Bonding question?? Threes

hello, I have fallen in love with the most gorgeous rescue, and would really really like to offer him a home However I am worried as he would have to bind with my two neutered buns, one is a very friendly but timidish boy, and my very dominant bossy doe.

Has anyone got any stories (good or bad) about bonding a threesome, I really need to think long and hard about this as I can not afford for the bond not to work really, as I don't have the room to keep single buns

I don't have an answer but I'll be watching this with interest bearing in mind my hopes to bond a trio!

I was wondering this the other day and was gonna do a post! Once I get my two bonded I'd love to get a rescue bun ...so I'll be watching this too.
I was thinking whether its better to have two boys and a girl or two girls and a boy..or if it really matters!

He??
Never ever put two males with one female please!!

lopz wrote:He??
Never ever put two males with one female please!!

Can you please refrain from using this superior and somewhat aggressive language in your posts, which has manifested itself recently.
There have been plenty of bonded trios (and more) on this forum of mixed sexes that have worked successfully. It is down to the temperament of the rabbits concerned, not down to their sex. Not only are you giving out incorrect information, but you are doing so in a such a way that demonstrates contempt for other members.

If you took time to absorb the experience of the other members on this forum, you may learn that the things that you see as wrong are not as set in stone as you believe. This forum is not a medium for any member to tell people what to do, it is for us all to ask any questions without receiving this kind of attitude. Please think about how you word things directed at other members in future.

Shellypops wrote:hello, I have fallen in love with the most gorgeous rescue, and would really really like to offer him a home However I am worried as he would have to bind with my two neutered buns, one is a very friendly but timidish boy, and my very dominant bossy doe.

Has anyone got any stories (good or bad) about bonding a threesome, I really need to think long and hard about this as I can not afford for the bond not to work really, as I don't have the room to keep single buns

I have a pair and a single bun (male) and I am hoping that one day I will manage to bond them into a trio as I hate the fact that Felix is on his own, but don't want to get a fourth rabbit as Felix wasn't a planned bun - he was a stray I found.

I tried in a timid kind of way, but Wolfie and Gloria were a bit too much for him as he is such a timid wee guy. I will need to think about how I can introduce them without tears.

Yes, you can bond into three's or four's or whatever and it doesn't matter what the sex, it's down to each individual bunny, I have a group of 5 all living together, 3 females and 2 males, they are very, very closely bonded and adore each other, I also have had 2 males live together and 2 females live together and yet some people will tell you that same sex couples won't live together

My personal opinion is that it is down to each individual bunny and who they will accept, make sure that it's an experienced bonder and not someone who 'force bonds', an experienced bonder will tell you if it's going to work or not after assessing them

Give it a go as you have nothing to lose, good luck

Would it be possible to take your existing two bunnies on a "date" to meet the third rescue? This way you could see how they interact with each other in a more neutral space and determine the potential for their personalities to get along.

Maybe you could give the rescue a call and discuss your situation? My rescue has a policy that if the bond doesn't work out they will take the bunny back. They also might be able to give you an insight into this third bun's personality to see if he will fit with your two.

I read a blog once of a woman who was trying to bond three bunnies.. I'll dig around in my history and see if i can find it.

The forum has lots of threads about bonding, I hope some may help you clicky

Jay wrote:

lopz wrote:He??
Never ever put two males with one female please!!

Can you please refrain from using this superior and somewhat aggressive language in your posts, which has manifested itself recently.
There have been plenty of bonded trios (and more) on this forum of mixed sexes that have worked successfully. It is down to the temperament of the rabbits concerned, not down to their sex. Not only are you giving out incorrect information, but you are doing so in a such a way that demonstrates contempt for other members.

If you took time to absorb the experience of the other members on this forum, you may learn that the things that you see as wrong are not as set in stone as you believe. This forum is not a medium for any member to tell people what to do, it is for us all to ask any questions without receiving this kind of attitude. Please think about how you word things directed at other members in future.

I live in Belgium, we maybe see things differently, but surely Belgian and Dutch rabbits have not a different character from English ones.
I've had bunnies for several years now, but it's only since 2006 I started taking part of fora. In those 4 years I have been reading that 2 males and 1 female is asking for trouble.
It's just recently I started seeing stories of male/male, female/female. Normaly this is not a happy combination either and I read too much about fights.
If you find my language superior and aggressive, it's your problem, I don't want bunnies hurt when it can be avoided. I hope you will never ever have to witness two loved bunnies fight, it's not a pretty sight and some die.

lopz wrote:If you find my language superior and aggressive, it's your problem, I don't want bunnies hurt when it can be avoided. I hope you will never ever have to witness two loved bunnies fight, it's not a pretty sight and some die.

