Introducing a fourth rabbit

JulesSchin · May 12, 2020

I was hoping for some advice. We have 3, one year old neutered male rabbits. They are not related but have been together since they were bought as babies. They bonded well although the Small Dutch is slightly shy and is left out a little by the pair of love bird lion heads. They live outdoors in a large heated repurposed Labrador kennel and run and have their own garden. A friend is rehoming her un-neutured female Netherlands dwarf house rabbit (approx 2/3 years old) We’d love to try and offer her a home. Is there any hope of being able to achieve this over time and any tips gratefully received. I’m conscious she’s not neutered/ lived indoors/ lived alone and our 3 get on fine so don’t want to spoil that but would love it if the Dutch boy had his own BFF as well as the lion heads do. We have other accommodation for her in the interim. Thank you in advance.

tonibun · May 12, 2020

It should be fairly straightforward to bond the female with your Dutch bunny but I couldn't give any advice on making a quad. This would depend on the rabbits' personalities and she would need to be spayed first anyway. The bonding would have to take place in a neutral area. If it upset the boys it could be difficult to re-bond them, so this is another point to consider.

Omi · May 12, 2020

I would imagine this would not be easy, but I suspect you have realised this

The risks are that the dynamics of your trio would be challenged. This could leave you with a variety of different results.

On paper, there are a couple of obvious things against the success of such a bonding attempt, which are that the doe is unneutered and that you have already done well in bonding 3 bucks, which is sometimes problematic.

That said, if it worked it would be fantastic and would, as you say, help with the issue of your Dutch boy being a bit left out. Some rabbits go completely against expectations and will immediately bond with no issues whatsoever, with no easy explanation as to why. So, if it were me, I would give this a try, but be prepared to call a halt if there are problems. I would try the conventional way of introducing them all at once in a small, neutral area (maybe in your house?) and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, perhaps you could settle for having two pairs, although that might not be possible for you.

Have a look at mischief and tinker's bonding videos. She has been very successful in bonding groups of rabbits. I'll have a look for the link and add it later.

ETA http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ded-my-5-Rabbits!&highlight=mischief+tinker's

JulesSchin · May 12, 2020

Thank you so much for your help. I can create 2 neutral garden areas separated by fencing to intro them next to each other. If it looks like we can progress to being in the same area outside together for a few minutes, would you do them all at the same time, just the Dutch or one at a time?

Omi said:
I would imagine this would not be easy, but I suspect you have realised this The risks are that the dynamics of your trio would be challenged. This could leave you with a variety of different results.

On paper, there are a couple of obvious things against the success of such a bonding attempt, which are that the doe is unneutered and that you have already done well in bonding 3 bucks, which is sometimes problematic.

That said, if it worked it would be fantastic and would, as you say, help with the issue of your Dutch boy being a bit left out. Some rabbits go completely against expectations and will immediately bond with no issues whatsoever, with no easy explanation as to why. So, if it were me, I would give this a try, but be prepared to call a halt if there are problems. I would try the conventional way of introducing them all at once in a small, neutral area (maybe in your house?) and see how it goes. If it doesn't work out, perhaps you could settle for having two pairs, although that might not be possible for you.

Have a look at mischief and tinker's bonding videos. She has been very successful in bonding groups of rabbits. I'll have a look for the link and add it later.

ETA http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/s...ded-my-5-Rabbits!&highlight=mischief+tinker's

JulesSchin · May 12, 2020

Also, I read a lot of advice about only introducing them once the female is neutured. Obviously this is not possible at the moment with Covid lockdown. Can I still try without her being done or could I just socialise outdoors in the adjoining garden areas

tonibun · May 12, 2020

The problem with having them next to one another is this could cause Referred Aggression where one rabbit attacks his friend instead of the rabbit/s on the other side of the fence. So really you need a good separation zone.

JulesSchin · May 12, 2020

OK thank you. Sorry to be a bit thick but what practically do you mean by this. What’s the best way to set this up?

tonibun said:
The problem with having them next to one another is this could cause Referred Aggression where one rabbit attacks his friend instead of the rabbit/s on the other side of the fence. So really you need a good separation zone.

Omi · May 12, 2020

JulesSchin said:
Thank you so much for your help. I can create 2 neutral garden areas separated by fencing to intro them next to each other. If it looks like we can progress to being in the same area outside together for a few minutes, would you do them all at the same time, just the Dutch or one at a time?

You will find that different people have different methods and to be honest it's probably a case of what has worked for them in the past and could be more to do with the individual rabbits' personalities rather than the method used as to whether it was successful or not.

I don't know your rabbits and so I can only give a feeling towards what I think I would do in your situation. I accept the problems with neutering at the moment, but I think if it were me I would try now and then if it's successful all well and good, if not then you would have the option of trying again in a few months after she's been neutered. It's also a valid point that tonibun makes about rabbits seeing each other, but not being able to interact physically and it could cause referred aggression. It might also create false messages to be observed, to you and also between the rabbits themselves. How rabbits behave when there is a barrier is not often a good indication of how they would be if the barrier were removed. In your particular situation, I would bite the bullet and put them all together at the same time in a neutral area and be prepared to separate quickly if you need to.

Whatever you do, you can post on here often to ask for further advice and give updates. I'm not saying that we are all expert bonders, far from it, but we are willing to help

JulesSchin · May 12, 2020

OK. Understood. I’ll create one small neutral space and wear gloves. I won’t lie I’m a bit nervous and really appreciate this forum for help and support

Omi said:
You will find that different people have different methods and to be honest it's probably a case of what has worked for them in the past and could be more to do with the individual rabbits' personalities rather than the method used as to whether it was successful or not.

I don't know your rabbits and so I can only give a feeling towards what I think I would do in your situation. I accept the problems with neutering at the moment, but I think if it were me I would try now and then if it's successful all well and good, if not then you would have the option of trying again in a few months after she's been neutered. It's also a valid point that tonibun makes about rabbits seeing each other, but not being able to interact physically and it could cause referred aggression. It might also create false messages to be observed, to you and also between the rabbits themselves. How rabbits behave when there is a barrier is not often a good indication of how they would be if the barrier were removed. In your particular situation, I would bite the bullet and put them all together at the same time in a neutral area and be prepared to separate quickly if you need to.

Whatever you do, you can post on here often to ask for further advice and give updates. I'm not saying that we are all expert bonders, far from it, but we are willing to help

Omi · May 12, 2020

JulesSchin said:
OK. Understood. I’ll create one small neutral space and wear gloves. I won’t lie I’m a bit nervous and really appreciate this forum for help and support

Good luck. I think most of us would admit that it is a scary process. Use lots of food in the centre as a distraction.

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