Pip.binky
New Kit
I am going to refer to them as Pair A and Pair B to make it easier.
PAIR A: I have two female rabbits who are a "bonded" pair. They were brought from separate litters at a young age, before reaching sexual maturity, so many consider this a sibling bond rather than an actual bond. They are now 4 years old, get along well, and never fight.
PAIR B: I recently received two rabbits, a male and a female, who are bonded. They are of a similar age to Pair A . The female is the dominant one in this pair and can occasionally get feisty, even biting the male. He, on the other hand, is very docile.
Pair A are outdoor rabbits and, until this year, lived in a chicken coop alongside the chickens. They used to huddle and sleep together. I also have 4 cats, which they get along with, so they are very sociable .
After the last chicken passed away this year, I changed their setup. They have now been in their new shed for around 4 months.
Pair B are house rabbits. They have enjoyed the outdoors so far and are becoming more active. I intend to keep them all outdoors. They are litter-trained; however, since being with me, they have not been using their litter tray. I think this will just take some time for them to adjust.
Due to limited space, I have opted to use the side-by-side bonding method. I have split their area inside and outside of the shed, as shown in the pictures.
From what I’ve researched, it’s advised to keep this setup for a month, then slowly start swapping their belongings before introducing them.
However, I haven’t found much information on how to bond four rabbits. Should I try bonding them each separately in a small, neutral space, or should I place all four in a small pen together?
My dominant rabbit from Pair A has approached the male rabbit in Pair B through the fence and licked him, which seems like a good sign. She has also displayed mounting behaviors, turning her back towards him and sticking her bottom up.
The dominant female from Pair B, however, bites both rabbits in Pair A through the fence and becomes aggressive towards the male when he tries to interact with the dominant female in Pair A.
The non-dominant female in Pair A has no interest in Pair B and only approaches when the dominant female does so. However, when she does, she gets bitten by the female in Pair B and runs away.
After this happens, when the non-dominant female in Pair A approaches her dominant female, she gets kicked at and chased away. This doesn’t last long, and they go back to being friendly. Is this a sign that they’re fighting over the male?
I once had to break up a fight between the dominant female of Pair A and the male of Pair B when he got into their area of the enclosure. That was my fault, and I have since properly secured it. I let them be as they approached each other I stroked them side by side and thought that since they had shown the most signs of getting along, they wouldn’t fight, but when he turned his back and walked away she attacked him, fur was pulled from both rabbits, and they rolled over fighting.
The dominant female, when approached by me, now makes a low grunting noise, which she has never done before. I think she might be angry at me.
I believe that, eventually, the dominant female from Pair A will try to assert her status as leader against the dominant female from Pair B, as they are showing the most aggression towards each other.
I know this is a lot of information, but this is all new to me and very complicated.
I would like some advice on how to go about bonding four rabbits. There are many different bonding methods, and I would like to know which would work best in my situation. Any other tips or tricks would be much appreciated. Thank you.
PAIR A: I have two female rabbits who are a "bonded" pair. They were brought from separate litters at a young age, before reaching sexual maturity, so many consider this a sibling bond rather than an actual bond. They are now 4 years old, get along well, and never fight.
PAIR B: I recently received two rabbits, a male and a female, who are bonded. They are of a similar age to Pair A . The female is the dominant one in this pair and can occasionally get feisty, even biting the male. He, on the other hand, is very docile.
Pair A are outdoor rabbits and, until this year, lived in a chicken coop alongside the chickens. They used to huddle and sleep together. I also have 4 cats, which they get along with, so they are very sociable .
After the last chicken passed away this year, I changed their setup. They have now been in their new shed for around 4 months.
Pair B are house rabbits. They have enjoyed the outdoors so far and are becoming more active. I intend to keep them all outdoors. They are litter-trained; however, since being with me, they have not been using their litter tray. I think this will just take some time for them to adjust.
Due to limited space, I have opted to use the side-by-side bonding method. I have split their area inside and outside of the shed, as shown in the pictures.
From what I’ve researched, it’s advised to keep this setup for a month, then slowly start swapping their belongings before introducing them.
However, I haven’t found much information on how to bond four rabbits. Should I try bonding them each separately in a small, neutral space, or should I place all four in a small pen together?
My dominant rabbit from Pair A has approached the male rabbit in Pair B through the fence and licked him, which seems like a good sign. She has also displayed mounting behaviors, turning her back towards him and sticking her bottom up.
The dominant female from Pair B, however, bites both rabbits in Pair A through the fence and becomes aggressive towards the male when he tries to interact with the dominant female in Pair A.
The non-dominant female in Pair A has no interest in Pair B and only approaches when the dominant female does so. However, when she does, she gets bitten by the female in Pair B and runs away.
After this happens, when the non-dominant female in Pair A approaches her dominant female, she gets kicked at and chased away. This doesn’t last long, and they go back to being friendly. Is this a sign that they’re fighting over the male?
I once had to break up a fight between the dominant female of Pair A and the male of Pair B when he got into their area of the enclosure. That was my fault, and I have since properly secured it. I let them be as they approached each other I stroked them side by side and thought that since they had shown the most signs of getting along, they wouldn’t fight, but when he turned his back and walked away she attacked him, fur was pulled from both rabbits, and they rolled over fighting.
The dominant female, when approached by me, now makes a low grunting noise, which she has never done before. I think she might be angry at me.
I believe that, eventually, the dominant female from Pair A will try to assert her status as leader against the dominant female from Pair B, as they are showing the most aggression towards each other.
I know this is a lot of information, but this is all new to me and very complicated.
I would like some advice on how to go about bonding four rabbits. There are many different bonding methods, and I would like to know which would work best in my situation. Any other tips or tricks would be much appreciated. Thank you.
