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Trio or not?

Last weekend I finally had to say goodbye to my 13 and a half year old girl, Jess (yes 13 1/2 years old!). She had been bravely fighting and eye ulcer and only days before the vet said it was the best he'd seen it look. Unfortunately she took a turn for the worst and 3 days later passed away. The consolation is that she was comfortable and snuggled in hay and straw in her bed with her man, Ollie, with her. I rescued Jess and her sister over 8 years ago and they were 5 then. She successfully bonded with 2 males, having out lived her sister and the first male (who was Cedric, see my post "I seem to have lost my fur", many will recall him!). I am now in a quandary as to what to do for the best with Ollie.

I have been giving homes to rescue rabbits for 17 years, 11 buns in total. I currently have another bonded pair Maize and Einstein. A separate area of my garden is given over to the rabbits, they live in large sheds/ play house and have the freedom to dig, chew, run, mooch as they please in a large outside area. One pair comes out from early morning to lunchtime and then I swap them over. So I have more than enough space to have a trio and they'd have free run all day. My concern is that Einstein was VERY aggressive when I bonded him with Maize to the extent that I thought it would be my first 'failure'! I had never heard a rabbit squeal in pain like Maize did when he bit into her ear! I then failed to close a hutch door properly a few days later, both got out and......bingo! They sorted it out for themselves with minimal fuss and are now the closest of friends and not a squabble between them.

So, do I risk a trio? Risk injury to Ollie? Risk upsetting the current bond between Maize and Einstein? We have decided that after 17 years we don't want to keep introducing new rabbits and my ideal would be to let my 'trio' continue to live happily altogether in the sheds/ large outside area where they'd have free run all day. I have the support from the rescue centre where Ollie came from to help with bonding in a neutral venue. Unfortunately they are having to close down so she can't take Ollie back to try and rehome him with a female. My other alternatives are to leave Ollie as a single bun, which is a no as far as I'm concerned, or to try and find him a female in need of a friend. He is the most gorgeous, calm, gentle young man and it is so sad to see him clearly grieving for Jess at the moment.

Btw, all of my buns are of course neutered and vaccinated so no problems there.

Any views/ advice would be welcome. X
 
I would opt for a female friend for Ollie :love: I know what you mean that they would have far more free time if in a trio but it could cause a lot of stress and the third one (Ollie) might never feel accepted.

I've been taking rabbits in for about the same time as you, so well done for that! There is such a need out there unfortunately.

Let us know what you decide :wave:
 
Hope it's ok to resurrect my 6 month old post!:wave:
Just to update, I opted to find a new female friend for Ollie and rescued Hazel from Carla Lane Animal Sanctuary in March. The pair bonded well, after a few fights and tussles, and now look as though they have never lived apart.
My problem now is that I'm back to square one. Very unexpectedly my french lop, Maize, passed away 3 weeks ago. For the first time ever I hadn't noticed signs of illness in one of my rabbits and so it came as a huge shock. So poor Einstein is now on his own and I can honestly say I have never seen a rabbit so depressed :cry:He was quite aggressive when I rescued him but calmed to a real softy when bonded with Maize. He has now reverted to aggressive behaviour, lunging at me, grunting and is no longing using his litter trays. I would love to try and bond all 3 but am fearful of his aggressiveness. I know how he was with Maize at their initial introduction. He left holes in her ears!! But he is clearly not coping as a single bun.
So once again my issue is trio or not? I'm very nervous about doing it as I've read such horror stories! Alternatively can anyone advise where I might go to help find a female bunny who may have just lost her male partner? At the moment we have decided not to take on another female ourselves. My ideal would be a trio as I have such a perfect space for all 3 to live out their days free roaming all day. Any thoughts would be appreciated.:D
 
Hi there! So, would this mean 2 males and 1 female? I think I've got it right! I think you would have a better chance getting these 3 together rather than if it were 2 females and 1 male. although having said that it's really dependent on personalities. Also, as they share the same space already this may help them to accept one another easier. Some of us feel that one bunny tends to be left on its own if part of a trio, but others are very happy with their trios. I have to admit I like mine in pairs. It is a difficult one - would you try bonding the 3 in a neutral area, or just let threm all out together. With having a lot of spasce it may be ok just to let them out together but ready for anything nasty, then you would have to re-think the situation. Good luck with whatever you choose. I am sure there must be some older does in Rescues in your area.
 
I'm sorry to hear of Maizes passing. A trio sounds like a good option for You & the bunnies, if the bunnies agree of course. I'd give it ago & see what the early signs read like & decide whether to continue from there. One of the reasons I like having a trio is that the remaining buns would have comfort if the worst happened to one of them. It is so sad to see a grieving rabbit:(

Please let us know what you decide & good luck
 
Thanks for your thoughts so far.
Yes it would be 2 males and a female, all neutered. I did consider a quad last summer and opened up both sheds to see what happened and Einstein went for Ollie straight away. In an ideal world it would be open the sheds and let them sort it out for themselves in what is a large free roaming area that they have (underground tunnels/burrows, grass, soil, trees.....they have the lot!!) and to be fair two of my pairs have historically bonded that way. I tried the neutral, small area etc, etc but in the end they bonded best by "sorting it out themselves" having managed to get through barriers I had put up to separate them. Both Maize and Einstein and Ollie and Hazel sorted themselves that way. But I know the cautious way is to do it neutrally in a small space and I have successfully bonded pairs that way too. Oh I just don't know!!!:?
 
:thumb:Ok, so a trio it is!! All set up in the back garden on neutral territory, OH on hand with water spray. In fact he has taken over the task as I'm too nervous of what might happen. Wish us luck :thumb:
 
I cannot believe how well it has gone :D After the usual fur pulling and a little biting, but nothing too serious, between Ollie and Einstein, Ollie flopped out next to him and then started grooming him. He is one amazing rabbit. Nothing phases him. All 3 are now sat together and Ollie is spending his time grooming one then the other. Bless him :love: My worries about Einstein being aggressive were unfounded and Hazel is just taking it all in her stride. Phew!
 
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