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Introducing a new rabbit to a pair or group

Omi

Wise Old Thumper
It has been warned many times on this forum about the dangers of existing bonds breaking down when introducing new rabbits to each other. I can't remember any actual instance of this being discussed though, to enable me to quantify this risk and plan accordingly.

Whilst I fully appreciate that nothing with rabbit behaviour can be certain, I would appreciate views and actual experiences, if anyone has any, on a number of aspects of this and whether the risk of this happening can be mitigated in any way. When I consider my previous group, I could not have ever imagined that introducing another rabbit would have caused their bond to break down. They might not have accepted a new rabbit, but that is something different.

So my wonderings are:

Is the likelihood increased with the number of rabbits i.e. is trying to bond 1 with 2 safer than 1 with 2+?
Does the mix of sexes have any impact on the dynamics?
Does the age of the existing bond make it less likely to break down or not and is this balanced by the thought that introducing a new rabbit to an established bond is less likely to work than a new rabbit to a newly established bond?
Is a lot of it just down to the skill of the bonder?

Any other thoughts would be welcome too.
 
My only experience is with two brothers that had fallen out and after being totally apart for a few weeks I bonded them with a pair of happily bonded sisters.

They have been living as a quad ever since (bonded October 2013).
 
My only experience is with two brothers that had fallen out and after being totally apart for a few weeks I bonded them with a pair of happily bonded sisters.

They have been living as a quad ever since (bonded October 2013).

Did the brother's bond break down after neutering and being reintroduced? Was it an easy bond?
 
My experiences are fairly limited, but I find first time pairs the most nerve wracking (more for me than the rabbits, probably). The trios I have had have all been mixed ages and genders. I have always done it slowly (several weeks) so all knew each other in adjacent runs and they showed no adverse behavior before they were put together. I've never had an issue with the trios, given enough time and space for them to get on. All have been neutered at least several weeks beforehand. I prefer bonding boys - girls can be feistier. My trios have been 3 boys, 2boys & 1 girl, 2 girls & 1 boy. All my trios have been one added to an existing pair. I always make sure that they are carefully watched for the first day after they are physically together (although they have always been fine) and kept everything firmly crossed that they would be OK overnight. They are usually fully introduced in an area of the garden that all are familiar with, but none have used in the previous few weeks - so it's as neutral as I can make it and they all know their way round and have plenty of safe places. It is also somewhere that I can access them quickly if needed.
 
It has been warned many times on this forum about the dangers of existing bonds breaking down when introducing new rabbits to each other. I can't remember any actual instance of this being discussed though, to enable me to quantify this risk and plan accordingly.

Whilst I fully appreciate that nothing with rabbit behaviour can be certain, I would appreciate views and actual experiences, if anyone has any, on a number of aspects of this and whether the risk of this happening can be mitigated in any way. When I consider my previous group, I could not have ever imagined that introducing another rabbit would have caused their bond to break down. They might not have accepted a new rabbit, but that is something different.

So my wonderings are:

Is the likelihood increased with the number of rabbits i.e. is trying to bond 1 with 2 safer than 1 with 2+?
Does the mix of sexes have any impact on the dynamics?
Does the age of the existing bond make it less likely to break down or not and is this balanced by the thought that introducing a new rabbit to an established bond is less likely to work than a new rabbit to a newly established bond?
Is a lot of it just down to the skill of the bonder?

Any other thoughts would be welcome too.

IME a breakdown of a bond in an esrtablished pairing/group if another Rabbit is introduced is far less likely to happen if the established group are related- eg siblings, parent(s) + off-spring etc.

I have had one established bond break down when a third Rabbit was introduced. The established pair was a Buck and a Doe and the new-comer was a Buck. All neutered years beforehand. Strangely enough I was unable to reconcile the Doe/Buck but the two Bucks bonded and I then bonded the Doe with another Rabbit (a Buck).

I have found that more problems can arise with referred aggression- ie when an established bond can see/smell a new intake but not actually meet him/her.. So if I were going to try to introduce another Rabbit to an established pair/group I would not place the newcomer anywhere near the established bond until it was time for them all to meet in a neutral environment.

