What are the chances?

[Summer&Skye]

Not been on here for a while but my brain is starting to tick over again, having finally sorted the accommodation for my 2 pairs I'm now having thoughts/dreams of getting an 8x6 shed and bonding the 2 pairs... A quick back story... Summer and Skye are 3yr old spayed females, very closely bonded pair. I got Heidi about a year and a half ago, she'll be aged 2 now, fell in love and she was in PAH adoption for months so finally caved and planned to bond a trio but didn't work out, seemed mainly to be an issue between Summer and Heidi but I got too scared of breaking Summer and Skye's bond. So along came Dash, the only male, who I finally managed to bond with Heidi. They don't seem to have a very close bond but they get along well enough to live together. Dash can be a bit of a bully at feeding time but other than that they get along quite happily. They've been together a year now. Both pairs currently have a 6x3 hutch permanently attached to 8x6 runs. Although this seemed like the perfect set up, the garden looks cluttered. I've always thought that next time I move house I'll get a house with a shed or garage and try and bond the 2 pairs but as I'm not planning on moving any time soon, I'm thinking should I just do this now?! But I'm wondering what are the chances of a successful bond considering there have been issues between 2 of them in the past? It would be much better tho and I'm even thinking I could possibly put one run on top of the other to make it a walk in run, as Heidi and Dash do big poop piles which is a pain to crawl in and clean up! It would be ideal but expensive considering I've quite recently spent probably close to £1000 on their set ups already! I could possibly get some money back selling the hutches, or just use them inside the shed to create lots of places to go - might this help them to live happily together? Thoughts please, thank you!!

 

[Zoobec]

I've not got much in the way of advice, I've only done one bond (2 pairs into a quad) 1 pair of brothers and the other pair sisters, the pairs were unrelated to each other though! Before doing the bond I used to swap toys over frequently, and they seemed to be interested in each other as they could see from one run to another, so I tried it out, post about it here, http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?402162-U-d-2-weeks-after-Bonding-a-quad

Hopefully someone experienced will be able to give advice. I don't know if it would be worth a try to see what happens with a view that if it doesn't go well straightaway to shelve the idea, but I know it can be risky...

As yours would be 3 females to one male not sure if it would be too female orientated?

 

[tonibun]

Hi there. I'm thinking along the same lines with 2 of my pairs and they are related but am very hesitant. Just don't want to upset them. Personally I don't think it would work for you, but I could be wrong. It would be nice for them to have a shed. Good luck if you decide to go ahead.

 

[Summer&Skye]

Thank u both for ur replies. The more I'm thinking about it the more excited I am! But I don't know if it's just me dreaming or if it could actually be a reality! It won't be til Summer so I have plenty if thinking/dreaming time!

 

[tulsi]

My one and only bond was trying to get all six of mine together. It ended as a quad (two brothers and two sisters) and a pair (m/f, who had always been very close). It was totally fascinating and nerve wracking and I would love my new pair (m/f coming in a few weeks) to bond with the current pair ...

It can break current bonds but, as you say, it could make to accommodation soooooo much easier for us and better for them.

Very best of luck with whatever you decide.

 

[Sarah1989]

As yours would be 3 females to one male not sure if it would be too female orientated?

I saw a post the other day about someone with a group of 6 bunnies - only one male with 5 females. So maybe that's not a problem?


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[Summer&Skye]

I actually let them out together today, maybe wrongly but my instincts just told me it would be ok! I let H&D out and S&S came into their run to have a nosy, they all greeted through the mesh and there were no signs of aggression, just interest so I thought I'd open S&S's run door and see what they did! At first Summer came out and none of them even acknowledged each other! Then Dash went into their run, Skye was fine, she just kept running off and looking from a distance! No grunting or anything! It was only Summer that had a couple of scuffles but only fur pulling, nothing more. Dash even went in their hutch - I didn't think he would venture up the pipe but he's clearly a bolshy little lad who doesn't care! I did get him out as he had a scuffle with Summer again and I didn't think it was fair on them. Anyway, all in all I think it went pretty well and it's given me the confidence to plan ahead now for a quad... Eeeeek!!!

 

[MissSherwood89]

The only way to really find out is to give it a go!

Good luck! :thumb:

 

[Karen's]

I'm intending to bond my two m/f pairs into a foursome in the coming months, mainly for the same reasons as you, I have two large runs, and they currently have half a shed each, and I want to have just one large aviary and for them to share the shed. Eek, I'm excited but nervous at the same time!
Two foursome bonders posted their experiences on my thread in rabbit chat a couple of days ago, one made it look so easy, the other needed lots of perseverance and nerves of steel, but both were so glad they gave it a go.
Good luck to us both :wave:

 

[Summer&Skye]

I'm intending to bond my two m/f pairs into a foursome in the coming months, mainly for the same reasons as you, I have two large runs, and they currently have half a shed each, and I want to have just one large aviary and for them to share the shed. Eek, I'm excited but nervous at the same time!
Two foursome bonders posted their experiences on my thread in rabbit chat a couple of days ago, one made it look so easy, the other needed lots of perseverance and nerves of steel, but both were so glad they gave it a go.
Good luck to us both :wave:

I think for mine, a large space will help. Another good reason is for free ranging as even tho they both have large permanent runs, I always feel mean when one pair free ranges and the others just sit at the mesh of the run watching! Plus it means I have to halve the time they can be out as they have to take turns! I'm sure 4 to keep an eye on at once will be fun *ahem* but I intend to fully escape proof the garden. Meant to do it last summer but never got round to it. There r several large gaps under the fences which with a bit of digging could easily accommodate an escapee!!