasn't going to bond him with the brothers and keep him in the bedroom, bonding him with his own bunny wife if you cannot spend much time with him. He will have a much better life with you, and if you don't adopt him he could stay there for ages. :(

(Sorry for the long reply but there's just so much to say about it haha)
 
Hi all,

We have 2 wonderful house rabbits. They are brothers and extremely close. Over the Xmas period I had to get hay from P@H and saw a beautiful boy in their adoption section (a cage about the size of my thumb). Anyway, turns out they love this hay - so we went back last week to get more... Beautiful bunny is still there.

Speaking to my other half today about it has raised the question; can we adopt him? We absolutely cannot have a rabbit living outside (London = foxes) we also don't have the space to keep them separate (unless we restrict the new bunny to a bedroom which, I don't feel is anywhere near enough space).

What would we have to do to bond the 3? Is it even possible?

Thank you!!

Em




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

One very important thing to bear in mind is that bringing a 3rd Rabbit in does risk the bond between your pair breaking down. It is not inevitable, but it certainly is very possible. Worst case scenario is you could end up with 3 single Rabbits.

When a 3rd Rabbit appears 'referred aggression' can kick off between the bonded pair, even BEFORE the pair are introduced to the new Rabbit. With some pairs just the smell of a 'strange' Rabbit can set things off.

I know I am painting all 'gloom and doom', it is certainly not always that way. But personally if you know for certain you cannot accommodate Rabbits who have to be housed separately then I would not rock the boat by bringing another Rabbit into the home.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do xx
 
Thank you! I should have mentioned that the bedroom is tiny (with a double bed in it) but he would certainly have much more room than what he has now!

I think I'll give it a week or so until I need more hay and if he is still there I'll discuss with them about his nature etc.

One thing that would be an issue is if we ended up with 3 separate bunnies, we have a 2 up 2 down and I have no idea how we would be able to keep them all apart without venturing outside (they have full access to the garden in the day). I live behind a tube line so you can imagine the number of foxes/giant rats that we see!

Difficult one. I just see my two as so loving and laid back m - it's a risk to ruin this amazing bond they have with each other (and us!)

Thanks again,

Em xx


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Thank you! I should have mentioned that the bedroom is tiny (with a double bed in it) but he would certainly have much more room than what he has now!

I think I'll give it a week or so until I need more hay and if he is still there I'll discuss with them about his nature etc.

One thing that would be an issue is if we ended up with 3 separate bunnies, we have a 2 up 2 down and I have no idea how we would be able to keep them all apart without venturing outside (they have full access to the garden in the day). I live behind a tube line so you can imagine the number of foxes/giant rats that we see!

Difficult one. I just see my two as so loving and laid back m - it's a risk to ruin this amazing bond they have with each other (and us!)

Thanks again,

Em xx


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It's definitely a good idea to wait a little longer so you can weigh up the pros and cons. If you don't want to attempt to bond them through fear up upsetting your current two's bond then I still feel like as long as there is space under the bed for him to run around, (my indoor bunny's favourite place is on a cardboard box under the bed) having him on his own in the bedroom will be plenty good enough, especially compared to the limited space he has now. If you do this it would probably be a good idea to bond him with a female bunny in the future though, unless you spend lots and lots of time with him.

Just remember you will need to buy one more of everything that you currently have, and it's also a good idea to get waterproof sheets to put on the bed (cheap shower curtains work well) because he may not be litter trained and will pee on the bed, ruining the duvet/pillows if not..I learnt that the hard way![emoji21] [emoji23]
 
There are several people who have successfully bonded trios on here. Joey&Boo and someone else who actually posted videos online of exactly how she did it! Sorry I can't remember her name, but they videos were fantastic :D
 
There are several people who have successfully bonded trios on here. Joey&Boo and someone else who actually posted videos online of exactly how she did it! Sorry I can't remember her name, but they videos were fantastic :D

Mischief and Tinkers mum :thumb: I was in a similar situation as you, saw a bunny in pah adoption who remained there for months with a story written on his pen saying he was aggressive and attacked another rabbit so must be housed alone. I asked for more info and they were two unneutered males so no wonder they fought. Of course I feel sorry for all bunnies in pah but there was something about him. So I decided to get him, and he's lovely not aggressive at all. I did try to bond him with my male/female pair and it went well until sadly out of the blue the two males had a fight, leaving one with injuries which needed vet attention. So I have Jake in the front room and beano and Gordon in the hall and bedroom in my flat and Jake will have a wife of his own when we move in a few months time.

