Bonding Amount of Time

Hi there,

Will 5 days be enough to work out whether my two bonded buns will bond to my third bunny, William? If they're getting on after 5 days of being together, can I put them into their normal living space (obviously thoroughly cleaned) and go to work leaving them?

Thanks!

Gemma x

Do you mean five days of several introductions, or 5 days together all of them time on neutral territory? If the latter, then yes I personally would think so, good luck x

It would be 5 days constantly together in our downstairs loo (the room not the actual loo :lol: ). Obviously if theres any nastiness, latching on or blood flowing I'll stop things and will be keeping an eye on them.

How long do things have to be harmonious in a neutral space before people are confident to put them together in their own home?:?

I know some people put them back after just a couple of hours, but in my very limited bonding experience I'd prefer a bit longer. I left Audrey and Rowan 3 days on neutral territory- by this stage they were happy to sit together and were no longer chasing each other around....when they moved to their permenant quarters Audrey showed no recognition that she had lived there before.

I think it depends on the rabbits. With both of my pairs the bonding took place over a couple of hours and I then put them back into their home and left them and both were fine, but I think I was lucky with them. I agree with Mandy, two or three days if you're worried about them. Good luck!

Great, thanks! 5 days should be more than enough then.

Keep everything crossed that they all become friends, I don't want to have to think about giving William back.

My trio took 48 hours in neutral territory to bond. There were scuffles for a few days after they went into the hutch but now they are inseperable. Good Luck!

I hate to be the voice of doom but I think you are risking splitting a happy couple up by introducing another male - it's very unlikely they'll bond as a group, and you may even be left with Ali+William, and Ben on his own.

Is there no way you can adopt another spayed female for William, or is it a matter of not enough room?

Hmm, well I have enough room but don't really want to add to the bunny family. If it all goes wrong I will have to take William back or foster him until a new home could be found, then rebond Benny & Betty. I researched everything beforehand and it seems 2 males and a female are the best trio to have rather than the other way round. Hopefully it'll work, so I'll keep you posted!

I had the same concerns as Elve in the past when I bonded pairs into new groups; Flopsy and Charlie were very tight when I bonded them with Cindy and Sam who were also quite close and I was initially worried but they settled down after a few days and got on great as a group of four. Shadow and Ginger were a pair and Jacob was introduced and they got on well too. It's definately do-able and I have found that although it initially looks like the pair are not as close, the new group soon sorts its heirarchy out and they settle down quite happily.

Well, I've just got back from my weekend away...

Benny has to go to the vets for the day tomorrow for his teeth and eyes sorting so I won't be able to start the bonding until Friday morning. I'll see how Benny is after his day in the vets but feel he'd be better off settling after a stressful day rather than starting the bonding straight away.

Soooooo, do you think three days will be enough time to see if they'll get along?

What will I do when I go back to work on Monday if they're still fighting? I can't leave them together can I?

Gemma xx

I think three days will be plenty - and think positive - they won't be fighting when you go back to work.

Good Luck!!:thumb:

Bonding

I don't have years of experience like some on this forum but can give you my own experience.

I currently have 1 male (1yr old), 1 female (1 yr old) and 2 of thier (unplanned) babies who are now 5 months all living together in harmony. Mum & Dad were seperated when babies born and not introduced back together until babies were about 12 weeks old. (approx) As mum was a bit bossy I used a water spray and after 2 or 3 attempts to bite the Dad she stopped. They stayed in the kitchen for a couple of hours and then went back into neutral terrority ( a new hutch). They have been fine since.

I had thought both babies were girls but when I recently looked at the runt (I have been checking regularly but he has been a very slow developer in that area!) it seems he is a boy and a vet confirmed this last week when they had thier jabs.

Mum and daughter are being spade next week.

The point is I have a neutered and non neutered male and 2 females who live fine - some times the youngsters are together cuddling, sometimes mum and dad and sometime dad and the runt i.e. 2 males.

So it can work (although I appreciate as he is such a late developer perhaps the runts hormones haven't kicked in yet).

Good luck

We did worry when bonding another male into my male/female pair but because they were status compatible it worked out well. 3 days is our average bonding time....its the time we advise our boarding bonding rabbits owners to pack their holiday bags for!