Bonding a trio

[philippa_barlow]

So last summer we got two 12 week old males bunnies, Bourbon and Oreo. They were neutered in October and everything was fine. February this year we went to check on them and there was fur everywhere. Both were in a state but Bourbon was clearly the worst off of the two. He was covered in bites and had lost a toe. Due to him limping and needing to rest we had to separate them. We divided up their existing set up. Now both have a 3ft by 6ft area of a shed and a tunnel out to a 8 by 4 run. Both didn’t seem happy so decided the best thing to do was to get a female each. We bonded Bourbon to Hops through the RSPCA but due to Covid it stopped us being able to bond Oreo. Oreo managed to jump the 4ft fence between them to get to Hops and Bourbon last month. Oreo clearly went for Bourbon again but this time Oreo was injured too so assume Hops stood up to him.
Went last weekend to bond Oreo but they are concerned that any bond he makes could be ruined that close to Bourbon and Hops. They currently don’t have any rabbits they feel could deal with being that close to another pair. We have a few options...
1) bond Oreo to Hops and Bourbon
2) chance getting Oreo a friend
3) get another female and try bonding all 4
4) rehome Oreo.
I would love to have them altogether so we can go back to having the whole 12ft by 6ft shed for them. Sorry for the long post just really don’t know what to do for best, thanks

 

[Blue eyes]

Having a trio that consists of more than 1 male isn't likely to take. That they have already shown incompatible does not bode well. They fought when it was just the two of them. The mere presence of the female can cause friction between the two males. I'd say it is almost guaranteed that they will fight each other over the female. So considering your options, I'd say option #1 is not likely to succeed.

Option #2 has the best chance IF there is a way to keep them much farther away from the other pair. Perhaps you'd even want to consider indoor housing.

#3 Getting another female with the thought of bonding all 4 is only going to make things that much more complicated and even less likely to work. Now the boys will have both girls to fight over. The girls may also fight. In fact, females are notoriously territorial. If the two boys can't get along with the one female, they certainly aren't going to get along any better with 2 females. It isn't like they will each pair off with a female. You'd have all 4 trying to sort out relationships when there's already known tension among the males.

If housing rabbits indoors isn't something you've considered (or thought possible without odor) then I'd encourage you to look more into it. I've housed all of mine indoors for decades and can assure you that even with my rabbits in the main living area of the home, there is no odor. Visitors habitually express shock when they see a rabbit hopping about after they've been visiting for a length of time --"No idea you have rabbits! I didn't smell a thing!"

If you were able to bring Oreo indoors, then it might be more likely to succeed in pairing him with a fixed female.

 

[philippa_barlow]

Thank you for your reply. I didn’t realise how much bunnies could dislike one another. Such small things with such big personalities.