If you feel something for this rabbit then I would say follow it and your gut feelings. But do have a back up plan just in case.
 
One thing I will add is that you need to remember that he won't be neutered. You'll get a voucher from P@H to neuter him but then it means booking him in and waiting 6 weeks before you can attempt to bond him. What are the dimensions of the bedroom?

I have a trio. I got Shadowfax (she was straying on my field) and tbh she was not kept in the best of accommodations before I could bond her but I had little choice. She lived in a small Wendy house (just under 4ftx4ft) overnight and went into a 6x6ft run during the day. Not ideal but better than being killed by dogs or foxes!

Mine bonded but recently (after about 2 years) their bond broke and the girls had a huge fight out of the blue. I have since rebonded them and tbh they look "more" bonded now than they ever were...if that makes sense. Trios, imo, are risky. I only decided to bond Shadowfax because Xena is such a bully and was really picking on Fiver. Now, she really only chases Shadowfax when food is involved and her and Fiver's bond is better than ever. So, for me, a trio was the right choice but if your pair is bonded and haopy, I don't think I'd risk it. X
 
I just did exactly what you are thinking about doing :)
I already had 2 boys but saw a lovely bunny in the adoption center. I decided that I couldn't risk getting him but he was always on my mind... 4 months later he was still there and so we brought him home 2 weeks ago. I was a bit worried that I'd regret my decision but I don't at all. I've seen plenty of bunnies in the adoption center before and I'm fully aware that I can't save them all but this one felt 'right'. The only thing that I regret is leaving him there so long!
He's just been vaccinated and he will be neutered in 2 weeks. Once his hormones have settled we will try to bond them all together but if not we will have upstairs and downstairs bunnies :)
I'd love to say go for it but it is risky and you do need a backup plan in case it doesn't work out.
Keep us updated!
Xx
 
I have literally just bonded a trio in the past 24 hours!

Elphie's sister, Galinda, died Sunday night and she was pining badly. I looked online for a Rex rabbit to bond with her, but couldn't find any singles. I did however find a neutered buck and his unneutered sister up for sale (and their babies too). I enquired about the buck and they were pretty insistent about the adults going together. So I took the risk.

Elphie, Helios and Selene have spent the past 24 hours content in one another's company. The rexes have been continually grooming Elphie and each other. I put them out in Elphie's hutch/run this afternoon and seen a lot of binkies, bunny 500s and dead bunny flops all over the place. They could have been living together forever.

However: I have been EXCEPTIONALLY lucky with how it has taken. Any other rabbits and personality types, it might not have happened. I know the bond is still in very early days but all their body language has indicated contentment with one another.

Regardless of what you choose to do, good luck!
 
I've nothing to help but I'm glad you've made this post.

We've been thinking about getting a buck when we move into a larger house to bond with our two female house bunnies. We have a lot of mounting between the girls (Daphne the top bun does it, but Phoebe doesn't ever attempt). We're hoping a buck might help calm Daphne down but we're very worried about breaking their bond.
 
Thank you all for your replies. After a lot of consideration I decided not to take take the bunny in. The boys are so amazing together and any risk of breaking that bond would be heartbreaking. We live in a typical London 2 up 2 down house and there isn't a single place in the house or garden that the boys haven't been in. They worship each other and they worship us. I've asked P@H to let me know once he has been taken in. It was such a hard decision but I can't risk the happiness of my 2 [emoji20] I hope he gets the life he deserves. Thank you again X


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