Then your experience would have been an appropriate addition to the thread, as this is the sort of information that was being requested. You didn't offer it, but adopted a superior and aggressive tone in your short and curt response. By sharing our experiences, we can all help each other, and learn from each other, not use this language to berate each other.

As you can see, there are successes with mix-sexed bonds, and same sex bonds. If it doesn't work for one group/couple, that is no precedent for it not working with another.

Thanks guys, just to clarify I actually did seek advise from the rescue that did my initial bond between Bobby and Carlo. It was suggested that because My doe (Bobby) is SO dominant and Carlo is so friendly, a laid back male would be more suited. I think I have found somebunn who fits the bill, and he has been fostered for quite sometime, so I would love to help him!

But I am by no means going to rush into things, so don't mind if you have negative stories either (thanks Lopz). I am swaying towards not rocking the boat right now, but i definitley want to try in the near future.

If I do I will be asking the rescue if it is possible if they do it for me, and I will make a donation as well. I really have fallen for this little guy in such a big way, he has the same colouring and temperament as Carlo. I think if I got a doe, it would be trouble as Bobby is such a dominatrix, and there would be fights or bullying.

Shellypops wrote:Thanks guys, just to clarify I actually did seek advise from the rescue that did my initial bond between Bobby and Carlo. It was suggested that because My doe (Bobby) is SO dominant and Carlo is so friendly, a laid back male would be more suited. I think I have found somebunn who fits the bill, and he has been fostered for quite sometime, so I would love to help him!

But I am by no means going to rush into things, so don't mind if you have negative stories either (thanks Lopz). I am swaying towards not rocking the boat right now, but i definitley want to try in the near future.

If I do I will be asking the rescue if it is possible if they do it for me, and I will make a donation as well. I really have fallen for this little guy in such a big way, he has the same colouring and temperament as Carlo. I think if I got a doe, it would be trouble as Bobby is such a dominatrix, and there would be fights or bullying.

Sounds like you are approaching this in the right way. I don't think that there are hard and fast rules on this point as it just comes down the the temperament of the buns in question. You need to be prepared to either keep this chap separately if it doesn't work out or just leave him for someone else to adopt. Hope it all works out for you and them.

I think, like Nickie, you're going about this in the right way - and it's good to try and collect as much information as possible.

I'm not sure if I'd try it or not, but I can totally understand your dilemma. Nothing ventured, nothing gained, I suppose. It could work brilliantly, or it could upset your existing bond. I should say I have no experience of bonding, or of 3 bonded bunnies, so can't really offer anything helpful! But I think, as has been said, it's down to the temperaments of the buns concerned.

It's a good idea to ask the rescue to do it as they already know the characters of Bobby and Carlo (I think anyway?)

Lots of luck if you decide to go ahead.

Thanks for your replies in all honesty I think that I am going to leave it for now. I do want to try in the future and will rethink in a few months, I just want to offer another needy rabbit a home, and to be honest I can get quite wrapped up in my emotions .

I am not sure we could keep a bun seperatley at the moment,but we are considering getting a bigger place next year, so then I think I am going to go for it, and will be asking Jill if she minds ever so much doing the bond for me.
As yes you are quite right, she does know my two.


Please feel free to add anymore experiences as I am not saying never

Hi Shelley - I had Charlie and Jack (Jack was a girl, they were both neutered) bonded and then along came Brian. A young, unneutered male.

At first I housed them in separate hutches visible to each other, with separate outdoor time so that they could get used to one another.

Then I started letting them out to play together (we were lucky enough to have a very large garden). There were a few squabbles over Jack (the little hussy ) but nothing violent, most likely because there was enough garden for one to escape to. Every time they had a confrontation like that I would go back a step to letting them out separately and try again in a few days.

Anyway I got Brian neutered when he was old enough and, while he was still the friskiest of the 3, it calmed him down a lot and they basically bonded without so much as a backwards glance. He was devoted to Jack, as was Charlie, and there didn't seem to be a conflict, they seemed to coexist quite happily as a trio. And believe me, I am no bonding expert. I only have experience of two bonds - Charlie and Jack, and then Brian to them both.


So the short answer is - yes it's possible. I'm afraid I don't agree that you should "never put two males together with one female". Never say never Obviously I wouldn't just chuck him in there and leave them to it - I'm sure you'd use a careful, considered approach - but it can be done (and has been done!) and, as people have said, it really does depend on the individual buns.

