Can rabbits live peacefully in 3's?

[ellissian]

I know a lot of people have bonded pairs of rabbits.

I was wondering if it's possible or if anyone has a trio of rabbits that live peacefully together.

Or is a case of threes a crowd?

 

[Flashy]

JadeIcing has a trio ( might be worth looking at her blog) and I think some others do too.

I'm aiming to get a trio or a quad together, but I will just have to wait.

Are you having plans for more bunnies?

 

[ellissian]

Not in the near future.

I was just thinking if Millys mam does have another litter I wanted two buns from there.

I've been at the school were Milly was born all day and all I could think about was him and I was takling to a lot of the teachers there own his siblings.

I'm going to have a word with his parents owner and ask if she will definately have another litter.

It's something to look forward to if she says yes.

 

[katt]

it is possible, and many people do have it, but there are risks

the bonded pair can really gang up on the new rabbit, and cause lots of problems. . . fighting, biting, ect

you can end up breaking apart your bonded pair if the new rabbit and one from the pair become bonded to each other

i have never done it, but am going to try with izabelle once we get her fixed. . .

 

[undergunfire]

katt wrote:

you can end up breaking apart your bonded pair if the new rabbit and one from the pair become bonded to each other

This happened to me. I adopted a bonded pair of brothers in Janruary, then I brought home and had a female Lionhead spayed. I started bonding, but Mallory (one of the brothers) chose Madilyn (the female) over his brother, Morgan. Now Morgan is all alone and it really hurt me to see my brothers fight and hate each other.

There is hope though, for rebonding if something like this happens to you.

 

[ellissian]

I wouldnt like to break an already bonded pair up, that must be hard.

I don't think I would try and bond 3 now, since I got yet another bun today! I will see how he goes.

I must stop getting buns so quickly!

My next and last bun will definately come from Millys parents......and thats a promise.

 

[JadeIcing]

Yes they can. It all depends the buns. I tried with Elvis and seemed like it would but in the end no. On the other hand with Connor it was just ment to be.

 

[ellissian]

Thanks at least I know it's possible although any bonding is a long way off.

 

[Spring]

I'm attempting it :biggrin2:. Just waiting for Bruno to get neutered. I'm hopeful that it will work out, andI strongly think it will. I think my little lover boy is the perfect ingredient to my two stubborn girls .

Right now, I'm doing some bonding sessions with the girls, but nothing serious until Bruno is added to the mix. They aren't close at all, just trying to get them to be ok with being near each other.

Worth a try!

 

[aurora369]

I had a very happy trio until Wildfire passed.

I bonded them all at the same time, no adding a single to a pair. I just did all my bonding sessions with all three and once they got along well I left them in a temprorary pen for a week while I built their new cage. I barely had any fighting.

I'm hoping to be able to bond a foursome by adding my two girls to my two boys. I think it will be a slow process, but I think it will work.

--Dawn

 

[ellissian]

Yes I was thinking I would bond all at the same time. I have'nt even got a 3rd bun yet so I am really planning ahead! lol

They will probably all be different sizes and ages when the time comes, but that does'nt matter does it?

 

[Spring]

I'm not sure, but I hope not. My girls are both between 3-4lbs and Bruno is supposed to hit 11-12lbs when he fully matures.. so that should be quite interesting with bonding..:shock:

 

[Bunnicula]

ellissian wrote:

Yes I was thinking I would bond all at the same time. I have'nt even got a 3rd bun yet so I am really planning ahead! lol

They will probably all be different sizes and ages when the time comes, but that does'nt matter does it?

We had a bonded trio with Gingivere, Stewart, & Emmaline.

Gingivere was a first bunny and lived alone for a year before Stewart was added to our household. Bonding went quite easily with those two. When Stewart was just under 2 years old (and Gingivere was almost 3) we introduced Emmaline to the clan. I was amazed at how quickly Emmaline fit in with the other 2. She and Gingivere did have a few "spats" but never a full-blown fight. Stewart was very docile and he seemed to be the peacemaker...often laying between the two girls being groomed on either side.

However, once Stewart died (just a few months after Emmaline arrived) the two girls became less and less friendly. At first I thought it was hormonal as neither girl was spayed. They did live together in a huge double cage where each had her area...but they had more frequent spats. Things did NOT improve once the two were spayed and we tried re-bonding them. In fact, Gingivere has bitten Emmaline 2x requiring emergency vet visits.

I think the trio was successful because Gingivere & Stewart were a passionately bonded pair (she mourned for a long time after his passing...honestly!). Emmaline just fit in because she was an a more independent individual who sometimes joined in for a snuggle. After the docile, submissive male was gone, the 2 dominant females BOTH wanted to be top-bunny....and there was no longer anyone who wanted to be dominated.

