Bullying - removing rabbit from a group

Hi

I have 7 rabbits (4 males and 3 females), all bonded and getting along well until last week.

Last week they were moved from over-winter accommodation (a garage) to a large dog run in the garden - with supervised free range access to the rest of the garden.

I came home one day last week to discover a blood bath in the dog run... one of the males had been attacked by another and had an ear injury. The injured rabbit was then separated from the rest of the group (by a mesh fence within the dog run) until the injury healed.

I've since tried re-introducing the injured rabbit to the rest of the group - unfortunately he now appears to be being bullied by almost all of the others and ends up hiding in a corner if he's put anywhere near them. I've seen a couple of fairly serious fights and so for now he is on his own again - he's got the run of the house whilst the others have the garden.

I'm at a bit of a loss at what to do next. I've successfully bonded fighting pairs before (and know all the usual tricks of taking them out in the car, keeping them confined to a small space at first) but never 1 to a group of 6 where most of them have issues with him. I'm reluctant to separate any of the others from the group to make a pair as they all get on well.

Was wondering if anyone else had any thoughts or experiences in a similar situation, either of successfully re-bonding to a group or of removing a single rabbit from a group?

That sounds horrible. Haven't any advice I'm afraid. Do you think he has been bullied because he's ill in some way? I assume they are all neutered.

Are all the rabbits neutered? Have you been introducing the rabbit into neutral territory?

I would think he smells different, so this might be the problem. I personally don't like the "slow bonding" approach but I would do this with a large group. I would try switching litter trays and hay/bedding etc for a few days/weeks so the single bun gets used to the smell of the group and the group get used to his smell again. Housing him nearby so the group can smell and see hi may help, too.

If there is serious fighting still happening after you try to rebond on neutral ground, in a small space etc, then I would maybe give up. Even if it's just so the single bun isn't seriously hurt again.

Sending bonding vibes. x

There may be a reason they are picking on him, for example, if there are any health issues you're not yet able to be aware of, but they are aware of, or even if he is just still feeling sore from the wound.

He may also be scared and traumatised and if he is feeling scared, they will pick up on that and act accordingly, so you may need a very slow bonding method where he can regain his confidence.

Poor little chap. It may not be in his best interests to go back into the group though, so you may need to consider that.

But yes, you're going to have to go completely back to basics with it, and take to even slower than you would with a brand new bond.

We have a lot of groups and this can happen for all sorts of reasons and sometimes seemingly no reason.

In this situation we usually take out the one being bullied for a while and see what happens. We often then reintroduce him or her to just one other of the group to hind for a while. so when they do rejoin the main group they have some bun they trust already