two buns seem to have kicked the third one out the club :(

sorry for posting again about my bunny troubles, am just looking for more advice plz (surprise surprise). sum of u may hav read bout the breakdown of my bunny family and are probs sick of hearing about it, so apologies for that, i just dont rlly hav any other support system from rabbit-savvy ppl.

basically now it seems that Rolo and Maisy (son and mum) are happy together, and hav pushed Dusty (son/brother) out. he doesnt fight with Maisy like he does with Rolo, but he runs off wen she tries to groom him and wont snuggle with her like he used to. its very sad to watch

ive already floated the idea of getting Dusty a different bunny companion and having 2 pairs, my parents nearly fainted :lol: and the idea of taking them to an experienced bonder and they werent keen on that either (not rlly sure why, mite try to push that one further).

ok so questions:

in a situation like this, during dates should i be trying to re-bond him with Maisy as they are more neutral and then bring Rolo into it? or shud i keep trying to bond all three at once?

and also, my vet suggested its probably spring fever that caused the problems nd its extra strong for them cos its their first one (boys will be 1 year old in feb), so my parents keep saying to keep Dusty separate for a couple of months and then try again later - but wud this make things harder later? or dus that sound like a sensible back up plan?

thank you in advance, liv xxx

This has been going n for a while now and seems to be a combination of break of bond originally due to change in circumstance - followed by a longer term 'learnt' pattern of behaviour - so that the bun that is getting 'bullied' has learnt to be nervous - and the other has learnt to fight (actually I suspect they both learnt that - but one has 'won' and knows it and will now pick on the other one).

After such a long time of trying I would now separate and either try and rebond in summer or (and this would probably be what I would do in your situation now) get a fourth bun (up to you the sex - traditionalists would say a female and as you have one buck who is being fractious already this might be a good option) and keep as two pairs at least for a few months.

Then you can think of either pairing up as a foursome in a few months time (once the learned behaviour has settled down and they each have a bun of their own to feel confident with) or keep as two pairs.

I would be aiming eventually for a group myself - and would try and get (as far as one can assess these things) a non dominant female - who has more chances of fitting in with a group in the future. However you must be aware that characters can change once a bun in rescue is out and has a permanent home.

The most problem bun I have had recently was 'advertised' in the rescue (where he had been for 2 years) as the mildest mannered friendliest non dominant bun ever. He promptly launched into all my others, upset the group, sprayed everything in sight, etc etc

You never can tell . . .

So first of all cheer up sad onesome bun by getting another friend - then think about a foursome when they have all forgotten the events of the last few weeks - in a few months time.

PS I would do the bonding of the new pair off site on very neutral ground as the onesome bun will by now be sad and scared of every other bun that comes near him - so will automatically go for any other bun he sees - especially if the smells of the other buns are still around.

thanks hun i needed to check if it wud be ok to wait for a while, as currently im getting nowhere it seems like the most sensible thing to do.

i really want to get Dusty a friend, it would take so much pressure off cos then i wudnt feel guilty about him being alone and maybe one day they cud go bak to being a group again and the boys wudnt hav to fight over Maisy. but more importantly it wudnt matter as much if they didnt re-bond cos he wudnt be alone.

there is pretty much no chance my parents wud let me tho, theyve made their feelings quite clear on the subject. and it is their house so i have to respect their view on that even tho it wudnt actually affect them cos i do all the cleaning/feeding/bonding/stressing/paying for them.

maybe if i move Dusty into the house while hes alone so he cud be around us he mite be a bit less lonely? its a rubbish substitute tho, poor thing rlly needs a bunny friend the whole situation is so depressing

thanks for the advice xxx

You would be amazed how much brighter Dusty might become if he was inside and away from the others and had lots of lovely attention and new places to explore . . .

If bringing dusty inside is an option i would definitely do that, i have benji indoors, he is a single bun and he loves it( his partner died last may) if dusty gets lots of attention i am sure he will be much better off inside, and he will need lots of space too:wave:

Sorry to hijack the thread but is spring fever an actual thing? Just because Daisy has been a lot more dominant over Levi recently, lots of humping etc. and I don't know what's got into her!!

Ailstar said:

Sorry to hijack the thread but is spring fever an actual thing? Just because Daisy has been a lot more dominant over Levi recently, lots of humping etc. and I don't know what's got into her!!

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Yes. But seems to affect the young ones worse. I take it yours are neutered?

It still affects them though.

parsnipbun said:

Yes. But seems to affect the young ones worse. I take it yours are neutered?

It still affects them though.

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Yes both are neutered and 8 months old.

Ailstar said:

Sorry to hijack the thread but is spring fever an actual thing?

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no worries my dear, according to my vet the first springtime of the buns lifetime is always the craziest. makes sense wen u think that spring is the beginning of the mating season, and the young virile bucks and does have to start throwing their weight around to become alpha bunny or consider starting their own warren. typical sort of hormonal thing, imagine how bad it wud be if they werent neutered!!!! :lol:

thanks to everyone for their advices, my new plan is am definately gonna separate Dusty and give him lots of fuss, probs let him spend a little time with Maisy every day so he still gets sum bunny loving, but hav one last question for the RU jury: shud i separate him completely from Rolo so that they cant see/smell each other? or can they be in adjoining accommodation?

thanks again bunnyfans xxx

sorry just bumping this up cos im still unsure wether to keep Dusty in the house or to put him bak outside in an adjoining hutch to Rolo? shud they not be able to see/smell one another while i wait till summer? or will it be good?

thanks xxx

liv862 said:

sorry just bumping this up cos im still unsure wether to keep Dusty in the house or to put him bak outside in an adjoining hutch to Rolo? shud they not be able to see/smell one another while i wait till summer? or will it be good?

thanks xxx

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separate

fab thanks luv, thats wot ive been doing so far just in case. am gonna order myself one of those crates offa amazon (unless u kno anywer that wud be cheaper?) so hes got his little space inside the garden room, the door to its always open but they like having their own basecamp dont they. that way i can give you back your ones, id feel awful keeping them till the summer thats way too long and youve been so generous nd helpful

thanks again xxx