Last fall a male, Pipkin, came into the household to be a mate for Emmaline. That bonding process has gone successfully...and I am just now CLOSELY supervising limited play times (10-15 min max) for all 3 on our screen porch. Things seem to be going well...though I do not plan to try to have all 3 live together. Gingivere seems to need her space.

I think since you will try to bond all 3 together that may be easier. Not sure if the age difference will matter...I think bunny personality is a much more significant factor.

Best wishes for successful bonding!:bunnieskiss

 

[ellissian]

Thanks

Poor little girl, it must be awful seeing her in mourning for her mate. Give her a pat from me.

Now all I need is to wait for my 3rd bun if I get my wish for a Milly relative, and of course neutering/spaying.

I really have a long time to wait.

I will have to concentrate on my current buns getting 100 percent healthy for now.

 

[Bunnicula]

ellissian wrote:

Thanks

Poor little girl, it must be awful seeing her in mourning for her mate. Give her a pat from me.

I certainly will! I never knew how close bonded pairs actually were until Stewart died. My vet felt he couldn't help Stewart through the emergency and I rushed him to a rabbit-savvy vet...but too late. He passed in the waiting room just as I was walking him back to the exam room. I brought his body home for my hubby and the other 2 bunnies to view. Laid him in the cage and Gingi went about grooming his face and nudging his body. It was one of the saddest yet most beautiful events I ever witnessed. For days after that she would sit in the areas of the house where he used to snuggler with her and just stare. She ate less, too. Of course she eventually bounced back, but I think she never got over that love.

Aren't bunnies just amazing creatures?:mrsthumper:

 

[ellissian]

I'm guessing Hope will make the process interesting.

She is starting to be a little bundle of mischief, she is always up to no good! My new bun acts so laid back I'm suprised he does'nt fall over, I have'nt him long enough to know for sure but that is how he acts at the moment.

 

[ellissian]

They are amazing with individual characters. Milly taught me just how amazing they are.

While Hope is teaching me just how naughty they can be! lol I thought Milly was inquisative but Hope makes me feel like I'm running around after triplets!

 

[Bunnicula]

?ellissian wrote:

They are amazing with individual characters. Milly taught me just how amazing they are.

While Hope is teaching me just how naughty they can be! lol I thought Milly was inquisative but Hope makes me feel like I'm running around after triplets!

Oh, I do think that Emmaline would give Hope a run for her money in the naughtiness category. Emm has NO FEAR! She loves heights...to the point where she has performed some stunts that I was certain would cause her death...or at least my heart failure. She is an food thief, refuses to be caught to return to her cage, runs over the top of Gingivere's cage just to taunt her...and that's just the beginning.

But her mate, Pipkin is very laid back...so they have bonded extremely easily. I think that given time Gingivere would enjoy Pipkin as a mate, too...but his heart belongs to Emm...and with Gingi having become a biter/fighter I am a bit apprehensive about trying to find another male with docile/subordinate tendencies to bond with her.

I mean, it seems like she would like someone to snuggle with again...she kisses Pipkin through the cage bars and snuggles with one of our cats. But I hate the thought of bringing another bunny home and her biting him, too. (Other than her 2 bad bits of Emm, she's also bitten Pipkin to the point of stitches...but that was my fault...happened his first day here...I let him to close to her open cage door...ugh! what was I thinking :banghead?

I hope that someone else out there who's had/has a bonded trio can add some of their experience. I would be curious to come pare it to what happened in our household.

:anyone:

 

[ellissian]

OMG this is wierd! My Hope is like your Emm!

She has always showed no fear when jumping off things and tonight she has been jumping and climbing up as high as she can.

She will also jump out of your hands if you let her, I'm always reminding the kids Hope is not like Milly and they need to be very careful handling her. Milly was lovely and calm most of the time and could be trusted out of his cage all day but Hope can't! Milly was always Mr Cautious.

Don't beat yourself up over things in the past, I'm sure it happens to a lot of people.

 

[Bunnicula]

Who is the bunny in your avatar, ellissian?

Milly or Hope?

I'd love to see pics of both. Do you have a blog? I've got to check it out.

Emmaline is pretty much a maniac...but with the sweetest disposition.

Even though Gingivere hurt her more than once she would still lay cuddled up with her. In fact, the only way I discovered the second injury was to find a puff of fur with flesh attached to it when I was cleaning up that night. The girls had been our playing and cuddling all day...and I never even saw a fight. Must have happened the few times my back was turned. And yet the way they were snuggles together you would have thought they had never had a harsh bunny-word between them.

But when I go to gather her to get back in the cage it's as if I am her mortal enemy...and I am no where near as quick as she. Then a few minutes later I will turn around and she'll have put herself in the cage. She'll be lying on her perch all stretched out as if she'd been relaxing there for days. :bunnydance: I swear sometimes I can see her smirking!