Who has tried bonding to a bonded pair? (good vs bad examples)

[BattleKat]

I think it must depend on how 'protected' rabbits are as to whether referred aggression occurs.

From my experience (just the one!) I wouldn't say that's necessarily the case. My two had never seen or smelt another rabbit until I bought Eli home, but he went straight next to their pen and there was no referred aggression. They all used to lie next to each other against the sides of the run.

 

[KarenM]

I tried to add another boy (Max) to my pair. It didn't work and he now lives with Fran on here and her bunny Biscuit.

We called off the bonding after about 3 days. It had been going well initially, with the odd scuffle, but it got to the stage where Max was just sitting in a corner with his head down too scared to move anywhere. It might have worked if we'd stuck with it, but I couldn't risk it.

Alfie is very dominant; if he had been more laid back things may have been different but luckily my pair settled straight back down once Max left.

I'm glad I tried but I don't think I would do so again.

 

[mattyp]

I tried to add another boy (Max) to my pair. It didn't work and he now lives with Fran on here and her bunny Biscuit.

We called off the bonding after about 3 days. It had been going well initially, with the odd scuffle, but it got to the stage where Max was just sitting in a corner with his head down too scared to move anywhere. It might have worked if we'd stuck with it, but I couldn't risk it.

Alfie is very dominant; if he had been more laid back things may have been different but luckily my pair settled straight back down once Max left.

I'm glad I tried but I don't think I would do so again.

This is what worries me is that I am completely unsure about how dominant Marvin is. He bonded with Maisie so quickly that I assumed he was fairly relaxed and easy going - but he's always so bossy with me! :lol:

 

[KarenM]

This is what worries me is that I am completely unsure about how dominant Marvin is. He bonded with Maisie so quickly that I assumed he was fairly relaxed and easy going - but he's always so bossy with me! :lol:

Alfie surprised me too - I didn't know just how dominant he was until Max came along. I think Bubbles always bows down to him, iyswim, so I didn't really see any real dominance as such.

It's more noticable now - Alfie eats first and he comes out of the kennel first when it's free range time. Bubbles is always 2 steps behind, like the good wife she is. :lol::lol:

 

[Santa]

If you have a bonded pair my advise would be to leave them be and not risk losing the bond by introducing another bunny.

I agree with this - I'd take the view that if it aint broke, don't fix it. If the bond between a pair isn't strong, then maybe it's worth trying to see if that smooths the dynamic, but I would not choose to add buns to a strongly bonded pair without good reason.

I've tried it a couple of times with mine; first when we moved here 4 years ago I tried to bond my two pairs together. While they got on fine for a couple of months, Santa just couldn't keep up with the speed of eating and got a bit thin and poorly, when the bigger buns started to pick on her so I separated them into their pairs again. Even in that time, Santa was very much loved by the two lops, but Dudley was a bit of an outsider. They didn't fight, but they didn't really bond either.

When Santa died, I tried to bond Dudley with the lops again, hoping that now they were older, they would have mellowed. Again, they bonded 'fine' but it was a bit like a pair of very close twins with a little brother tagging along. Dudley deserved better than to be the gooseberry in a strongly bonded pair so I took him back out again and bonded him with his own pal.

I've bonded a number of pairs into threes or fours over the years, and while I have seen it work and have fortunately never had the situation where the original pair has broken their bond through it, I honestly wouldn't choose to do it. I know every bun is different and there is no one 'rule' for all, but my general observation is that buns seem to be happiest and most relaxed in a pair where they don't have to worry about ongoing hierarchies.

 

[Ange17]

Interesting reading

I have a three rabbits at the moment, a single, (unneutered at the moment) male and a recently adopted pair of girls.

The girls are a lot larger than the boy.

The boy was my daughters and I have been thinking of getting him a friend for a while, obviously having him neutured soon. My daughter doesn't pay a lot of attention to him at the moment so I have him now. He has never been with any other rabbits.

I had the girls from a friend who no longer wanted them they are a bonded pair and quite large.

I was considering trying them together after the boy is neutured, but worried because of the size difference. They are in side by side pens at the moment and interact well. I know does not mean they will be ok when/if introduced.

 

[beki]

I have been seriously thinking about bonding a third into my pair. Ruby and reggie get on well, it was a very easy bond and they are much in love but I think that ruby often ignores reggie. He is constantly grooming her which she loves but when he makes the motions for her to groom him back she just gives him one lick and grooms herself! She often puts her head under him for snuggles but it is always him doing the loving thing and her getting all the benefits. All she does is hump him! I think it would be nice to introduce a third bunny that may groom reggie back ( he could definitely groom two) but also play with ruby as reggie doesn't play much and she often nudges him to chase her but he hardly ever does.

I would be upset to break the bond though but I do think it could work for my pair.

 

[beki]

How can you tell if a pair have a strong bond?

I can take ruby to the vets without reggie and he accepts her back without issue but I take him alone and she will hump him like mad when he gets back and I feel so sorry for him as he is a nethie and she is almost twice his weight. I can bring them both inside the house separately though and then put them back in the hutch and they are fine.

 

[Candiflare]

I had 2 buns (ralph and ruby) who I introduced Buzz (male) to and they got on really well, however that happened, I think, because Ralph and Ruby's bond was not all that strong.

The only reason I had to add more to the group was because I found 2 stray rabbits and thought that it could either be a five or a pair and a three. I decided to go for the five, but lots of bullying ensued amongst the females - the top female bun and lowest bun used to really, really hate each other. So then I separated into a four and a one. Then I got a partner for the lone bun who has never been happier.

