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Forum BONDING A journey of bonding a trio

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    • Kittensmew
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        Here I will just go over what happens each day that I start bonding my trio. What I do, what happens, ect.

        Please note that for now I’m starting off with bonding the two adults, then adding the third half way through. Also this will be a trio of males.

        Day one~June 15th:

        Today I set up the two play pens we have in my room. Oliver has only been in here once, it was a while ago, and I quickly shooed him out. They both have been in every other room, so I decided to start the bonding in my room. I make a square with one of the playpens and put the other in the middle as a divider. I put Oliver on one side and Domino on the other. Oliver would try and nip Domino through the bars, though he never really got close to actually nipping him since the bars are tiny. I let them figure it out on their own and just watched. Oliver eventually settled down and stopped trying to nip Domino. I put a towel on each side of the pen and left it there for about ten or so minutes. Then I swapped the two towels, trying to get them used to sharing things. I left them there for another ten or so minutes and then swapped them again. I watched them for another twenty or so minutes. They were pretty good after that. Of course they didn’t jump for joy for each other, but there wasn’t any nipping from Oliver anymore. After that I moved them both right beside the divider and started to pet them both. I pet them for a minute or two and then stopped. I watched them and they stayed laying on the divider together instead of running off. Oliver didn’t try to nip him even when they were that close. Over all I say that it was a pretty good day. Only a little nipping and that was all. He didn’t even get close to  biting Domino, though I was watching very closely just in case. I had them together in the pen for about thirty to forty minutes today.

        Also feedback and suggestions are always welcome and appreciated. This is my first time bonding rabbits ever, and a trio. So any friendly suggestions to make it go more smoothly or if I’m doing anything wrong would be great!


      • Kittensmew
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          Day two~ June 16th
          Today kind of went downhill from yesterday.. Oliver was perfect throughout the session today. Though, Domino got a bit hot headed. Domino tried to casually lunge at Oliver, hoping I didn’t see. But I saw. He tried to lunge at Oliver, but ran into the divider instead. He seems to also be trying to pull Oliver’s fur if Oliver gets close. He keeps rubbing his chin all over the divider as well. I know he’s marking it as his own, but Oliver isn’t doing it at all. I had to spray Domino a couple of times because he wouldn’t stop trying to pull fur from Oliver and started to dig and bite at the divider. I put them both up against the divider again and started to pet them both. When I stopped Domino flopped down like he does when he’s all comfortable. They laid on the divider together for a couple of minutes. There was luckily no nipping, lunging, or trying to pull fur while they laid together. After that, though, Domino went back to rubbing against everything in sight. I tried to try a hand at stress bonding today since Domino kept being vicious to Oliver. After a failed attempt at banging a spoon against a pan, I turned the lights off, make each side of the playpen tinier, and shook the cage bars. This made them scared and huddle together. They stayed huddled together for a minute and then I put the cage back to normal. Domino is still trying to rip fur from Oliver. Any advise on how to help give them a little push into getting over nipping and pulling fur? Or should I just let them work it out on their own? I don’t want either to get hurt or fur pulled.


        • Kittensmew
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            Day three~ June 18th

            Today I decided to do two different things in one big session to make up for me missing a session yesterday. To start this session off, I put them each on one side of the playpen again. This time I switched their spots, though. So Domino was now where Oliver used to be and Oliver is where Domino used to be. There wasn’t really any nipping, fur pulling, or lunging from either of them. I made the playpen smaller so that they had to be near each other. I then switched them. So now they were in each others spots. Oliver groomed himself and Domino flopped down. They were really good with being that close. I switched them again after that. They both seemed okay with the other being in their spot. After seeing no attempts to hurt each other, I decided to let them be in the playpen together on the same side. I got a dustpan, broom, and spray bottle ready in case they got into a fight. Domino right away was mounting Oliver. Oliver got angry at him doing this and tried to attack Domino. I quickly grabbed Domino and put him back on his own side. After this I decided to put them away. This kind of discourages me. I don’t want either of them to get hurt. Any advice?


          • Mikey
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              It actually sounds like its going well so far! Bonding is a lot of two steps forward, one step back sometimes. Dont be discouraged by it. When mounting starts to cause fights, put them on their own sides for a while longer then put them away. It lets them end the session on a happy note rather than an unhappy note. Otherwise, it sounds like its going well so far Good luck!


            • Kittensmew
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                Alright. Tomorrow during the session I’ll get my mother to help in case they start to fight again and we need to act fast. Thanks for the reply! I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow.


              • Kittensmew
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                  Day four~ June 19th

                  Today I put the bunnies on one side of the pen again. Domino thumped his back foot once. Then they both ran up to the divider and started to try and cause a fight. They would try and nip each other and lunge. I had to spray them a couple of times. They seemed to cool off after I sprayed them and let them do their own thing. I let them cool off for about fifteen minutes instead of just jumping right into putting them together. Then I put them together. At first Oliver hopped into Domino’s side and Domino was just watching him. Then he started to try and mount Oliver again. It appeared fur had been pulled out. I am unsure which rabbit it belongs to. Oliver is an all black rabbit, but Domino has some black on it. I sprayed them a couple of times for aggressive behavior. Attempts to fight, fur pulling, ect. Then I put them both right beside each other, which made them freeze. Then I continued to pet them and then when I stopped, they laid together for a minute or so. It was looking brighter at that point. Then Domino continued to try and mount Oliver. Now, Oliver is a tad bit bigger than Domino. Oliver continued to try and turn around and nip him for mounting him. After several attempts of lunges, I pulled the cord and put them both back on their own side. Domino thumped once again. But now they seem to have calmed down and are fine again. No more lunges, nips, fur pulling, ect. They act perfectly fine when they each have their own side. But as soon as I put them together, everything seems to unravel. I’m going to give them a couple more minutes to cool off and then put them away.

                  Question(s) for the day
                  Will Domino eventually stop trying to mount Oliver? I think that if dominance was established, it would make things go over more smoothly. But Oliver turns around and tries to nip Domino every time he mounts him. Main question being, will dominance ever be established so Domino will stop mounting Oliver?


                • Mikey
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                    Dominance will likely be established unless they are both too stubborn to submit to the other. I suggest doing something to stress bond them (example: put them in a box and carefully shake it for a minute or two, then stop, pet, start again; after a few minutes, pet them for several minutes before putting them away). I think a stress session once a week or so might help them realize the other isnt a threat


                  • Kittensmew
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                      Alright, I’ll try that! We usually have a box or two laying around. I’ll try it later on when I start the session.


                    • Kittensmew
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                        Day five~ June 20th

                        Today I took Mikey’s advise and decided to do some more stress bonding. I placed them both in a smallish box. I closed the box and shook it up a tiny bit. They both were huddled together and not causing fights or trying to nip when I opened the box. I pet them both and they were fine. Didn’t try to start fights or anything like that. I continued this process a few times. After every few times of shaking the box, I would open it and just watch them to see what they did. While Domino was terrified the whole time and didn’t move much, Oliver became curious after I stopped shaking the box for a bit. He kept trying to get out and kept standing up and looking at me like “Why am I in here?” It was cute, though it didn’t distract me from my goal and I didn’t get him out to cuddle him. So I started to leave the box closed after every time I shook it and watch through a crack. Oliver eventually stopped getting scared when I shook it, so I had to tap on it a bit to make him scared again. I continued shaking for a few seconds, petting, and watching. Then before I put them up, I shook it one last time and pet them for longer than usual. Then I left them alone for longer than usual as well to see if they started to fight or mount. Domino only moved a tiny bit. And even with them both facing the opposite way and it being very easy for Domino to mount Oliver, he didn’t. Oliver was more adventurous than Domino, like he usually is. So he moved around the box, looked around, tried to get out, and so on. Though I kept gently pushing him back in. Then I had to put them up at the same time so the other didn’t get out and hop around. So I picked them both up. Neither of them tried to nip or pick at the other as I carried them both. I think it went very well today. Though, I’m still a bit nervous that Domino will continue to mount Oliver and cause fights when I eventually put them back into the playpen together. I plan on doing this box method for a couple more days so that they’re really used to being close and not fighting. Then, I’ll put them back into the playpen together and hope for the best.