Best of luck with whatever you decide

Thanks Buddabun, I think we are going to try nest year, and if Jester still is at his foster mummies then, I will snap him up. We should be moving into a bigger house then, so we will wait, but keep your experiences coming

I think I should avoid this thread as I was looking on the Rescue site that I got Hippo from and there are some pretty adorable little guys on there!

TOO TEMPTING!

This is sooo my problem, I have been wanting jester for ages, and he reminds me of a bigger version of my balck and white Carlo

I've had a few trio's all with 2 boys to one girl. I started with Benji Ivy and Bracken, Ivy was boss, they both adored bracken and Benji just is, bless him

Bracken would take boy after boy after boy, but a girl she without a doubt would kill.

After I lost bracken i adopted fudge, for a trio of males, but also at the same time, I took on an unwanted baby girl, I put her in with Benji and Ivy and they were bonded within a day.

I then waited a bit to start bonding fudge in, It was all going well, but Ivy died suddenly (he always had health problems) so fudge took his place in the pack easy enough,

I then adopted Conwy Cassie and Nevyn, at hopes of having a six, or 3 pairs. All of which required neutering before hand (all the rescues were small and struggling for money, though it was part of my adoption agreement.) So conwi was first, and he bonded in within a day too! No problems, and I had a beautiful group of four,

However I kept putting off Bonding in Cassie and Nevyn, as I was ever so worried about isi, I knew she was gonna be agressive to cassie, she is cheeky and doesn't like other females. so i put it off for about 5/6 months, until Conwy got pneumonia and died, and I finally decided I had to get is done, ready for when I go away on Thursday, as I had then as a group for holiday boarding with my friend.

I can happily say right now running, (or well sleeping in a pile) is my happily bonded group of 5, 3 boys, Fudge Nevyn and Benji, and 2 girls Isabelle and Cassie. Fudge is boss, then Isi 2'nd in command, as for Cassie Nev and Benji I doubt either of them really care. Though Benji is such a funny character, they all seem to let him be and do what he wants out of respect, He's like the wise old man, even fudge doesn't boss him about.

So from my experience I've always managed it, Bonding Benji in with Ivy and Bracken, took 4 months, but they were inseparable after, since then it's all been quite quick this group of 5 took a week. I'm amazed, and very happy!!

ETA - I also have a bonded pair (male and female) Missy and Timmy in the garden who would shred any bunny near them, They were a difficult bond, and are very loved up now, but I know how the react around the foster bunny's and they attack through the bars. I know adding bunnys to them would only result in a lot of injurys. I tried once last sumer to bond them in with Ivy and Benji after bracken died, as Timmy was sick and struggling outside, I knew right away it wasn't ever gonna happen, so have built the their own sheltered home outside, to keep timmy well thought winter. I guess it's easy for me to gauge what bunnies are like when it comes to accepting others, as I foster and I have so many rabbits in and out, I learn quick enough who gets angry at the sight/smell of another rabbit.

NickieM wrote:I have a pair and a single bun (male) and I am hoping that one day I will manage to bond them into a trio as I hate the fact that Felix is on his own, but don't want to get a fourth rabbit as Felix wasn't a planned bun - he was a stray I found.

I tried in a timid kind of way, but Wolfie and Gloria were a bit too much for him as he is such a timid wee guy. I will need to think about how I can introduce them without tears.

Nikkie!!!! I think you and your buns need a nice loooooooooooong drive down here They could learn a thing or two from my lot!!! Plus the drive would make them all soppy, and fudge would give em a good rollicking too!!! And I'd finally get to meet you

Love the idea Kirsty but I don't see it happening soon I'm afraid. I'm sure we'll get to meet one day though. xx

I have a very successful trio of 2 males and a female together

I have a question to add to this also, since I stole Daisy... I was in the middle of bonding Vivi and Bea (Which is going wonderfully this time around!)

And I wonder, if I want them as athree, is it best to go at them as all unbonded, or continue to bond Vivi and Bea then add Daisy later? She's unspeyed so I can't bond her yet.. And before she can be speyed I assume she'll need to put some weight on! Ill ask the vet about it later, got my appointment in 30mins!

I'm planning on bonding my male to my 2 females. Vince was my first bunny, a lone bunny who I felt would benefit from a lady friend, so I tool on Faline and got them both neutered. Then I got Hazel, Falines friend and rebonded the two girls together.
I think Faline will bond ok with Vince, but Hazel was bullied by other rabbits in her previous home and she did growl at Vince when he approached her through the run bars. Today she was nibbling him on the nose between the bars but he didn't seem to mind. I think she will be boss.
Hazel isbeing speyed next week and I'm going to wait a few weeks till Vince's hormones have subsided as I don't want him humping hazel as she's had enough of that already judging by the state of her missing fur on her back.