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mrslimpitt

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Help me please! I put my two bonded pair together and my holland lop male keeps going after my Flemish giant male:censored2: what do I do? They are in a pen that is 2x4 that is neutral. I am a nervous wreck!
 
I divided the pen in half with just the bottom opened slightly so they can see each other but not go after each other. Should I do this for a couple hours before removing it? I am hoping they settle down because I took a week off from work to get this started.
 
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Are you trying to bond a new male to an already bonded pair or do you have two seperate bonded pairs that you are trying to bond?

Sorry I'm confused.....
 
Oh okay, wow. I have never even heard of this to tell you the truth. I think it's *maybe* possible but it will be very difficult. There are a couple trios on here but several stories of trios not even working out :(

Are they free run or do you want them all in one enclosure eventually?
 
They are all house rabbits that I want to become free range downstairs so they can interact with the family more. They all have great personalities. Otis is not liking my Flemish Rocky at all. I am so afraid to move the divider.
 
Well I would just take this pretty slow. It took me 30 days to bond my two so I doubt you'll get it done in a week.

Start with brief introductions with a divider. Are they trying to fight through the bars? If not, then keep them next to each other but with a divider for a few days.

Then start switching toys and litter boxes.

Then move to bunny dates with all 4 in a different neutral area. My initial dates lasted like 5 minutes. I always tried to end on a positive note.

Gradually move up in time. When they can all be together for a few hours then you can try to move to non neutral territory.

Here is my favorite article on bonding. Granted, this has to do with bonding two but you can still take tips from it:

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

Now, I do have to say that I'd be very cautious about trying to bond 4. The problem is that even if they all appear to be getting along, spontaneous fighting can break out at any time. And then the current bonded pairs are at risk for their bonds to be broken. Me personally, it's not something I would ever try. But that'd just me, lol, I'm kinda a cautious person. I wouldn't even attempt a trio!

So anyway, I'm not saying that to be a Debbie downer, just a realist so you know the challenges you may have in your future.

Please keep us updated!!! And I wish you the best!
 
Thank you so much angesthelion! When i put them together Otis just attacks instantly. the is going to be a long process i can tell. I will keep you posted on how it is going. I am crossing everything I can cross.
 
Both girls and Rocky are getting along fine it is Otis that goes for Rocky. Do you think I can bond the girls with Rocky and than try Otis at a later date? Rocky is already bonded to Bunbun which is one of the girls. I feel so bad for Otis if I leave him out.
 
mrslimpitt said:
Both girls and Rocky are getting along fine it is Otis that goes for Rocky. Do you think I can bond the girls with Rocky and than try Otis at a later date? Rocky is already bonded to Bunbun which is one of the girls. I feel so bad for Otis if I leave him out.
Click to expand...

Gosh I dunno. My worry with that is that splitting up a bonded pair will then put risk that THEIR bond would break. Rabbits are so picky about things like that. For example, even a trip to the vet without a mate can cause fighting upon return. So even if you get the trio to get along, reintroducing Otis later can then change the dynamic all over again.

Maybe someone else can weigh in on this. I know we have an RO member who has 3 bonded pairs and she can let 4 of them play together briefly but they aren't bonded. But I can't think of anyone with a bonded quad unless I'm forgetting........

I'm assuming all of them are spayed and neutered? And are both pairs m/f? How long have they been bonded? Did you bond or get them bonded? How long have you had all 4? where are they housed now?
 
They are all fixed and have been bonded in m/f pairs for about 9 mths. So much to think about!
I will make sure I do what makes all my rabbits happy. I love them all so much.
 
Best of luck and yes keep us posted! I would love to hear a quad success story and pictures too :)
 
I just saw this thread. This makes me VERY nervous. Now that you have bunbun in with the other 2, she will have the smell of the other 2 on her (including the smell of Rocky). Have you tried putting her back with Otis yet?? Otis may now reject bunbun and that will be sad for Otis. If you are trying to bond one pair with another, I think it's imperative that you NOT separate the pairs. It would be my opinion (opinion only) that each pair needs to be treated as on rabbit.
 
My hope is to get them all bonded as a quad. I will do the dating game on this, I think that will be best for my babies. I will keep everyone posted. Wish me luck please
 
Yes, I understood that you want a quad. I was suggesting that in order to have a quad that you need to keep the pairs intact during the process. By splitting the pair, you will likely end up with a trio and a single.
 
Yes I just have to reiterate what blue eyes is saying. Please don't misinterpret our cautiousness as not wishing you luck :) we definitely wish you the best! But what blue eyes is saying is what I was alluding too earlier. Splitting up a bonded pair can result in that pair then losing their bond. And what makes me the most nervous for you is that you could get the 4 "getting along" and go a day, or a couple weeks or a month and then it could appear they are bonded but the risk for a fight to all of a sudden break out is pretty high. But as I said, even though this isn't very common I sure hope it works out and yes, keep us in the loop!
 
I really appreciate both your advice and have both pairs back together. With the fighting between Rocky and Otis I aborted the bonding efforts for now. Do not want to start off on a bad note with bonding. They are all back in their areas and chilling. I may try the dating game this summer when hopefully Otis will forget about the fighting.
 
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