                      • vanessa
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                          I take a far more cautious aproach becuase I have a very terretorial dominant agressive bossy demanding bunny. I stat with stress bonding, and then move to a small box,area, and I only let them into a larger area when they are behaving. I start them in a cat carrier, then mote to a 2×2, then a 3×2, etc. I move very slowly, only giving them enough space that they will behave in. Larger spaces cause fights so early.


                        • Kittensmew
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                            It seems to me like Domino is like your bunny that’s aggressive. Whenever I had them in the two playpen halves, he would go up and rub his chin on the divider continuously. When Oliver would get close he would run up and rub his chin right in front of Oliver. Believe me, I will go back to the box if needed if a fight is caused when I try the larger pen again. Also I don’t expect it to take only a week. I’m taking things sort of slow. Even if it seems like I’m not, I’m taking a step back again if a fight does happen. I don’t want either of them to get hurt.

                            I might also start with putting them both in one half of the playpen when I start with the playpen again. That way they won’t have as much room as when I had the whole playpen open to them. Thanks for letting me know that smaller areas work better with your bunny. I’ll give it a try in just one half when I start with the playpen again. Here’s to hoping it’ll work for Domino.


                          • Kittensmew
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                              Day six~ June 21st

                              Today I did the box stress bonding again. To sum it up shortly, today was a one step forward, two steps back, one step forward, and half of a step back. When I first put Oliver in the box, Domino thumped one of his feet. I instantly thought oh boy, here we go. Well, I was right. It was going well at first and I was thinking I wouldn’t have much to add for today. Then everything turned around. So I usually shake up the box, get them scared, pet them, and then give them a second to kind of snap out of the scare and realize they were doing fine beside the other the whole time. Well I was doing this and waited a bit too long for them to snap out of it. Domino started to mount Oliver. Then Oliver, as usual, tried to start a fight. I grabbed Domino so neither got hurt. When I grabbed him, I held him to calm him. He then proceeded to flip out. In the end, I ended up with some scratches. He didn’t draw blood, but I did get some scratches. But I’d rather it be me than Oliver getting scratched by him. After that I put Domino back to shake it one last time so they had a good ending instead of me putting them up right after that. I shook it, scared them, and pet them two more times. Both times they both snapped out of the scare pretty quickly. Domino didn’t try and mount Oliver after that. Though, he did thump one last time. After that I gave them another minute of me petting them while they were beside each other, then put them up.

                              Question(s) of the day:
                              I know it takes longer than a week for them to start getting along. Though I’ve kind of gone around and looked at other threads like this and everyone else seems to have had their bunnies stop mounting and fighting after a few days. Did I just get unlucky and get two stubborn bunnies and that will make it take longer? Main question being: is there any point at this time to continue trying to bond them? They both don’t seem to want to submit to the other. Do you guys think it could be possible for them to be bonded?


                            • Mikey
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                                I think you do have two stubborn buns so it might take a while longer to bond them. My trio took turns mounting one another for a while before the two smallest gave up and let the biggest, most adamant bun, be the alpha of them. Mine only fought twice total, but they were fur flying bad fights both times, then a full separation from one another for a while, which caused them to drop their grudges and forgive. You can try to give them a day or two break, then try something knew. If you have a cat carrier, you can put them both in that and carry them around for a while. It forces them to stay close, and doesnt really give them room to fight or mount so theyre forced to socialize in a civil manner. I think if this doesnt work, you should google other tactics and try a few you think will work. If those dont work, then you have two very headstrong bunnies

                                Have you tried adding the third in yet? Sometimes adding all three to start is a lot easier. Youll notice they all have different “jobs” in their totem pole. My Blue (alpha) has the job of stopping fights, Bombur has the job of starting fights due to jealousy (he loves Blue, doesnt like when Blue shows too much attention to Badger), and Badger is the one who initiates most of the cuddles and play time. They all get along well together doing what they do in a group. Alone, Blue and Bombur get along, Blue and Badger get along, but Badger and Bombur will be noticeably upset if i leave them alone together


                              • Kittensmew
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                                  We have a few cat carriers. I may try that if they continue to fight tomorrow. I may try one more day with the box tomorrow and then give them a day of no sessions so they can forget a fight if it happens tomorrow.

                                  No, I have not added in the third yet. I feel like he may actually cause more fights. Domino is very protective over Pip. I feel like with Oliver around, it’ll cause Domino to fight him more. I’m also worried about adding Pip in now because he isn’t neutered. Although he’s very young, probably too young to actually want dominance, I’ve heard that for some people, it messes with the bond when they get one neutered. But at the same time if I succeed in bonding Domino and Oliver, I’ll have to move them to the same cage or they’ll just unbond. But then Pip won’t be bonded with Domino most likely anymore. I’m not sure if it’s best to add him in now or wait.


                                • Mikey
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                                    Ah ok, makes sense. Adding our third unneutered helped our trio, but it does heavily depend on everybunnys personality. It was very easy to bond him to the other two (one at a time) because he took the alpha/parent role over each of them. When it did come to bonding the trio as a trio and no longer one on one, Blue took the role of stopping their fights since he was bonded to them both. Now if they try to start fights at all, Blue would sit on them to force them to cuddle

                                    I think its worth a try to have them all near one another if possible to see how they would react, but if you dont feel comfortable with it then dont do it. If you go into it feeling nervous, some rabbits can feed off of that feeling and in turn also feel nervous. Either way, i think your plan so far sounds good. I will continue to read and see if i can help out any with your questions


                                  • Kittensmew
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                                      Aright. Do you think I should try switching it up and try to bond Pip with Oliver instead? Because Oliver hasn’t attempted to mount Domino yet. And he doesn’t just randomly attack Domino, either. He just gets angry when Domino mounts him and continuously mounts him. Oliver is such a sweet boy, and I don’t think he’d hurt Pip as long as Pip didn’t try to mount him. But Pip is very young. Not sure how old exactly, but he isn’t fully grown yet. Quite small. I don’t know about putting them all together right off the bat. It makes me nervous thinking that Domino might be worse than he already is with Pip there and him being as protective over Pip as he is. But if I bond Oliver and Pip first, it might help Domino see that Oliver isn’t a threat? I’m not sure. I could have my mother help and see what the three will do together.

                                      Also Domino and Pip are already bonded. So it might make it easier to bond Pip and Oliver first, then add Domino in again. I just don’t see Domino or Oliver stepping down for a while. 


                                    • Mikey
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                                        I would try it. I think having one bun who is bonded to both really helps, but ive only ever had one trio, my current trio, so i cant say how often this does work for sure. But if Oliver and Pip are both submissive, bonding them might be pretty easy or atleast a bit less stressful on everyone. Definitely have your mom help if you feel nervous about it. I had my boyfriend help me after work a few times when bonding our trio. Someone there to help destress the situation is always nice


                                      • Kittensmew
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                                          Alright. I think I may give Domino a break from bonding and start with Pip. Yeah, they’re both pretty submissive. Oliver just doesn’t like being mounted and it makes him angry, so that’s when he starts a fight. The only thing I’m still wondering about is if when we get Pip neutered, will it mess with their bond?


                                        • Kittensmew
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                                            Day seven~ June 22nd

                                            Today I decided to give Domino a break for now. I went back to the playpens. I put Oliver on one side and Pip on the other. They’re both pretty submissive, so I thought it would be easier to bond them first. Neither tried to nip, pull fur, or lunge at the other through the divider. They went up and sniffed each other a lot. Though, they didn’t bite or anything. I left them alone and just watched for a few minutes so they could get a little used to each other. I decided to put them both on one side together. So, I put Oliver on Pip’s side. The reason I did this instead of waiting another day or two was because it was looking much more promising already than Domino and Oliver bonding. They were surprisingly really good together. I was hovering over the playpen in case I needed to grab Oliver. Neither tried to mount each other. Oliver was pushing his little nose and mouth into Pip’s fur, closer to his belly and feet. I’m not sure what he was doing, but as far as I could tell, he wasn’t nipping Pip. It spooked Pip and he ran off when Oliver did this. I put them back on their own sides so I could go grab the spray bottle. I returned and observed them. They appeared to want to return to each other. Both of them did, not just one. Pip is very, very submissive, and I think that’s what helped him and Domino bond. I also think that’s why there hasn’t been any fights yet with these two. When I had them together earlier, Oliver had hopped off to check something out and Pip followed him. I put them back together again when I returned with the bottle. This time I put them both on Oliver’s side. Once again, no fights. Oliver did, however, continue to put his head under Pip and just stay there like that. He didn’t ever bite Pip. After that I put them both together, side by side, on the same side of the pen, and pet them. Then I put them both up. I only did about ten minutes today because I think that’s a good starting time. I think that this is the step in the right direction that we all needed and were hoping for.

