bonding three male rabbits! possible?

[michellexgix]

ok, so i have three male rabbits..

one is about a year and i have him for about 6months.. his name is cooper, hes a very small rabbit..

the other is marley, hes a lionhead lop.. i have him for 1.5 months.. hes about 4/5 months..

the other is a lionhead.. hes nameless i have him since the 23rd of this month..

none of them are neutered, but will be very soon! i was told on this forum not to introduce till they are neutered..
cooper and marley do like eachother, i put their cages side my side for a few hours a day and they play, binky, etc..

whats the best way to bond them after i neuter them? is it to introduce the three of them at the same time, or bond two annd then the thrid or what?

also how many weeks after neutering untill i introduce them?

also is it true there personality changes after bonding?

 

[elrohwen]

It's definitely possible! I know someone who has a quartet of three males and a female - it's really only the female who causes the issues in her group.

I would wait 4-6 weeks after neutering to let the hormones settle down. For bonding, I would start with pairs, not all three at once. You can try each possible pair and then decide where to go. Some people like to bond the easiest pair first, so that they're making progress. Some people like to bond the most difficult pair first to get it over with. It's really up to you.

Once you've worked on each pair until they get along, then try all three together and see what happens. Make sure you're doing early bonding sessions in a neutral location, like the bathtub. You can also try stressing techniques to help bunnies that are more interested in fighting than getting along. For stressing I like putting them in a laundry basket and shaking it around a bit (or walking around the house with it). Some people put them on the dryer and turn it on to get some vibration. Putting them in a box and going for a drive in your car is also a good one. There are a lot of creative techniques you can use, but the basic idea of stressing is that when two bunnies are in a stressful situation together they're much more likely to snuggle and get along than fight and you can use this to your advantage.

Good luck! Bonding a trio isn't easy, but it can be done if you're patient and creative with your techniques. And you never know - you might get lucky and have an easy time of it.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Couldn't say it better.

 

[michellexgix]

big thank you!!
really helped me!!
im so nervous about it all!
getting them neutered,bonding etc..

so whenn bonding the first two, do i do it for a few mins every day or every few days?

 

[JadeIcing]

I have 3 boys and up till recently had 4 boys together. (Dallas just passed away)

Lots of debate with people I know about how to start a bond like that. Myself I would do it all at once. More so because it is over and done with. With bonding a pair first and than down the road adding the 3rd you run a higher risk of breaking the first bond.

My biggest advice would be to feel ok with whatever you do. Do what feels right to you and your bunnies. Only you know what is best. Bunnies have a way of surprising you. The one you think may not start trouble could be the first to pick a fight.

 

[michellexgix]

ok thanks again..
i think i may do it three at once!
i feel more confident about it all!

also do you think i should keep putting two of the cages side by side(cooper and marley) during the day?

they play together, and coopers much happier now he has a friend.. he lies down on me, falls asleep on me, binkys, runs about, takes treats etc when before he hated any human contact and just layed in his bed..

also one more thing, when they meet and they mount eachother.. should i let them off or stop them as im reading different things!

thanks again!

 

[elrohwen]

I should have clarified - I wasn't recommending bonding a pair fully and having them live together, just starting a pair out together in bonding sessions until they can be together without fighting, then starting with another pair. I would wait to cement the bond until all three can be together at once, rather than cementing just one pair, then adding a third. I think it's easier to focus on two at a time at first, especially as a new bonder, in case things get hairy. Of course, if it works for you to do all three from the start, then that's ok too! There are really no "rules" in bonding - just guidelines. If something works better for you, just go with it.

I would recommend bonding as often as possible - once a day minimum, but if you can do multiple sessions a day that would be even better. Start with just a few minutes and build up to a few hours as they get more comfortable together. You're teaching them that this new bunny is here to stay so they'd better just get along. If you don't increase times of the sessions or do them often enough, it can slow down the process. I found that bonding was stressful for me, as a first timer, so I only did one session a day. I know an experienced bonder who will do four a day with new rabbits to get things over with faster.

Putting cages together can be helpful. So can switching the bunnies from one cage to the other so they get used to the other's scent or switching stuffed animals between them. It's not absolutely necessary, but it can help.

When you say they play together, do you mean you let them out at the same time? If they're already playing together successfully you're already most of the way through bonding! As long as their attitudes towards each other don't change after neutering you're most of the way there.

For mounting, I've mostly heard that if one rabbit is ok with being mounted to let it go on for a bit so they can establish dominance. Don't allow head humping though, as the humper can get hurt. In practice, I separated them during humping more than I intended because it made my boy extremely nervous. If he was humped too many times, he began to get growly and nippy towards my female, but if I kept her from humping everybody eventually settled down. So it's up to you and how feel about it in the situation! If my boy had just sat there and not minded so much I probably would've let it go on, but because it was upsetting to him I felt that I should stop it.

 

[michellexgix]

Thanks for that additional info..

I think I will introduce Cooper and Marley first, then introduce the other guy (still nameless) once everything dies down..

Yes Cooper and Marley playtogether during the through the cages.. Cooper cant wait untill Marleys cage is put near his, he runs over and they all play, hehe! I barley see Cooper binkying and its all he does when the cages are together..

They did meet for 5mins a few weeks back, it was before I new they should be neutered.. Cooper mounted Marley, Marley let him off then Cooper went smelling around the place LOL..

I swap around their toys every week to get used to eachother sents

Thanks for the help!

 

[elrohwen]

It's good that they're getting along through the cage, but sometimes it's a whole different game when they're not separated and are in the same territory together. Hopefully yours continue to get along without the divider!

 

[michellexgix]

Yes hopefuly, fingers crossed LOL..

 

[gentle giants]

Something that I like to do when bonding bunnies, is to get a big pile of some really tasty favorite greens and put that out for them. Then not only are they thinking more about eating than fighting, but for some reason sharing the food seems to make them bond more easily.
Oh, and after the neuter, it takes about eight weeks for all the hormones etc. to be out of their systems. I know all of yours are boys, but that is the recommended amount of time to keep them away from any does to prevent pregnancy.