Starting a 3 bunny bond...

[BellaBunnies]

Just one little question...

When I put my three singles together, do I:

a) Keep them together 24/7 after being first introduced

OR

b) Introduce them for short periods of time (play times) for a few days (an hour or so each time) putting them back in their separate hutches in-between and then gradually increase the time they are together before keeping them together 24/7?

Hope this makes sense :happybunny:

I have 2 bucks (Buck 1- 1 year / Buck 2 - 9 months) & a 3 year old doe, all were neutered last year.

 

[holtzchick]

I would go with option b but I will tell you it is better to bond them into pairs first so bunny A with bunny B then bunny A with bunny C, bunny B with bunny C and then slowly introduce them once they've been bonded that way. At least that's what I've read it entails.

 

[agnesthelion]

Do NOT just put bunnies together 24/7 after introduction. Rabbit bonding is a process and rabbits don't just automatically like another rabbit so fighting very likely can occur and rabbit fights can be dangerous.

Trios are difficult and rare. They offer challenges different than a bonded pair. Usually the challanges are spontaneous fighting along the way and re-bonding. Trios rarely work out permanently. There is only one trio that I know of on RO and others that have "failed" for lack of a better way to say it.

Usually when people attempt a trio, they already have a bonded pair and they are trying to add a third. Then what usually happens, is the original bond is stressed and/or broken. (another trio challenge) So with that being said, if yours are all singles that leads me to thinking you should just start dating all 3 and see where it goes. I have no literature on dating 3 singles, so I can't say if it would ever be successful.

But, if a realistic goal of yours is to have a bonded pair and a single (which very well could end up happening) then maybe you should bond a pair first. UHg, there are just so many things about a trio that would worry me. I personally would never attempt it.......

So, no matter which option you choose, option B isn't even the way to do it. An hour long first date is way too long. The date needs to ne on neutral territory where none of the rabbits have been and should only be a few minutes. I think my first date was 5-10 minutes.

But yes, continue to do this everyday increasing the time like you said. Then, you will want to move to non neutral territory, continuing everyday dates, increasing time. When they can be together for 4-5 hours without any scuffle then they could be ready for same cage. Every bond is different, can take days or up to months to bond. It took 30 days to bond my two.

Here is my favorite bonding article I share with everyone.

http://www.rabbitnetwork.org/articles/bond.shtml

Best of luck!

 

[Troller]

From my reading, you can attempt a 24/7 bond, a fast approach, but only if there is constant monitering for a minimum of two weeks and always in neutral territory. Of course there is no guarantee it will work, and the examples Ive seen always use more does then bucks. Good luck, but I do believe your working with far too many detriments against you for success.

 

[BellaBunnies]

I have since spoken to two people (one had a bonded trio, the other has 2 bonded trio's)

There advice is NOT to separate them, and to keep them together, the process of splitting them just causes stress and sets the bonding process back because every time they meet they will need to sort out who is boss again - The biggest reason for bonds to fail is people increase the space far too quickly.

Thank you for your advice.

 

[agnesthelion]

There is a fast track forced approach or a "wear them down" approach that some people do use and have success with. I'm just conservative and a wimp when it comes to bunny fights it's much more stressful on owner and rabbit to do it this way, in my opinion. Most of the bonding research I did supports the slow track bonding.
I sure hope your trio bonds! I would love to hear about a bonded threesome. Let us know how it goes!

 

[LakeCondo]

I have since spoken to two people (one had a bonded trio, the other has 2 bonded trio's)

There advice is NOT to separate them, and to keep them together, the process of splitting them just causes stress and sets the bonding process back because every time they meet they will need to sort out who is boss again - The biggest reason for bonds to fail is people increase the space far too quickly.

Thank you for your advice.

That sounds like they would have no memory of what had happened the day before.

But if they're in a large enough area, they may learn to tolerate each other.

 

[Azerane]

I wish you a lot of luck with this, from what I've read of bonding it appears to be quite difficult at times, I can only imagine the trials of bonding three. Having only read about bonding, I'm no expert, but I would certainly think it would be preferable to bond all 3 at once, rather than trying to bond 2 and 2 and 2. That just makes things complicated and they have to learn how to act around the other two rabbits seperately, and together. I would start with very short meetings with all three. I really hope it works out.