Thinking about a third

[Kristian]

Hey all,

I currently have an almost 3 year old half lop (male) and 18 month old Nethie (female). Both desexed. They’ve been bonded for about 4 months now.

We are thinking about a third. What do we need to consider? We adopt our bunnies from a rabbit rescue who also do the bonding for us.

Is it much more work with 3? Is it risky? Will the current bond break? Are two females and one male better? Or two males and one female?

Our buns are free range and have their own bedroom. They’re only put in the cage overnight or when we’re not home.

Thanks! Look forward to hearing from you all.

 

[Eve84]

Best to go with two males and one girl

 

[Blue eyes]

Best to go with two males and one girl

Oh, I would think that is the opposite of what one should do. The males tend to fight over the female. Usually a grouping of rabbits is either all females, or 1 male and the rest female.

 

[Blue eyes]

Hey all,

I currently have an almost 3 year old half lop (male) and 18 month old Nethie (female). Both desexed. They’ve been bonded for about 4 months now.

We are thinking about a third. What do we need to consider? We adopt our bunnies from a rabbit rescue who also do the bonding for us.

Is it much more work with 3? Is it risky? Will the current bond break? Are two females and one male better? Or two males and one female?

Our buns are free range and have their own bedroom. They’re only put in the cage overnight or when we’re not home.

Thanks! Look forward to hearing from you all.

For the most part, rabbit bonds tend to remain more stable when they are in pairs. Trios or groups are more likely to develop issues at some point. Adding a 3rd rabbit to an existing pair always risks the break up of the original pair. If all the rabbits are particularly laid back and submissive, then a trio may work.

There is a great article on bonding at the following link. On the right hand side of that link is a contents quick link. Click on the 7 RABBIT GROUPS AND TRIOS to skip through the info on bonding a pair.
https://www.cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information/bonding-bunnies/

 

[Preitler]

Oh, I would think that is the opposite of what one should do. The males tend to fight over the female. Usually a grouping of rabbits is either all females, or 1 male and the rest female.

It depends. Over here it's rather common to neuter males before puberty, those get along way better than those which went through puberty and got neutered late.

 

[Blue eyes]

It depends. Over here it's rather common to neuter males before puberty, those get along way better than those which went through puberty and got neutered late.

Good to know. Here, unfortunately, many rabbits are sold intact. Those ones often aren't fixed unless they start showing "problem" behaviors (some may neuter their male eventually if they want to introduce a female). Those rabbits coming from a rabbit rescue are all fixed, but they typically aren't fixed until the rescue gets them. Soo it isn't common to find males that have been neutered before puberty here.

 

[Cloverhouse]

The thing about rabbits is they will either bond or they won't. They are more like people that way. In most cases you can get dogs to at least tolerate each other even if you add one late to the pack, but with rabbits, not so much.

It might go great, or adding a third might cause even your bonded pair to start fighting. There's no way to tell ahead of time. There's no one secret or key to making it work. There are tips and tricks and a kiss for luck.

Is there a particular reason you want to add another bunny to the mix?

 

[Kristian]

The thing about rabbits is they will either bond or they won't. They are more like people that way. In most cases you can get dogs to at least tolerate each other even if you add one late to the pack, but with rabbits, not so much.

It might go great, or adding a third might cause even your bonded pair to start fighting. There's no way to tell ahead of time. There's no one secret or key to making it work. There are tips and tricks and a kiss for luck.

Is there a particular reason you want to add another bunny to the mix?

Wanting a third because we can afford it, have enough space, want more friends for our current bunnies and want to continue rescuing unfortunate buns.

We are looking next week and the rescue will attempt the bond

 

[ThePelletnator]

In reality, its up to the buns, whether sex they are, doesn't really matter. They'll bond with whomever they want. Its great to hear that you want to adopt another. Good luck with the bonding.

 

[LacyH1011]

We rescued a doe, Coco, and she had a litter a week later. Then a couple months later we rescued the buck who is presumed to be dad of the litter (caught same location a week before Coco after irresponsible owner dumped them, half of litter was lionheads and AJ is a lionhead), AJ. It took about 3-4 months to successfully integrate AJ. Coco had been spayed after the litter weaned, and AJ had been neutered at time of rescue, but Coco beat up AJ every time we tried. She still had a few of the litter left with her during this time, though they were reaching adulthood and getting neutered. Finally we were down to Coco and runt of the litter, a submissive buck with congenital knee defect, Peanut, who was neutered as soon as the vet would do it at 4 months old. We put the smaller cage with AJ inside the play yard attached to Coco and Peanut's cage, and let them sniff through the bars for a week, then started opening the door to AJ's cage for short periods. This finally worked to help them integrate and the three have lived together harmoniously for two years now.

 

[Aroomie]

2 girls to 1 boy is my opinion.
I found I had girls living/bonding together much better than males.

 

[Mariam+Theo]

I agree with 2 girls and one boy. Girl bonds normally work and girl/boy bonds almost always work so a mix of those would be great. The guy rabbit might favor one female over the other.

 

[Morgan223]

Wanting a third because we can afford it, have enough space, want more friends for our current bunnies and want to continue rescuing unfortunate buns.

We are looking next week and the rescue will attempt the bond

that's awesome

 

[ThePelletnator]

I don't have much experience with bonding girls, but my boy is very defensive when there's another male. He's the most loving when meeting females, but turns into a tiger with males.

 

[bunnylove2024]

yeah, I think you should get 2 females and one male, that way the males don't fight for one girl even if they are spayed/neutered. Try to get a breed similar in size though because that will help the transtion. make sure the two bonded don't gang up on the new one. Good luck!