I am sure I will be told I am completely wrong though !! I make no claims to be any sort of 'Expert' xx
 
IME a breakdown of a bond in an esrtablished pairing/group if another Rabbit is introduced is far less likely to happen if the established group are related- eg siblings, parent(s) + off-spring etc.

I have had one established bond break down when a third Rabbit was introduced. The established pair was a Buck and a Doe and the new-comer was a Buck. All neutered years beforehand. Strangely enough I was unable to reconcile the Doe/Buck but the two Bucks bonded and I then bonded the Doe with another Rabbit (a Buck).

I have found that more problems can arise with referred aggression- ie when an established bond can see/smell a new intake but not actually meet him/her.. So if I were going to try to introduce another Rabbit to an established pair/group I would not place the newcomer anywhere near the established bond until it was time for them all to meet in a neutral environment.

I am sure I will be told I am completely wrong though !! I make no claims to be any sort of 'Expert' xx

Actually your views are very similar to my own, but remember I have zero experience of bonding (yet) :lol: I very much agree with your first paragraph based on my experience of my Rexes' bond and your point about referred aggression just makes sense in my view. I agree there will be others who have different views and different experiences. There will be so many variables in people's experiences, that trying to make sense of it is difficult, but I'll keep trying :)
 
My experiences are fairly limited, but I find first time pairs the most nerve wracking (more for me than the rabbits, probably). The trios I have had have all been mixed ages and genders. I have always done it slowly (several weeks) so all knew each other in adjacent runs and they showed no adverse behavior before they were put together. I've never had an issue with the trios, given enough time and space for them to get on. All have been neutered at least several weeks beforehand. I prefer bonding boys - girls can be feistier. My trios have been 3 boys, 2boys & 1 girl, 2 girls & 1 boy. All my trios have been one added to an existing pair. I always make sure that they are carefully watched for the first day after they are physically together (although they have always been fine) and kept everything firmly crossed that they would be OK overnight. They are usually fully introduced in an area of the garden that all are familiar with, but none have used in the previous few weeks - so it's as neutral as I can make it and they all know their way round and have plenty of safe places. It is also somewhere that I can access them quickly if needed.

It's encouraging that you've had no issues with your trios and your experience is based on trios with different sex mixes. I also find it interesting that you have done the bonding outside.
 
It's encouraging that you've had no issues with your trios and your experience is based on trios with different sex mixes. I also find it interesting that you have done the bonding outside.

I've got a lot more space outside than I could ever create inside- plus there are other animals inside (eg dogs, cats) - so it makes sense for me. The rabbits live outside anyway and are less disturbed / stressed by the daily routine, dogs, etc. and only have to concentrate on being rabbits.
 
I've got a lot more space outside than I could ever create inside- plus there are other animals inside (eg dogs, cats) - so it makes sense for me. The rabbits live outside anyway and are less disturbed / stressed by the daily routine, dogs, etc. and only have to concentrate on being rabbits.

Yes, similar here although I don't have additional animals inside. My concern is that I have nowhere to sleep outside, espceially at this time of the year :lol:
 
Yes, similar here although I don't have additional animals inside. My concern is that I have nowhere to sleep outside, espceially at this time of the year :lol:

What makes you think you'll be sleeping? :lol: Interesting thread, I've always thought this risk is of the much warned about, little experienced variety. In fact Janes experience is the only one I can recall reading. Referred aggression, now I do believe that to be a very real risk.

Above is just my thoughts, I've only bonded the one trio.
 
When all is said and done the personalities of the rabbits makes an awful lot of difference to a bond being successful or otherwise. I have only bonded male/female and never trios. The only groups I have had have been related, ie Mum and babies.
 
I bonded a trio - added a female to a m/m pair (littermates) - that was relatively quick and easy. It was my first attempt at bonding. More recently I tried adding another Male to the group and it was a disaster. After initially positive signs he decided he didn’t like my female, she ended up with quite a bad wound requiring 2 surgeries within a week & eventually leaving it to heal as an open wound. I’m now back to having a m/m pair and a separate female :( I’m fairly confident they will live together again, she has now recovered from her injury so I will make another bonding attempt in a couple of weeks when I’m off work.
 