Then my four started fighting, and like Santa said, I noticed one of them (Ralph) started getting little cuts on his body from bullying and very thin and weak because he wasn't getting to the food in time, so I split them into two pairs. This seems to be working finally! Three pairs!

 

[BattleKat]

I was considering trying them together after the boy is neutured, but worried because of the size difference. They are in side by side pens at the moment and interact well. I know does not mean they will be ok when/if introduced.

Size shouldn't matter, just make sure you're ready to step it should any fighting break out. My Eli is much bigger than my girls (Here's a pic from bonding) but the bond went very smoothly.

 

[kaths101]

Oh well where do i start :lol:

Sooty and Oreo were my original buns who lived side by side for 5 months until both were spayed/neutered.
Charlie came along later and I tried to bond the trio. Sooty and Oreo bonded straight away - but oreo wasnt having Charlie sharing his wife he had been eyeing up for months!! May have been my inexperience as it was my first bond ever and I was scared how Oreo reacted to Charlie straight away so seperated = 1 pair and 1 single.

Along came Mittens, the plan was to bond her with Charlie to have 2 pairs but I decided to bond straight into a quad, (1 Pair, 2 singles) I didnt do it this time and sent them to Cheryl who's alot more experienced. It was a difficult bond but eventually it worked and they had a happy few weeks until fights broke out and I had to seperate! The funny thing is in the trio - my original 3 Sooty, Oreo and Charlie got on brillaintly :roll: Mittens was the problam this time - she got bullied terribly by Sooty.
I felt terrible for splitting Charlie and Sooty as they loved each other but I stuck with my original pair Sooty and Oreo and put Charlie in with Mittens..all was calm = 2 pairs.

Then I had to move, there was a lovely space in the new garden for a big shed and avairy so while I moved, off went the 2 pairs for boarding / bonding again with Cheryl (this was going to be my last attempt). She said it was easy this time and they got on right from the start so after a week they came back and because they came home to a totally new home everything was neutral and the bond has been good ever since, theyve been a group for 8 months now.

Pheww sorry that was long!!!

 

[sacol4940]

Oh well where do i start :lol:

Sooty and Oreo were my original buns who lived side by side for 5 months until both were spayed/neutered.
Charlie came along later and I tried to bond the trio. Sooty and Oreo bonded straight away - but oreo wasnt having Charlie sharing his wife he had been eyeing up for months!! May have been my inexperience as it was my first bond ever and I was scared how Oreo reacted to Charlie straight away so seperated = 1 pair and 1 single.

Along came Mittens, the plan was to bond her with Charlie to have 2 pairs but I decided to bond straight into a quad, (1 Pair, 2 singles) I didnt do it this time and sent them to Cheryl who's alot more experienced. It was a difficult bond but eventually it worked and they had a happy few weeks until fights broke out and I had to seperate! The funny thing is in the trio - my original 3 Sooty, Oreo and Charlie got on brillaintly :roll: Mittens was the problam this time - she got bullied terribly by Sooty.
I felt terrible for splitting Charlie and Sooty as they loved each other but I stuck with my original pair Sooty and Oreo and put Charlie in with Mittens..all was calm = 2 pairs.

Then I had to move, there was a lovely space in the new garden for a big shed and avairy so while I moved, off went the 2 pairs for boarding / bonding again with Cheryl (this was going to be my last attempt). She said it was easy this time and they got on right from the start so after a week they came back and because they came home to a totally new home everything was neutral and the bond has been good ever since, theyve been a group for 8 months now.

Pheww sorry that was long!!!

It's reassuring to hear that they didnt get on to begin with but did in the end Fingers crossed that my 2 pairs bond properly the 2nd time around

 

[kaths101]

I have to add that my 4 was not easy at all, I had alot of referred agression, my original pair Sooty and Oreo had a horrible fight when Mittens came along was awful and very stressful, The dynamics changed all throughout each bond, and you do have a huge risk of dividing the origional bond.
Charlie instantly fell in love with Sooty, and Mittens sided with Oreo so my pairs swapped partners. Luckily Sooty and Oreo are still very close, but they do swap partners every now and then. I think a group are never as snuggley as a pair, sometimes I go out and my 4 are sat in all 4 corners :roll:

I would agree that if you have a happy pair I would stick with it - I was very lucky really to end up with a 4 it could have been soooo different especially without cheryls help!!

 

[kaths101]

It's reassuring to hear that they didnt get on to begin with but did in the end Fingers crossed that my 2 pairs bond properly the 2nd time around

Yes they went together 2nd time as if they were long lost friends :roll::lol::lol: Silly bunnuhs - i hope for the same for your 4.
Will they all go outside then? If so I strongly recommend trying to get their home completely different so they dont recognise it!

 

[sacol4940]

Yes they went together 2nd time as if they were long lost friends :roll::lol::lol: Silly bunnuhs - i hope for the same for your 4.
Will they all go outside then? If so I strongly recommend trying to get their home completely different so they dont recognise it!

Yeah they'd all go outside together in the aviary (we want to start a family in the next year or so and the little buns are in what would be the nursery so they need to move outside as theres no room anywhere else indoors )

Not sure how I could change the outdoor accommodation though, apart from new litter trays, toys and bowls....

 

[kaths101]

Yeah they'd all go outside together in the aviary (we want to start a family in the next year or so and the little buns are in what would be the nursery so they need to move outside as theres no room anywhere else indoors )

Not sure how I could change the outdoor accommodation though, apart from new litter trays, toys and bowls....

will PM you, dont want to hijack this thread - sorry Matty