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And so it begins - trio vibes, please,

capable

Mama Doe
I finally find myself with a long enough stretch of days to start attempting to bond my 3 boys.

William and Jack are brothers who were neutered late (multiple previous owners before me), and lived together previously before I had to separate them - William over dominating pre-neuter.
Henry was a stray, no significant previous history.

They're set up in a 4x4 pen in my hallway, with hay and water, and have been together for an hour so far.

There has been lots of humping between William and Henry, and little Jack has been keeping out of everyone's way. William is fur pulling Henry a lot, and biting every time he sniffs someone's nose.

Both Jack and William have been nibbling the hay, and William has been grooming himself and also chin rubbing on everything.

Jack is very much keeping to himself, preferring to keep the size of the pen between himself and the others, and hasn't voluntarily gone near them. He's been humped a couple of times, but as I expected he's got no interest in being anything other than bottom of the pecking order.

Both Henry and William have been grunting a lot, and both laid down on their tummies a couple of times.

I've nothing scheduled between now and Thursday, so I'm hoping we get a smooth bond!
 
Hope all goes well and W and H are able to amicably decided who will be top rabbit.
 
Thank you all for the vibes!

It seems to be going well so far. Henry has side flopped a couple of times but hasn't eaten. William is most comfortable eating and grooming himself, but also keeps thumping and then pouncing on the others. He also keeps fur pulling Henry's face.

Jack just runs to get out of the way, and often ends up wedged in a corner. I'm a bit concerned about how frightened he is.
 
William is definitely the instigator of all the strife. If Henry lies down, William thumps and then hops over to hump him. He's been chin rubbing on the pee spots left on the puppy pads, and going out of his way to bite the other two's noses.

I know I'm probably projecting, but it seems like he's being unnecessarily bullying. I feel like the other 2 by themselves would get on swimmingly.
 
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I made the space much smaller, maybe 1.5x2.5ft, to stop them getting up to speed, and to encourage Jack to interact, not just hide. They all shared kale which was good, since Jack and Henry haven't drank.

Everytime Henry humps William, Will latches on to Jack and I have to intervene. I feel desperately sorry for Jack, he's so timid and peaceable, he doesn't deserve to keep getting bitten :(
 
Thank you both. I hadn't realised how exhausting this would be, or how uncomfortable my hall floor is!

William is still going out of his way to bite the others, though less frequently since I've been separating them with a dustpan. The other two hide their faces from him, and just sit like rocks, while William hops around, eats, drinks and grooms, and he'll still jump hop over and nip them :? They're not allowed to move without getting chased and bitten.

Henry has humped Jack a little, but neither one has pulled each other's fur, or chased - they spend most of their time huddled together, heads turned away so Will can't bite them.
 
I made an executive decision, and removed William. For some, it might've been too soon, but 6 hours of nothing but antagonism in progressively smaller spaces wasn't doing anyone any good.

The remaining 2 have been together for an hour, and the relief is palpable. Jack is still very wary - he's started to move around a little, but still hops away, but when Henry comes over to him they'll both sit peaceably. They've both eaten and drank, Henry puts his head under Jack's to be groomed, but I don't think he knows what to do!

When Henry reaches out to sniff Jack's nose, he bounds away. Poor lad is too used to being bitten, I imagine it'll take a while for trust to be regained.
 
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I made an executive decision, and removed William. For some, it might've been too soon, but 6 hours of nothing but antagonism in progressively smaller spaces wasn't doing anyone any good.

The remaining 2 have been together for an hour, and the relief is palpable. Jack is still very wary - he's started to move around a little, but still hops away, but when Henry comes over to him they'll both sit peaceably. They've both eaten and drank, Henry puts his head under Jack's to be groomed, but I don't think he knows what to do!

When Henry reaches out to sniff Jack's nose, he bounds away. Poor lad is too used to being bitten, I imagine it'll take a while for trust to be regained.

hi there - stressful isn’t it the whole bonding thing! I am going to have another go at bonding my 2 Male/female bonded pairs. What are you going to do with William now? How are the other 2 now getting on?
 
