Trio bonding!?

Hi, all!

I have an existing pair of buns - Hamish (neutered male, a year and a half old) and Barbara (spayed female, two years old). Barbara is very laid-back and tolerant, whilst Hamish is more up-front. He likes to be in the middle of whatever's happening, and is quite puppy-like in his playfulness and affection. He is also a bit of a humper, though gives up immediately if Barbara moves away. Hamish has been bonded once before meeting Barbara, while Barbara has only ever been bonded to Hamish; she was alone before she met him, however. These two bonded within a day and have been together ever since.

My neighbour's mini rex escaped about a month ago, and because she wasn't spayed, obviously came back pregnant. The babies are about a week old, now.

I've always wanted a rabbit trio, and wondered if it would be a good idea to try to bond one of these babies to my existing pair (once the baby had grown up a little, of course!) Hamish enjoys company so much that I think he might benefit from having a bunny friend who reciprocates his attention.

Barbara and Hamish are currently in a 6ft x 2ft hutch at night and spend the daytime in a large run. We're going to be building them a 9ft x 6ft enclosure/run soon, so thought we could bond the bunnies whilst they're in their own hutches, and then move them to the new house when they're ready.

I've been reading up on trios for a while. I have some questions, though: whilst I'm familiar with bonding duos, I've never done it with a trio. I assume it's much the same, but are there any specific details I should consider? Also, would a male or female be better for bonding? It will be neutered, whatever it is, but is there a better gender for my existing setup? What age would it be okay to introduce the newcomer to the pair, and would the enclosure size I'm planning be adequate for all three of them?

I'd appreciate any help!

There is a trio bonding sticky at the top of the bonding section I think, might be worth having a look at.
I've bonded two trios but never bonded a pair so not sure exactly how it differs from bonding a pair.

It might be worth seeking advice on half-wildie rabbits as well before you commit to taking one on. I'm not sure how well a half wild rabbit would bond with domestic rabbits but I'm sure others on here will have experience with it.

To be honest, I don't feel like a trio needs all that much more space than a pair so a 6x9 run should be fine, although I'd probably want a bit more than 6x2 for the indoor space.

Hey BattleKat.

I read through the sticky at the top of the forum a couple of days ago. It was very helpful!

Hmm, I hadn't thought of that. We had a half wildie when I was younger and he was fine with the other buns, just a little skittish around people. I'll do a little more research on that, though, and hopefully somebody here might have some help to offer.

When the trio are bonded, they'd be moving up to the big enclosure (the indoors bit is 6ft x 4.5ft and the outdoors bit is the same, but we would be adding an extension to the run to make it 6ft x 9ft, which would make about 6ft x 13.5ft total daytime space, if my maths is correct). They'd have constant outdoor access during the day but would be put indoors at night, would that be adequate space for three?

Thanks for the help.

That size accommodation sounds good for a trio. :thumb:

I recently bonded a trio and found it very stressful. Trios can be a bit iffy, with one of the buns being left out. Personally, if your pair are fine, I wouldn't want to risk their bond by introducing another. There is also the problem with a half wildie, they may not do well in a trio with two domestic buns and may be more likely to be left out.

It's entirely up to you, however. You know your buns more than us, so if you feel they would do better in a trio, then go for it. Bonding a trio isn't really much different from bonding a pair. It just takes more vigilance and takes longer.

Cool! We've been working on dimensions for their new house for a while now, so I'm glad it will be adequate for three. (Of course, if we decide not to bond the trio, Hamish and Barbara can have the enclosure all to themselves!)

I was worried about that. Our two have a stable bond, they're not obsessed with each-other but they'll flop around on each-other and spend most of their time grooming and napping together. The issue I'm having with our current pair is that Barbara is so much lazier than Hamish - he's always zipping around while she's much happier laying about and grazing. I felt that Hamish would prefer another bun to spend time with, and Babs would appreciate some time left alone. They've been surrounded by strange rabbits a lot, especially recently. (Our neighbour's all have rabbits that live in quite close range to ours), and haven't suffered from having them around, but I suppose it would be quite different when they're actually sharing space with another bun. I'll do some thinking on that one.