                                            Question(s) of the day
                                            I wasn’t going to have any until I put them together. Why did Oliver continue to put his head under Pip and just sit there like that? He wasn’t biting him or hurting him, it just spooked Pip a bit and made him run off a few times.


                                          • Mikey
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                                              It shouldnt mess with it too much. My entire trio was bonded preneuter. Bombur and Blue were unneutered and bonded. To rebond them, it just took a few times of mounting from Blue and a ton of attention to both for them to remember their bond. Badger and Bombur both bonded to Blue preneuter. Bombur got neutered and we bonded him back to Blue again and it only took a day or two to remember their bond. Badger is not yet neutered and up until last week all three shared a cage together. Badger is separated now since he wont stop nipping the other two, so were going in for preneuter blood work tomorrow. I cant imagine bonding him back into the group would be very hard. While i keep them separated, i keep their cages very close. Enough to touch noses through the bars, but not close enough that they can bite


                                            • Mikey
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                                                Oliver pushing his face into and under Pip means one of two things. Either he was asking for grooming as a way to ask to be the boss/alpha over Pip. It could also mean that he was willing to submit to Pip should Pip want to be the alpha. Both could have spooked him because hes not used to grooming and/or hes not used to being the alpha over anyone. Im glad it went very well for those two today


                                              • Kittensmew
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                                                  I have seen him groom Domino before, so I don’t think he’s not used to grooming. Though Domino is clearly the alpha over Pip, so he isn’t used to being the alpha. At one point towards the end of the session, I thought that Pip was going to groom Oliver. He moved his head up to Oliver’s head and then his ears. I thought he was about to groom Oliver, but I think he was just sniffing him. I’m more hoping that it’s Oliver trying to submit to Pip so that maybe when I try with Domino again, Oliver won’t want to be alpha over him either. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see, though. But Oliver doesn’t try to be alpha over Domino. He doesn’t mount, or even try to mount Domino.


                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                    Day eight~ June 23rd

                                                    Today I continued with Pip and Oliver. I put them both on each side of the playpen to begin. This time I switched their sides. So Pip is where Oliver was yesterday and Oliver is where Pip was. It was already going way better than Domino and Oliver at this point. When they both arrived, they went up to the divider and sniffed each other. Still, nobody tried to bite or lunge at the other. I let them stay there for a little bit. Then, I decided to see if they acted differently if I let them have the whole playpen together inside of just one half. Things were starting off very well. Oliver did hold his head under Pip again, which made him run off and thump his foot. Whenever Oliver would hop away, Pip would follow after him for the most part. Pip still doesn’t like to seem Oliver putting his head under him. But nobody is harming the other, which makes me really happy. Still no mounting from either of them today. I put them side by side several times and would pet them. Oliver continued to push his head into Pip, which continued to scare him off. Other than that, everything was going fine. I took a couple of pictures to show what Oliver was doing. I’ve been keeping these sessions pretty short. About 10 to 15 minutes each day. I may try adding Domino in on Saturday is all goes swimmingly tomorrow with Pip and Oliver. I’ll be able to get help from my mother on Saturday since she’s off. I still never saw Pip grooming Oliver, so I’m still not sure if he want grooming or is submitting to Pip.

                                                    Question(s) of the day
                                                    Just one. Do you guys think it’s too soon to add Domino in again? Should I let Pip and Oliver get more used to each other, or even wait until these two are fully bonded before I add Domino?

                                                    Here’s the pictures of what Oliver was doing.

                                                    https://gyazo.com/2c979236a29349488546c9cf099f3558

                                                    And here Oliver is pushing his head into Pip’s side.

                                                    https://gyazo.com/192e811ef3000e7e35118f1522591fe1

                                                    As you can see, Oliver is holding his head under Pip’s head.


                                                  • Mikey
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                                                      Theyre so cute! It definitely looks like hes trying to ask for grooming, but since hes bigger Pip might think that Oliver is trying to flip him over or nudge him away. You can try to add a bit of apple juice or banana to Olivers head to get Pip to clean it off, to satisfy Oliver. But if neither are actually fighting about it, i wouldnt worry about it too much. Its a small way for Oliver to feel secure that he is somewhat the boss of Pip, in a non-aggressive way


                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                        Alright. I’ll definitely give that a try tomorrow if Oliver continues to do that. I had one more question. (So sorry for all of these questions. XD) Do you think it’s too soon to add Domino in again? Should I let Pip and Oliver get more used to each other, or even wait until they are fully bonded before I add Domino? My mother is off this weekend, so Saturday would be a great day to add Domino again if you don’t think it’s too early.


                                                      • Mikey
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                                                          Not a problem for asking so many questions! This forum knows i asked a ton while i was trio bonding as well XD

                                                          I feel it might be, but it all depends on the trio. I personally would wait until Pip was more comfortable with Oliver, so if Oliver faces him again, Domino wont take Pips nervousness as Oliver hurting Pip. What i think might be nice, but might also be a little hard on Pip all at once (so youd have to take lots of breaks) would be to put the other two on each side of the pen, then every 30 minutes or put Pip on one side. So Pip and Oliver have a session together while Domino watches for a half hour, then switch with Pip bonding with Domino while Oliver watches. Do be careful though, since Pip will smell like both rabbits, it could upset Domino, so he may try to mount or nip a few times. This is what i did with my trio, and it went by quickly, but it all depends on how Pip reacts to them both during the hour hes with them, and how both of them react to Pip smelling like them both


                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                            Alright. I’ll continue like normal with Pip and Oliver later today and try the banana trick if Oliver continues to push his head into Pip. I think I might wait until Oliver at least stops pushing his head into Pip before I try that. It might make Domino think Oliver’s trying to hurt or flip Pip if he seems him doing that. But I think that sounds like a better idea than just letting them all in one playpen together. I’ll start doing that once Oliver stops doing what he is now. Hopefully the bananas will work so he won’t do it as much or at all.


                                                          • Kittensmew
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                                                              Day nine~ June 24th

                                                              Today I had Oliver and Pip in the whole playpen together. No sides today. Pip ran right up to Oliver when I put Oliver in. Then he followed Oliver around when he moved. Oliver still pushed his head into Pip, so today I brought a banana with me. I put a little bit on the banana on Oliver’s head. Pip licked the banana piece off of Oliver’s head and ate it. I continued to put a little more because Oliver would still push his head into Pip. I pushed them together and pet them both while Oliver had some banana on his head. `After I stopped petting them, they stayed by each other for a minute or two. Then Oliver pushed his head into Pip’s head. Pip did nothing at first, but then started to eat the banana and lick Oliver’s head a little bit. Next, I put some on Oliver’s side to try and get Pip to lick it off without Oliver demanding that he groomed him, hoping to make Oliver a little happier and more secure. Pip did not seem to be interesting in eating any more banana. Oliver pushed his head into Pip again, so I put more on his head and left the bits on his side. They sort of ignored each other after that, so I pushed them together and pet them again. When I stopped, Oliver pushed his head into Pip once again. This time, Pip did each the banana. Then they kind of ignored each other again, so I pushed them together and pet them again. Oliver surprisingly didn’t push his head into Pip after I quit petting them and hopped off. Pip seems a little more comfortable around Oliver today than yesterday. Although I know they aren’t best buddies yet, things with them just keep seeming to head in the right direction. The dogs started to bark because the mailman had come by, and Pip ran to Oliver and was scared. Oliver stayed with him and looked alert for danger. I put a piece of banana on Oliver’s head for one last time. Pip licked it off. I pushed them together and pet them one last time, then put them up. Oliver seems like he’s becoming less demanding with Pip grooming him. He’s pushing his head into Pip a little less than before. Pip only seems interested in licking him to get the banana off, though. Once the banana is gone, so is Pip. Despite that, things are going swimmingly with these two.