They're doing well so far, Henry has had a few more humps, but nothing overly manic. They're not snuggly, and no one has been groomed, but it's peaceable. I'm going to start to expand the space back to the original pen size.

Good luck with your pairs!
 
I made an executive decision, and removed William. For some, it might've been too soon, but 6 hours of nothing but antagonism in progressively smaller spaces wasn't doing anyone any good.

The remaining 2 have been together for an hour, and the relief is palpable. Jack is still very wary - he's started to move around a little, but still hops away, but when Henry comes over to him they'll both sit peaceably. They've both eaten and drank, Henry puts his head under Jack's to be groomed, but I don't think he knows what to do!

When Henry reaches out to sniff Jack's nose, he bounds away. Poor lad is too used to being bitten, I imagine it'll take a while for trust to be regained.


It's really difficult when they fight and you don't know how long to carry on with it.

You can only trust your instincts on this one ... Loads of good vibes :D
 
Thank you MightyMax. I'm not giving up on William by any stretch, but I think he needs a very specific type of partner.

Jack and Henry have had a good night. When I left them, they had the full space of the 4x4 pen - neither was seeking the other out to sit with, but they were both happy enough to be hopping around and eating, and both flopped (Henry) and loafed (Jack) at respective sides of the pen.

Breakfast stirred them up a little, I scatter fed lots of pellets but Henry would rather have humped Jack to try and stop him eating, rather than eat his own share himself :roll: I've still not seen any nipping or fur pulling, which I think is a good sign. Jack still runs in expectation of being nipped if Henry approaches his face, but doesn't resist or run away if Henry humps him.

I hadn't realised how much hay we'd be getting through! I'm going to have to nip out for a while and stock up.
 
Thank you MightyMax. I'm not giving up on William by any stretch, but I think he needs a very specific type of partner.

Jack and Henry have had a good night. When I left them, they had the full space of the 4x4 pen - neither was seeking the other out to sit with, but they were both happy enough to be hopping around and eating, and both flopped (Henry) and loafed (Jack) at respective sides of the pen.

Breakfast stirred them up a little, I scatter fed lots of pellets but Henry would rather have humped Jack to try and stop him eating, rather than eat his own share himself :roll: I've still not seen any nipping or fur pulling, which I think is a good sign. Jack still runs in expectation of being nipped if Henry approaches his face, but doesn't resist or run away if Henry humps him.

I hadn't realised how much hay we'd be getting through! I'm going to have to nip out for a while and stock up.


Are they eating it all or throwing it around, peeing on it etc ..
 
Everyone is still subdued today. I’m keeping a close eye on Henry - he didn’t show any interest in their morning pellets, which is very out of character. He keeps trying to get comfy in 1 corner, getting up, grooming, repositioning and lying back down again.

Once I’m sure they’re both eating ok, I’ll turn my attention to their new accommodation.

They’ll be living outside, alongside William’s set up. I wonder how much of a ruckus this will cause?
 
Henry and Jack are still getting on splendidly. They're both so low-drama, neither one rocks the boat, they just mooch along happily.

They're outside now, currently in Jack's neutralised hutch/run while I get the new run and playhouse attached together. This is Henry's first time being back outside since I caught him straying in a carpark back in January. He's very skittish, poor lad, and has a massive disliking for my cat and my dog, but Jack and William are both unfazed so I'm hoping Henry settles.
 
I'm pleased you've got a happy pair and you're going to look for a friend for the single. It's probably better than trying to force something which won't work. Perhaps he has had a bad experience with dogs and cats before you found him.
 
Henry and Jack are still getting on splendidly. They're both so low-drama, neither one rocks the boat, they just mooch along happily.

They're outside now, currently in Jack's neutralised hutch/run while I get the new run and playhouse attached together. This is Henry's first time being back outside since I caught him straying in a carpark back in January. He's very skittish, poor lad, and has a massive disliking for my cat and my dog, but Jack and William are both unfazed so I'm hoping Henry settles.



Good news about Henry and Jack :)

I love those males that mooch along together in their bromance :love:
 
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