Should I wait before attempting bonding?

[astera]

We have a one year old neutered male bunny who we adopted a couple of months ago and were looking to get him a friend.

Yesterday, we picked up two 8 week old baby girls, already bonded as from the same litter.

We were initially going to wait till the girls were 4 months old to spay them, then another month or so before introducing them so the girls are currently in a large c&c pen in one end of our living room.

Our boy, Casper, is a free roam bunny. He has access to the whole downstairs and therefore he has come up to the c&c pen to say hi to the girls. We were watching closely and were surprised at how incredibly positive their behaviours were!

Both girls and him are incredibly interested in one another, Casper sits by their pen all day and just waits for them to come up to him, which they often do! Over the few hours we’ve been watching them, we’ve had no negative behaviours, in fact it’s been absolutely lovely to watch! The rabbits flop next to one another, sleep near each other, there’s been grooming through the bars and they binky all the time while they’re together - all three of them!

Casper does however poop along the perimeter of the C&C pen and he’s even peed on the floor a couple of times, assuming this is normal territorial behaviour that I am praying will stop as he is litter trained! Please could someone confirm?

All their positive interactions have made us wonder whether we should be introducing them now, before the girls are spayed? I fully understand that in a couple of months when the girls are older and their hormones act up, this bond may break and we may have to do this all over again but it seems sad to keep them apart when they are getting on so well!

Has anyone been in a similar situation before? Should I wait till the girls are spayed before putting them together? All advice much appreciated!

 

[astera]

Also just to add, the girls poops are a little soft and some clumped together, is this anything to worry about? They have a vet check up booked for tomorrow anyway but hoping for some peace of mind!

 

[Omi]

I've been in a similar situation before It was a 7 year old neutered male and a single immature female of around 3 months. They bonded very quickly and without any aggression. My girl was spayed at around 5+ months and the bond remained secure.

Just a few comments to offer on your situation.

As you've said, a litter bond is not as secure as a bond between mature rabbits, but it's a good start. It could break down after their spay, but hopefully not. Your situation is a bit more complicated as it's a trio and trios are sometimes a little more difficult to bond than pairs.

Yes, your male will be pooing and weeing as a territorial marker, which is to be expected. Also during the initial bonding stages this sort of behaviour is very normal and should be expected. I would be very surprised if he didn't go back to being perfectly litter-trained.

The girls' digestive upset could be just because they are a bit upset about leaving their Mum and any remaining litter mates, but hopefully your vet can put your mind at rest. It might be a good idea to let them settle a bit more before starting bonding and you can also during that time assess their characters. I presume you are keeping them on the same food as they were having, for a while, before making any changes.

I hope all goes well with the bonding and let us know how you get on

 

[tonibun]

Regarding the soft poops - have you changed the babies' diet at all? They should still be eating the same food as Mum was. Obviously they have had a big upheaval and I would let them settle in for a week or so. Take everything slowly. All 3 should get along as your male Rabbit will be the boss . Hopefully you do have 2 girls as they are very young to sex but if they are girls they should make a happy trio.