                                                              Question(s) of the day:
                                                              None! ^.^


                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                Day ten~ June 25th

                                                                Today I continued to let Oliver and Pip have free roam of the entire playpen. I’ve only been doing the whole thing and not having anything to turn it back into two sides. This is because I feel comfortable to not have to go back to sides for now. Oliver wasn’t really pushing his head into Pip as much as before. They would stay by each other for a few minutes and then hop away to look at their own thing. Oliver did push his head into Pip a few times, but less than before. I put banana on his head whenever he did do this. Pip did lick it off still. Though Oliver did catch on a few times, stood up, shook the banana off, and then ate it himself. Oliver did lay down like he does when he’s comfortable beside Pip. I did push them together, pet, and then stop a few times. They mostly laid by each other for a few more seconds. Then they either left or Oliver pushed his head into Pip. Pip even licked the banana off when they were laying together and Oliver hadn’t pushed his head into him. I think that made Oliver happy. I did notice that Pip did lick Oliver’s head once without the banana, too. Then.. bad news time. Pip did get more comfortable around Oliver. Maybe even a bit too comfortable. He started to mount Oliver’s head. I had sprayed him for it when I caught him doing it. Oliver didn’t seem to try and bite Pip, just chase him off when he did this. Pip did mount again. I ended up hovering over the cage and watching to see what they did. Oliver let him do it for a few seconds before he ran him off. I sprayed them both. Pip keeps going back to Oliver’s butt and sniffing it. I think the reason he hasn’t mounted Oliver and only his head is because he’s too small to do it from behind. When Pip did go back to him and sniff his butt, I would spray him. I put them together one last time, pet then, and then put them up,

                                                                Question(s) of the day:
                                                                I don’t really know what to do at this point. Should I continue with Pip and Oliver? Do I let them mount each other and just leave them alone, but stop them if it starts a fight? Should I try stress bonding with Pip and Oliver? I was thinking about putting them all three together tomorrow and having my mother there to help. If I do do this, and they start to mount each other, do I let them just do it and only interfere if a fight starts because of it?


                                                              • Sleepy
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                                                                  Mounting isn’t inherently bad. It’s how the buns work out their dynamic and is a pretty natural part of bonding. As long as the mounting doesn’t go on for too long (5-10 seconds is my baseline – maybe another short while if bottom bun doesn’t seem bothered) it’s okay to let them go at it. You don’t have to spray them for doesn’t it, though, since it isn’t a ‘bad’ interaction. Just allow it for a short while and then gently push the mounting bun off the other, if the bottom bun doesn’t get away or chase other bun off first.

                                                                  In case of head mounting though, it’s a bit more worrying because males can get their bits bit. However, I’ve found if the bottom bun doesn’t mind or isn’t acting irritated at it, you can usually leave it for a few second but I wouldn’t risk letting it happen for too long just in case.


                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                    Alright. I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to just let them do their own thing or not. Also I think the main reason Pip was mounting Oliver’s head is because he’s too small to mount his rear. Oliver is about twice Pip’s size, and I think he got comfortable enough around Oliver today to mount him. He probably took Oliver shoving his head into him as an advantage. Poor Ollie. Both Domino and Pip now have mounted him, and he hasn’t once tried to mount either of them.


                                                                  • Sleepy
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                                                                      Bunnychick has a nice guideline on what behaviors to allow the buns to work out and what to step in on. It’s not an absolute guideline but I found it useful, at least. 

                                                                      And I think the size reasoning is possible. My male bun is a lot smaller than female bun so whenever he tried mounting her from behind she’d usually just hop away before he could get a good grip. So he took advantage of grooming her to get her to lower her head and then he’d try mounting her from the head. This lasted until Guinness decided after weeks of bonding and putting up with him trying to hump her she was going to be dominant bun (and since she’s much bigger than him, it was much easier for her to pin him down and hump away). Once they worked things out that way though, they’ve gotten along fine with minimal mounting after.


                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                        I’ll have to check Bunnychick out sometime then! Alright. I’ll just have to wait until they determine who the dominant is, then. Oliver doesn’t mount either of them back. He just gets tired of it after a few seconds and then turns around and chases them off. I think I may try a group session tomorrow. With someone else there with me, of course.


                                                                      • Mikey
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                                                                          Agreeing that mounting isnt too bad, its the fighting that comes from mounting too often. They Oliver just wiggles Pip off and chases him, thats ok. Just spray them both for trying to fight, then pet him both and they should be fine However, mounting the face can be very dangerous. If anyone decided to bite Pips manhood, it will end very, very badly (swelling, cuts, not being able to pee, ect). If you can, just take Pip off and set him next to whichever bun he is bonding with


                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                            Day eleven~ June 26th

                                                                            Well today we decided to put them all three together. They were doing great at first. All getting along, not fighting, ect. Then Domino started to mount Oliver again. Oliver tolerated it a few times, but then had enough. He turned and shoved Domino off. Then they started trying to fling themselves at each other. Fur had been pulled from other of them. Black fur from Oliver was on the ground, and Oliver had white fur from Domino in his mouth. We broke up the fight. I didn’t want to just put them up and end on a bad note. I knew they would just do the same thing if we put Domino back in. So I grabbed the other playpen and divided them. Oliver and Pip on one side, Domino on the other. I did notice that Pip didn’t mount Oliver at all, but knew hanging and sniffing around his rear. They were fine with the divider. Domino would dig at the divider or lunge at Oliver every so often. I would spray Domino when he did that. I then put Pip on Domino’s side to see if that would calm him down. Domino started to chase Pip. I sprayed him for that, as well. Oliver and Pip got along fine this whole session besides Oliver still pushing his head into Pip. Pip didn’t try to mount Oliver, even when Oliver laid beside him and had his head down. Domino seemed to calm down a bit when I put Pip with him. It’s clear that Domino wants to be the alpha bunny, and that Oliver doesn’t really want to. Oliver has never tried to mount either of the other two. My mother did notice Pip cleaning Oliver’s head once when those two were on the same side of the pen. After they had a chance to settle down, I put them up. This session didn’t last too long. I didn’t want to over stress everyone. I think it might be better if I started doing just group sessions, whatever the outcome may be. I might put two on one side and the remaining bunny on the other side for a few days. Each day switch which bunny Pip is with. After two or three days of doing the half playpen, I may put them all in a box for some stress bonding.

                                                                            Question(s) of the day:
                                                                            Should I stick to group bonding from now on? Oliver has met them both, and started bonding with them both as well.


                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                              Overall it sounds like it was pretty successful today! I would try the group bonding every other day where they are all in one pen. I think having Oliver on one side and Domino on the other side, then moving Pip between them was a good thing to do. I would keep bonding them like that, and every few days try an all group bonding session again. If you stress bond all three, make sure to have someone with you just in case a fight does arise and to have them there to help destress the bunnies afterwards


                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                I’ll be sure to wait until my mother gets off when I do sessions with all three of them, no matter what I do. I don’t really trust Oliver to keep his temper. But I don’t blame him, either. I wouldn’t want Domino to do that to me if I were him. Should I maybe alternate when I do bondings with two of them? For example.. tomorrow I do a bonding session with Pip and Oliver. Then on Tuesday I do a group session with the halves and switching Pip back and forth. Then on Wednesday I do a session with just Oliver and Domino? Next day group, next just Pip and Oliver, so on. Or should I just give them all a break for a day? So tomorrow I do no bonding, then Monday a group session with a divider again?


