Bonding a rabbit with a pair

[Natashadee]

Hi
I am looking for some advice with bonding my single female to my already bonded pair.
I know creating a threesome is difficult and I have done this successfully twice before, but my already bonded female is proving to be a problem for me and I don’t know where to go next.
My bonded pair live together upstairs (male and female) and my single female lives downstairs.
I have already passed the stages of having her in a cage upstairs so they can smell and see her and get used to her through the bars. I was really hopeful the girls would get along as it was the girl who was most interested in her and would lay next to the cage.
I have a pen set up in a neutral room that I take them into for the bonding process. My male has been fine, he grooms her, they flop next to eachother, lovely. But my female just won’t stop chasing her. It’s not full on biting, there’s never any wounds or blood, all surface fur pulling, but that means the single female can never get close enough to her without being chased. She really is having none of her and there’s just been 0 progression in their relationship. I know chasing is normal but is there a point where you think they aren’t going to be compatible or is there something I can do to try help their friendship?
Any help or advice on other peoples experiences bonding a three would be much appreciated!

 

[InspectorMorse]

I assume that all three are at least 6-8 weeks post neutering ?

Does are almost always the most challenging to get together, they are fiercely territorial and often possessive of their already bonded companion, if they have one.

How do you introduce the single Doe? I would put the two Does together alone in a neutral area first. Monitor the initial introduction and don’t separate unless circling with tails up and/or true fighting starts. Keep the Buck in a different room whilst introducing the Does. If the Does settle to at least stop chasing then move them in to another neutral area to meet the Buck. So, effectively you are going to need two neutral areas. One to introduce Doe to Doe then another to introduce the Buck to the two Does.

If that doesn't work try the same but introduce the single Doe to the Buck whilst the Bucks usual companion is in another room.

Personally I am not a fan of trio bonds unless they are siblings. Even then IME there is usually one Rabbit who is an outsider. But I hope you will manage to get your three together, even if it does take several months to do so.