bonding advise

anyone any experience of bonding mail rabbits or am I tempting armagedon briefly thought about the attempted bonding of Jazz with the two new bunns that are coming Bobby & Timmy it would give them all a lot more room oh yes Daisy would have to be in the mix as well

If you have does around then male bonds are extremely unlikely to work - even in an already bonded pair. They smell the doe and fight for her.

I see yes theres Rosie in the other run with jim

One of the women that took care of me in the hospital has 4 bonded males.  She didn't have any problems.  This surprised me!  Seems they all readily agreed to who was the royal rabbit.

gentl wrote:One of the women that took care of me in the hospital has 4 bonded males.  She didn't have any problems.  This surprised me!  Seems they all readily agreed to who was the royal rabbit.

I think the difference is, as Cheryl has said, having a female within smelling distance. It doesn't even have to be one of your own buns, it could be one a garden or two away. We've certainly never had any success with boys together as we have so many girls around.

Anne McBride had some interesting things to say at the RWAF conference about bun groups. Apparently even in the wild the preferred natural group size is actually only two - a male and a female. They have their own quarters within the warren although tunnels are shared, and have some grazing grounds which are defended by the dominant local pair, and some grazing grounds which are communal. Larger groups are only really forced together when the ground is soft, tunnels collapse easily and a larger group is required to maintain the warren.

She said that the best option for pet buns was (all neutered, of course) a male / female pair. But then the second preference is actually a male / male pair and that a female / female pair are more likely to fight as they are so much more territorial.

Of course, it also seems to depend on the individual personalities in pet buns, which is why our quad are still together and a lovely, entertaining little group

Your quad have also always been together though as they are siblings aren't they? This seems to make a difference too.

You are right.  Just like people their personalities has so much to do with it. We're waiting until I'm better to get Rory a mate.  I hope we can find a bun that he will want to bond with.

cheryl'n'bruce'flo wrote:Your quad have also always been together though as they are siblings aren't they? This seems to make a difference too.

That is true, plus they were neutered young. Although it was originally seven siblings plus parents but Dougal and Taffy both got bullied out of the group. Dougal went to live with Roo, Jack and Mrs D got separated when Mrs D was poorly, and Reggie was removed to be with Taffy, leaving the four who get on really well together.

I managed to bond Cosy with Snuffie just before they both left me. What we did was keep swapping buns from one room into another, but leaving the beds where they are so they get used to each others scent. It worked ike a dream but it did take a while. Unfortuntately I lost them both within a fairly short space of time. I do agree though, they are all have different little personalities.

Hugs

JO xx