                                                                              • Mikey
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                                                                                  If you think sessions like that are good for your bunnies, then it wouldnt hurt to try it. Some bunnies bond differently, like some need constant bonding with all of their future bunny friends where as others need to take it slower or more one on one. If you feel they would get along better doing mixed sessions throughout the week, then i say go for it. If it doesnt work, you can always try a different schedule for them


                                                                                • Mikey
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                                                                                    If you think sessions like that are good for your bunnies, then it wouldnt hurt to try it. Some bunnies bond differently, like some need constant bonding with all of their future bunny friends where as others need to take it slower or more one on one. If you feel they would get along better doing mixed sessions throughout the week, then i say go for it. If it doesnt work, you can always try a different schedule for them


                                                                                  • Kittensmew
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                                                                                      Day twelve~ June 27th

                                                                                      I have decided to do Domino on one side, Oliver on the other, and alternating Pip between the two sides. I’m going to do this for a few more days, and then try putting them all on one side. I’m hoping next time I do put them all together, since it’ll only be in half of the pen, that they won’t have room to fight. I took Domino in first and he thumped in legs. Nobody else was with him, but he still did. Once they were all time, they all went to the divider to sniff each other. Pip stayed back for a few seconds while Domino and Oliver stayed at the divider, sniffing. Domino thumped his foot again. Then Pip went back to the divider and Domino chased him away from it, then went and laid by him. Domino seems to be protective Pip from Oliver, even though Oliver was gentle with Pip before. I set a timer for five minutes to know when to change Pip. Domino went to the divider and tried to bite Oliver. This caused them both to start digging and lunging at the divider. I sprayed them both and Domino ran off. Then he went right back and thumped his foot. Then, for whatever reason, he started to chase Pip. I sprayed him for chasing Pip. Domino chased Pip again after a minute or so, so I sprayed him again. After the five minutes was up, I put Pip with Oliver. Oliver pushed his head into Pip again. We ran out of bananas, so I didn’t have any to use today. Plus, Pip and Oliver aren’t fighting about it, so I’m not that worried. Nothing much more really happened besides Oliver still pushing his head into Pip. I switched Pip back to the side with Domino after another five minutes. Domino thumped his foot and started to chase Pip again, so I sprayed him again. After the five minutes was up, I put them all up.

                                                                                      Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                      Why does Domino keep thumping his foot. Doesn’t it mean he’s displeased or angry? He kept thumping at Pip today.


                                                                                    • Mikey
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                                                                                        A few reasons could be causing the thumping. He could be mad about having to do bonding sessions again, as he never seems to win (Dont worry, Domino, you will feel better after more sessions!). He could be thumping because hes upset that Pip is bonding with both of them, if Domino thought Pip was “his”. He could be thumping because he knows he will get sprayed when he acts up, but still wants to act up. And he could be thumping just to show he is unhappy in general. If you feel its stressing him out too much, you can always take a day or two break


                                                                                      • vanessa
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                                                                                          Thumping with my bunnies, is always about stress. Bonding is stressful. They woudl ALL thump when I put them int he bonding pen. I had to suck it up and push forward. It was hard on me to hear them thump. The mama in me wanted ot take away the stress. I did give Lancelot a few breaks because he got quite stressed on occasion, but I foudn that thumping was a daily event for the first few weeks of bonding for Guin. Lancelot thumped for months. I had just about given up on them, before the thumping ended and a little magic miracle happened and he accepted her. When I tried to ad the third, he was the most stressed of all. Plenty of thumping, and lots of “shutting down”. I’d expect thumping – and watch for other stress behavior, and devide if I felt it was ok for the bunny, or if it was a bit much and the bunny needed a break.


                                                                                        • vanessa
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                                                                                            I never gave Guin a break because she thumped. Although she did that daily for the first few weeks, she seemed to handle it just fine. No other stress behavior that got my mommy-senses worried.


                                                                                          • Kittensmew
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                                                                                              Day thirteen~ June 28th

                                                                                              I don’t have much to say today, because nothing went wrong! So I have decided to focus on Oliver and Domino a bit more for now. I put them both in one of the carriers together and went for a drive in the car. We drove around for about fifteen minutes. Oliver wasn’t that scared, but got super scared for no reason towards the end. Domino was scared the whole time. They were very good. Neither tried to start a fight. Domino didn’t try to mount, even when Oliver had his rear in his face. I’m thinking of doing this again tomorrow and then trying to put just Oliver and Domino together in half of the playpen on Thursday.


                                                                                            • Mikey
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                                                                                                Thats awesome to hear! Im glad the two might be starting to get along!


                                                                                              • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                  Day fourteen~ June 29th

                                                                                                  Today went very well! Again, I don’t have a lot to say today because nothing went wrong. In fact, it went better than yesterday, I’d say. We put Oliver and Domino in the carrier again today and took them for another drive. This drive was a little longer than the one yesterday. Oliver didn’t really settle down yesterday. But today he settled down and laid down beside Domino. They both laid together in the back of the carrier. Oliver looked like he was supporting Domino again. Today they laid right beside each other with no problems. Oliver even eventually put his head on Domino’s back and Domino didn’t mind. Then I saw them resting their heads together and falling asleep! It was so cute. Today went great.

                                                                                                  Question(s) of the day:

                                                                                                  I feel very good about the bonding right now with these two. Though, fur will probably (literally) fly once again when I put them in one half of the playpen together. I was thinking about doing one last car ride tomorrow, but at the same time I want to see if they have made any progress and put them together tomorrow. Would it stress them out too much if I took them for a drive early tomorrow and then later in the day put them together? They would, of course, have several hours to calm down after the drive if I do this. I’m just not sure if it’ll still be too stressful to them.


                                                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                    Day fifteen~ June 30th

                                                                                                    Today I decided to do a car trip instead of my original plans of putting Oliver and Domino in the pen together. This time, though, I took all three of them. I took Pip as well because I thought it might help Domino see that Oliver isn’t going to hurt him. Things went great. They mostly stayed together and laid down. Oliver seemed to stick with Domino for most of the trip. Oliver laid right beside Domino. Oliver would put his head on Domino, lay beside him, and seem to help him feel better about being in the car. Domino didn’t look quite as scared as the previous days. Pip would hang around them, then move, then go back to them, move, ect. He went back and forth. Though towards the end on the way home, Oliver did go to the very back with Pip and left Domino for a few minutes. But Oliver returned to Domino eventually. They were all very good. I think I’m going to do one more day tomorrow of all of them in the car, then try putting Oliver and Domino in the pen together on Saturday.

                                                                                                    Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                    None!


                                                                                                  • Mikey
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                                                                                                      Sounds awesome! Im glad everyone is getting along a ton better now!


                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                        Me too. I just hope that they stay getting along when I return to the playpen. Mostly talking about Domino. He seems to be the main ‘problem’ bunny. XD I’m going to do one last day of the car ride today. I’ll take my phone today and hopefully I can get some cute pictures of them all together.


                                                                                                      • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                          Day sixteen~ July 1st

                                                                                                          Final day of the car rides. I didn’t get any pictures because Oliver was facing the opposite way from the other two the whole time. Things went great, yet again. Oliver seemed to be staying near both Pip and Domino today instead of just Domino. They were all perfect. Tomorrow I will resume putting them all together in half of the playpen. Hopefully they see each other as friends instead of enemies now and things go well. Not too much to say today except for they were all great!


                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                            Day seventeen~ July 2nd