I bonded a trio - added a female to a m/m pair (littermates) - that was relatively quick and easy. It was my first attempt at bonding. More recently I tried adding another Male to the group and it was a disaster. After initially positive signs he decided he didn’t like my female, she ended up with quite a bad wound requiring 2 surgeries within a week & eventually leaving it to heal as an open wound. I’m now back to having a m/m pair and a separate female :( I’m fairly confident they will live together again, she has now recovered from her injury so I will make another bonding attempt in a couple of weeks when I’m off work.


Oh Casco, what a shame!

What made you want to add another male to the group?

Did the personalities give any indication that there might be trouble ahead?
 
I bonded a trio - added a female to a m/m pair (littermates) - that was relatively quick and easy. It was my first attempt at bonding. More recently I tried adding another Male to the group and it was a disaster. After initially positive signs he decided he didn’t like my female, she ended up with quite a bad wound requiring 2 surgeries within a week & eventually leaving it to heal as an open wound. I’m now back to having a m/m pair and a separate female :( I’m fairly confident they will live together again, she has now recovered from her injury so I will make another bonding attempt in a couple of weeks when I’m off work.

How scary :( Sending lots of vibes that they go back together again easily.
 
Oh Casco, what a shame!

What made you want to add another male to the group?

Did the personalities give any indication that there might be trouble ahead?

I’ve wanted a quad for a while & I really wanted a lop. Ideal bunny came into the rescue I volunteer for and I couldn’t resist - looked just like my first bunny. He is actually a really lovely bunny, easy to handle and quite friendly. He got on well with my 2 boys and seemed to be making friends with my girl. This was them a couple of days before he turned on her:

UmMQ2Wg.jpg
 
I’ve wanted a quad for a while & I really wanted a lop. Ideal bunny came into the rescue I volunteer for and I couldn’t resist - looked just like my first bunny. He is actually a really lovely bunny, easy to handle and quite friendly. He got on well with my 2 boys and seemed to be making friends with my girl. This was them a couple of days before he turned on her:

UmMQ2Wg.jpg


Gracious they look loved up :love:

Did she provoke him? You say he attacked her rather badly? I wonder what made him angry?

Were they in the small pen?
 
Yes they were in a small space, the damage was mainly caused because he clamped his mouth together and held on. I don’t think she provoked him as such, she was grooming one of the boys on the face and obviously gave him a nip which made him jump back then he went to chase her and the new boy decided to get involved & went for Millie. Happened so fast. I was there watching them but just a second too late to stop the injury.
 
I’ve wanted a quad for a while & I really wanted a lop. Ideal bunny came into the rescue I volunteer for and I couldn’t resist - looked just like my first bunny. He is actually a really lovely bunny, easy to handle and quite friendly. He got on well with my 2 boys and seemed to be making friends with my girl. This was them a couple of days before he turned on her:

UmMQ2Wg.jpg

I have to say I would have thought they were happily bonded from this pic.
 
Yes they were in a small space, the damage was mainly caused because he clamped his mouth together and held on. I don’t think she provoked him as such, she was grooming one of the boys on the face and obviously gave him a nip which made him jump back then he went to chase her and the new boy decided to get involved & went for Millie. Happened so fast. I was there watching them but just a second too late to stop the injury.


Sorry to hear this :(

And maybe this is a silly question, as it was obviously very scary at the time ... But given all had gone so well up until that point (I presume?) would you have ever considered trying again with the foursome? Perhaps with more space?

I hope you don't mind me asking.
I'm trying to understand the workings of a rabbit's mind ... (pretty impossible, really)
 
I decided I couldn’t risk him doing it again and didn’t know how Millie would react to him. I did think about it for a while, as you say it had looked good at one point but I felt I simply couldn’t trust him even if it seemed to be going well again.
 
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