                                                                                                            Today I returned them all to the playpen. I decided to let them all have the whole pen. Surprisingly, Domino didn’t go and mount Oliver right away. Domino would go and sniff Oliver’s rear throughout the session, though he didn’t ever mount. But it seems, at least for me, whenever we have one step forward, we get another step back right away. Oliver kept pushing his head into Pip and Domino, demanding to be groomed. I had a banana and kept putting it on all of their heads, though they kept shaking it off and eating it themselves, so I gave up on the bananas. When Oliver did push his head into Domino, Domino would thump his foot and run off. He refused to groom Oliver. Domino obviously hasn’t given up the fight for alpha yet, but at least he stopped mounting Oliver constantly. Domino would keep running over to Pip and watch Oliver like he was protecting Pip. Oliver didn’t seem to mind Domino sniffing his rear. Although Oliver kept demanding to be groomed by both of them, neither did groom him. But he didn’t start a fight over it, so I’m not too worried about that right now. Domino then started to seem like he would push Oliver’s head back with his own head when Oliver demanded grooming. Eventually Oliver did just stand in front of Pip with his head down, so I took the opportunity and put banana on him. Every time Pip would eat the banana, I would put more. It seemed to make Oliver less demanding for grooming, at least for a few minutes. Pip has no problem eating the banana off of Oliver’s head, though he doesn’t really lick Oliver’s head that much, so I don’t know how much actual grooming is going on. Though, it seems to make Oliver happy. After a few minutes, Oliver and Domino started to groom themselves. They were obviously the slightest bit comfortable around each other to be grooming themselves. After Domino had cleaned himself, he gave Pip a few licks on the ears. Then he went back to Oliver. Oliver again demanded grooming, and Domino thumped. Though it still didn’t start a fight, which is something I’m very grateful for. Hopefully it won’t be much longer before one of them decides to give up the fight for alpha and submits. I think when that happens, things will go a lot more smoothly. After some time, Domino had gone over to Oliver and crouched down. Oliver was picking at a small piece of banana left on Domino’s head. So I took this chance and put plenty of banana on Domino’s head, and Oliver ate it all off. Then Domino followed Oliver after he stopped and put his head down by him again. Oliver started to lick him again. Then Oliver went over to Pip. Domino thumped his foot and followed. Although Domino didn’t completely run Oliver off, he kind of got in front of Pip and guarded him from Oliver. Although Domino still seems to think Pip is his, and only his, at least a fight didn’t start because of it. They were all together for about thirty minutes. And, to my surprise, didn’t try to rip each other apart. So to end on a good note, I put them all three together, pet them, let them sit for a minute to enjoy the pets, then put them up. I was so nervous that things would stay just like before I started to do the car rides. But things went, in my opinion, great today. Nothing caused a fight, which is the first time Domino and Oliver have been together without a fight breaking out. After I cleaned up and returned them to their homes, they all got rewarded with some nice, leafy greens.

                                                                                                            Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                            I know I already asked, but since we have moved further along a tiny bit, should I still just let them demand grooming from each other? No fights started over it, so I’m not too worried about it.


                                                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                                                              Yep, always allow grooming demands, as long as it doesnt get aggressive (headbutts and light nips to anywhere but the face is acceptable). Its a nonaggressive way for one bunny to ask to be the dominant one. After they establish everyones roles on the totem, they may still demand grooming form one another just because they can

                                                                                                              Sounds like bonding is going a lot more smoothly since the car rides! Im happy for you and your buns It looks like Oliver is ok submitting to Domino as long as he gets grooms from Pip, which makes Domino mad but not so mad he wants to fight. I think theyre on the right track to sorting one another into their totem positions sooner than later


                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                Day eighteen~ July 3rd

                                                                                                                Today I continued with the playpen. They were all three put in the playpen together. Domino started to chase Oliver away from Pip right away. It’s clear that Domino doesn’t want Oliver anywhere near Pip. Oliver stayed near Pip, and Domino kept thumping. They would kind of all push their heads into each other today. Domino did run over and push his head into Oliver, and Oliver pushed his head back. This made Domino run off to mark the playpen as his. They all still seem to be refusing to groom each other. Domino is back to rubbing his chin on everything, and clearly doesn’t want Oliver near Pip. For today I just let them be in the whole pen together. Tomorrow I’m going to set up halves again and put Oliver and Pip together, then Domino in the other half. Hopefully after a few days of this, Domino will see that Oliver isn’t going to hurt Pip. We ran out of bananas, so I had to let them groom each other willingly, which none did. Oliver did stay near Pip. Pip seemed to be nervous a lot of the time. Domino came over, and Pip ran off. Then Domino turned around to Oliver and looked like he was about to lunge at him. Then, Oliver calmly pushed his head into Domino’s face. Then Domino rubbing his chin on Oliver’s face and ran off to Pip.Most of this session consisted of Oliver demanding grooming, Pip being nervous, and Domino wanting Oliver to stay away from Pip. Oliver was getting a little more demanding than usual with grooming. Domino never groomed him, and once Oliver thumped and ran after Domino to get him to groom him. Domino started to respond to Oliver’s demands by rubbing his chin on Oliver’s head. There was still no mounting today, but obviously they still haven’t completely figured out who’s boss. Oliver kept demanding grooming from both of the others, and Domino kept trying to keep Oliver away from Pip the whole time. When Domino did see Oliver with Pip, he thumped and ran over. Pip did go over to Oliver willingly a few times, but Domino still reacted the same and tried to chase Oliver away. Both Oliver and Domino did push their heads together with Pip kind of trapped. Pip didn’t groom either of them and ran. They both followed. Oliver was laying in front of Pip, and Domino nipped him because Oliver wouldn’t leave. A fight luckily didn’t break out and they both got sprayed. They acted as if they were both boys, and Pip was a girl, and they both wanted to win the heart of Pip. Although if Pip were a girl, wouldn’t they be continuously humping him, even if they are neutered? I put them all together and pet them again and then put them up.

                                                                                                                Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                None.


                                                                                                              • vanessa
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                                                                                                                  I took mine for multiple long car rides. The longest I had them in a cat carrier together was 2 or 3 hours. Ride, walk arounda store, ride, walk around another store, etc. I didn’t feel it was too much stress.I think being with the other rabbit – is more stress than the car ride. Mine aren’t too phased by car rides anymore. But they still don’t like the cat carrier. I’ve taken them on 5-hour car rides with me while I traveled. For that long ride I put them in a bigger carrier. I got to a point where car rides weren’t causing any more progress. So I took them to a hotel 5 hours away on my weekend travel. When I got back home with them, I shut them up in their rabbit room so they couldn’t separate into different bedrooms, and let them figure it out. A few nips here and there, and they got it worked out for the most part. It still took 2 more months of making sure the subordinate rabbit was forced to spend time in the same room as the dominant bunny. Eventually he accepted her and they are now the snuggliest pair ever. So… car rides helped. The more the merrier. I’v seen them get used to car rides, and they get less and less stressed about it.


                                                                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                    Day nineteen~ July 4th

                                                                                                                    Today I decided to do a session with just Oliver and Domino. Since they had been fighting over Pip the other day, I left him out. Plus Pip had been really nervous yesterday during the session, so I’m giving him a little break for today. There was still no mounting, thank goodness.Oliver continued to push his head into Domino. Domino kept responding to Oliver’s demands by rubbing his chin all over Oliver. It did look like Domino was licking Oliver once, but only after rubbing his chin on him. Things seemed to stay pretty neutral. Domino didn’t seem to have as much aggression as the day before since Pip wasn’t there today. There was a few thumps from Domino, still. Most of the time Domino would go over to Oliver, Oliver would demand grooming, and then Domino would rub his chin all over Oliver. Neither seemed to be giving into the other, still. But still, no fights over the grooming thing. All Oliver seems to want is to be groomed by either of the other two, especially Pip. Oliver doesn’t really seem to care about being dominant. Domino would rub his chin on Oliver’s head, his ears, his back, everywhere that he could. I put them together several times and pet them. Domino did go over to Oliver and flopped onto his side right in front of him twice, I’m not really sure what that meant. I pushed them together and pet them for a minute and then put them up.

                                                                                                                    Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                    Why does Domino keep rubbing his chin on Oliver when Oliver wants to be groomed? What does it mean?
                                                                                                                    Also at this point, to where they won’t kill each other, can I start doing longer sessions? Such as an hour, two, three, ect a day? I do sessions about thirty to forty every day now.


                                                                                                                  • Mikey
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                                                                                                                      LOL i think Domino is claiming Oliver now! Chin rubbing is a way to claim, and since Domino basically took Pip in as “his” it sounds like he wants to do the same to Oliver now. As long as it doesnt cause fights, i wouldnt worry about it; its just Domino’s way of being the alpha

                                                                                                                      The flopping is an awesome sign too. It means hes totally comfortable in that moment. When you can get them both, or all three, to sprawl together at the same time, its an almost sure fire sign that their bond is close to being cemented

                                                                                                                      EDIT
                                                                                                                      Oh yea, definitely start for longer sessions. I would go an hour, then the next day do an hour and a half, then the day after that do two hours, ect. Make sure they have food, water, and a litter box in their bonding pen so they can start learning to live with one another as well


                                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                        Alright. Domino was the only one that flopped over. It was cute when he did it, too. He was just standing in front of Oliver and then boom, on his side he went. XD I’ll start some longer sessions for sure. I’ll also put some things in with them tomorrow. I hadn’t had anything in there before so that they just got used to each other first. I think I’ll add Pip in again tomorrow as well. I wanted to give him a break today because it seems the most stressful for him since they both want his attention.


                                                                                                                      • Mikey
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                                                                                                                          I bet it was adorable. I think the chin marking all over Oliver sounds adorable too Understandable that you wanted to give Pip a break. He seems to be the center of their attention which he probly isnt used to being so young yet Im really glad to see its going so well with everyone! I hope the longer sessions continue to cement their bond further


                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                            Day twenty~ Jult 5th

                                                                                                                            Alright, so today I started doing sessions with a litter box, food, water, and a few chew things. Before now I didn’t put anything in with them so that they just got used to being together. Now they need to start getting used to sharing things. I bought a new litter box for them so that it doesn’t smell like any of them. I also grabbed new bowls for food and water and new chews. This way everything smelled new and neutral. I brought Pip back into the sessions today, too. I put the litter box with hay in it in one corner, food bowl with a small amount of food in another corner, water dish in another corner, and two chew things just randomly placed in. Domino did thump when Oliver came in. Oliver went into the litter box, and then Pip hopped in as well. Both Oliver and Pip ate some hay and were chilling out. Domino started to rub his chin on everything. He rubbed his chin on the litter box, food and water dishes, even on Oliver and Pip. Then Domino climbed into the litter box with the other two. They all fit, but Oliver left when Domino got in. Then Domino left, went over to Oliver, and then Oliver went back into the box. Then Domino thumped and watched him and Pip. Pip was mostly ignoring them the whole time and eating the hay. XD Then Domino got back in with the other two. They were fine in there together, but then Domino got back out shortly after getting in. Then Domino went around to Oliver and thumped. Then Oliver spooked Pip and made him leave the box. Oliver followed Pip and here came Domino to see what was happening. They all seemed to have a mini stand off kind of thing. They all stayed together and all had their heads down. Luckily a fight didn’t break out and then continued on. Domino is still rubbing his chin on Oliver a lot. Domino marked the box the most when Oliver was in it. Domino isn’t ready to give up the fight yet, but he isn’t being aggressive about it anymore and causing fights. When Domino did look interested in getting in the box, Oliver would stop eating the hay and kind of watch him. Domino went over to Pip and suddenly flopped over again. XD This time he landed in the food bowl. Domino did hop in the box when Oliver wasn’t looking, then quickly hopped back out like he was unsure. Then he laid down in front of the box near Oliver and Pip. He didn’t completely flop on his side, though he laid down and had his back legs out. I honestly was surprised at how well they did. I expected at least one fight over all of the new things. They kind of took turns it seemed with being in the box. Oliver eventually left and went to Pip, then Domino got in the box. Oliver still pushes his head into both of the others. Well I spoke too soon about no fights. XD There wasn’t a complete, all out fight. But they did have a small squabble where they were circling around. Pip just hung back and watched them. Then Oliver and Pip got back in the box. Oliver chased Pip out of the box, which made Domino thump. Oliver then continued to flip out inside of the box, even when the others weren’t near. He would just kind of hop and turn and throw himself around a little bit. Not sure what he was doing, but it seemed to concern/spook Domino. I did put them all in the box together and pet them a few times. Domino did start to push his head into Oliver and would thump when Oliver ignored him and hopped off. There was a lot of shifting with who was in the box. They didn’t really seem to care about who had control over the other items, just the little box. Domino did flop a few times and seems to be becoming more and more accepting that Oliver is going to be a part of their little group. Though the small things like head pushing and chin rubbing are still here, they still aren’t fighting. Pip and Oliver did start to groom themselves right beside each other, and Domino was laying down by Pip while they did this. They sat together for a few minutes with no issues. No head pushing, no chin rubbing, nothing. Just completely peace. Pip eventually did lay down with Domino during this peaceful moment. Then Oliver turned and bumped into Pip, which made him uneasy, then made Domino uneasy. Then they got back up and Domino thumped. Oliver and Domino pushed their heads into each other after that and Domino rubbed his chin on Oliver. Then Domino did something completely unexpected.. he started to groom Oliver! He didn’t for that long, but he still did. This really surprised me. Then Domino laid down with Pip again. It looked like Oliver was grooming them both back on their ears, but it also looked like he might have been lightly nipping them. It also seemed to make them a little uneasy, so I’m not sure if he was grooming them back or nipping them lightly. After the box being forgotten for a while, Oliver hopped back into it. They seemed to all be comfortable around each other. They’d groom themselves around the others, allow Oliver to lay near them, Domino flopped a few times, and groom each other a few times. This doesn’t really have to do with the bonding, but it was cute, so I’ll add it. Domino went and got some food, came back to Pip, and winked at me. XD Anyway back to the bonding. There weren’t really any fights about the items in the playpen. Mostly just one getting spooked and hopping out of the box rather than the other chasing them out. Oliver did freak out and chase Pip out once, but that was the only time. Oliver didn’t really seem too interested in being in the box with Domino unless Pip was in there too. There still wasn’t too much grooming each other, which is the biggest thing that needs work on. But they can take their time since it doesn’t start fights. They eventually did all lay down together again, but this time Oliver was closer than before. Oliver had been laying near Pip while Domino was in the box. Then Domino left the box and laid down beside Oliver. I think it’s good that Domino is willing to be that close to Oliver. It’s kind of hard for me to believe how far they’ve come in just twenty days! I remember when I first started I thought that they would never be bonded because of Domino. But every ten or so minutes of this session that goes by, Domino does another surprising thing that I wouldn’t have imagined him doing before! Pip still seemed a little iffy about being paid so much attention to, though they started to ease off of constantly bugging Pip today. As the session was nearing the end, they all settled down together. Domino started to groom Oliver, then flopped right on top of Pip. XD It was so funny. Domino just casually flopped on top of Pip and crushed him.

                                                                                                                            Then Domino continued to groom Oliver while laying down half flopped, and then Pip started to groom Domino. Then a noise from outside just had to ruin it and scare them all lol. Though after Domino flopped, he had his back legs kicked out and had his head laying on top of Oliver’s like they were the best of friends. I would have gotten a picture, but I didn’t want to risk making them all leave each over when I walked past them. They continued to lay with each other , which I’m kind of surprised they didn’t all scatter when they heard the noise. They all seemed so relaxed though, which was a very happy sight for me to see. The start of this hour session was a little rocky, but I think we took a big leap, not just a step, but a leap forward with the bonding. I was very tempted to continue the session further, but the last like fifteen minutes of the session was when they were all laying together and looked completely relaxed. So I ended it on that very good note before something bad happened that ruined the good ending.I think they all may have fallen asleep together, too. They all jumped when they heard my chair make a noise.

                                                                                                                            Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                            The only thing I’m curious about is why Oliver seemed to freak out for a short time while in the box. He just suddenly started moving around a lot and chased Pip out of the box, but then was fine. That was the only time he did it, which was weird. It’s like he got a small moment of built up aggression and just took it out on poor Pip, then was fine.


                                                                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                                                                              Awww yay for grooming without banana this time! XD Super cute they all took a little bunnycat nap together too. Thats adorably sweet

                                                                                                                              I think Olivers freak out at Pip/in the litter box could mean one of two things: he was mad that he had to share the box (since they were all confused about it, and chinning it), or that he wanted to play and didnt know how to initiate. It sounds more like he was upset that he had to share it, but that will get better with time. Some rabbits like to grab their litter box and bowls and fling them as a way to play. It all depend son context


                                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                Yeah. I hope they’ll do the same thing tomorrow and not have other issues. I think he was upset that he had to share. Since he’s been by himself he has had everything all to himself. But I’m sure he’ll get used to it soon or later. I plan on doing an hour and a half session tomorrow with them.


                                                                                                                              • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                  Day twenty one~ July 6th

                                                                                                                                  Today started as expected. There was thumping, demands for grooming, and lots of getting in and out of the litter box. I left it exactly how they did yesterday. I didn’t move one thing from yesterday and just left it set up through the night. Again, I had all three of them. Pip was really hard to round up, but I knew that it would be better to have all three if something surprising did happen, such as an unexpected relaxing moment like yesterday. So the session today was an hour and thirty minutes. I’m increasing the sessions by thirty minutes each day. Today they didn’t seem as interested in the litter box as yesterday. They all got in it some, but didn’t seem as intent on constantly staying in it anymore. Domino ate some food without the others stopping him. Domino also rubbed his chin a bit. On the litter box and on Oliver in particular. He even did it while Oliver was in the box. Oliver didn’t try to fight him when he rubbed his chin on him, even when he was in the box. Domino did settle down by Pip after a few minutes and Pip began to groom him. Then Pip jumped into the box with Oliver. Domino didn’t freak out and thump, surprisingly enough. He just rubbed his chin on the box and didn’t really seem to care that Pip was near Oliver. Domino still didn’t thump when Oliver spooked Pip and made Pip leave the box. Today overall went pretty well. I was able to tend to my own business without any fights. Don’t worry, I stayed well within range of the bonding pen, looked back plenty of times, and was listening. Oliver still continued to ignore Domino’s demands to be groomed. Though, Domino didn’t thump when he was ignored today. Both Oliver and Domino still pushed their heads into each other, and they both pushed their heads into Pip a few times. Although they didn’t push into Pip as much as they did with each other. Domino did seem more interested in being around Oliver today. I caught them laying together a few times. Normally I push them together to get close and pet them so they don’t fight. But Oliver and Domino laid down the exact same way that I pushed them together a few times, just without me pushing them together. I did leave them alone for half of a second to wash my hands. The bathroom is right beside my room and I left both doors open in case they started fighting. But they were fine. I came back and Oliver and Domino were still by each other, and Pip was doing his own thing in the box. Twenty minutes had passed with very little, well, little for them, amounts of pushing their heads into each other and chin rubbing. Domino eventually did begin to thump when Oliver ignored his grooming demands. But this didn’t surprise me. With some shifting around, Oliver and Domino eventually ended up in the litter box together. Domino eventually left, came back to the front, thumped, and rubbed his chin all over Oliver. Domino did go over to Pip and flop. So far Domino is the only flopper, but he does it around Oliver as well, not just Pip. They all eventually did get close like yesterday. Domino was flopped on his side, and the other two were near him. They all laid together for a pretty long time before moving about again. Really the only problems they have are the chin rubbing and head pushing. But since they aren’t starting fights over it, I’m not really concerned. There wasn’t too much more to talk about. They mostly did the same things. Though while they were all laying together, I saw Pip grooming Oliver. Then they all settled down together and all looked very happy and comfortable. For once, Pip didn’t look nervous to be around the two of them at the same time. I would probably trust them enough, at this point, to spend like half a day together. But I don’t want to push it. So for now I’ll just add thirty minutes each day. But I’m very pleased with how things went today. Some grooming got done, they all laid together for quite some time, no fights still, and only a little bit of head pushing and chin rubbing. When I did put them up, they were all laying together and it ended on a very good note.

                                                                                                                                  Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                                  Now Domino and Pip have a whole room to themselves that they live in. They roam free during the day and we put them in their pen at night. We plan on buying more pens and having them closed up all day. But it won’t feel like they are because the pens will cover the whole area, which they’re used to running freely in. So it’s like free roam, but they’re closed in so they’re safer. Would it be a good idea to start taking Oliver out in their room for, I don’t know, ten to twenty minutes a day while the other two are in a different room? Just so that the other two can smell his scent out there and get used to the idea of him being out there with them?


                                                                                                                                • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                    I wouldnt worry too much about the chin rubbing everything. My trio chin marks everything in sight, and will even take turns chin marking items Its very cute and silly to watch

                                                                                                                                    I think you should wait a bit to put Oliver in their room. I would put him in there whenever they can all share a pet for about 4 hours without fighting. When you add Oliver into “their” space, it can easily disrupt their bonding. It likely wont severe it, but it can easily cause them to start mounting and nipping again since theyll see him as an intruder, even though they like him. I think once they are ok at about 4 hours (or more) then letting him in there for a while by himself wouldnt hurt as bad, since theyll already have been used to having his smell around them for long periods of time


                                                                                                                                  • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                      Day twenty two~ July 7th

                                                                                                                                      Today was a 2 hour session. Things went pretty much like yesterday and as expected .Some head pushing, some chin rubbing, some flopping from Domino, and going in and out of the box. I didn’t have to watch them like a hawk anymore. Although I still stayed in my room, I felt comfortable with leaving them in there without watching them the entire time. I did look at them several times to make sure they were getting on fine, and I was listening the whole time. Though I kind of did other things to help pass the time for myself. XD The whole time, though, I stayed well within range of the playpen. They didn’t really have any issues, even when I wasn’t looking. I don’t have a lot to say today. It’s pretty much the same as the past two days. Head pushing, chin rubbing, Domino flopping some, and them laying all together every once and a while. Just as I figured would happen sooner or later, there was a squabble. There was fur pulled, throwing themselves at each other, and plenty of spraying. For some reason Oliver got fed up again and chased Pip out of the litter box. Then Domino started to fight him. I sprayed them multiple times and had to pull one out multiple times. Determined not to let it end on a back note, I put them all in the box together and pet them. Domino left the box soon after. Oliver and Pip stayed in the box. There was about ten minutes left of the session when Oliver freaked out. I hope this doesn’t make them start fighting every time they’re together. I put them together a few times inside and outside of the box and pet them all. I let them relax some before putting them up.

                                                                                                                                      Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                                      Will this one fight cause them to fight every time they see each other again? They seemed to be fine after I broke it up a couple of times and put them all in the box together a few times. They seemed to be fine with each other again after that and Oliver calmed down.


                                                                                                                                    • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                        Usually one fight wont change their bond too much, unless it was a bad fight. You mentioned fur being pulled; youll have to check the bunnys over to make sure no skin was torn along with it (they have very thin skin, so its not abnormal for pulled fur to cause a small bit of bleeding). But it shouldnt cause them to fight every time. As you increase their sessions, they will have a slightly higher chance to fight, but its because they arnt used to dealing with one another for so long. If you feel the need, you can take a days break from pen bonding to go back to a stress session or two Oliver just seems like hes not used to sharing many things, so when hes forced to he feels the need to freak out until he knows its ok


                                                                                                                                      • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                          I have decided to give the rabbits (and myself) a break for today. I won’t be doing any sessions today. I’ll pick the playpen sessions back up tomorrow and I’ll start again with two hours. I’ll update you all tomorrow.


                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                            Decided to take another break yesterday, I also decided to do the bonding a lot earlier than I usually would due to me becoming more busy during the evening recently.

                                                                                                                                            Day twenty three~ July 10th

                                                                                                                                            Today started off with a few issues. Not bit. Nothing that started a full blown fight. But Oliver seemed to have a tiny temper and kept chasing the other two off. Things settled down after a bit, though, We seem to be having the most issues with the litter box now and still who’s the boss. Oliver seemed okay submitting to Domino as long as he got groomed by them both. But now it seems like he’s challenging for dominance with these little hissy fits. There was still chin rubbing from Domino and grooming demands from them both. Oliver seemed really set on having the litter box under his control. He’d let the others in for a little bit, but then randomly get tired of them and chasing them out of the box. Pip, for the most part, goes and does something away while the others demand grooming from each other. XD I should note that Oliver did spend a night in the playpen alone due to a bad storm. I was hoping that this wouldn’t cause any problems. When Oliver isn’t throwing a fit, everything’s fine. It’s like how they were before. Although they weren’t perfect before, they still weren’t starting fights. Since Oliver wanted to play the ‘ruler of the litter box’ game, I put all three of them in and pet them all. Oliver needs to learn and accept the fact that he needs to share. They all laid in the litter box together as I pet them. I stopped petting them and they stayed there for another minute or two. Then Domino hopped out. Oliver and Pip stayed in. Oliver seemed more okay with Pip being in there after I made them all go in. The session today was 2 hours and 30 minutes. After the first 30 or so minutes, things settled down a lot. They all mostly forgot about the litter box. They all, for the most part, stayed out of it for the rest of the 2 hours. They kind of shifted around. Sometimes Oliver and Pip laid together, sometimes Oliver and Domino, Domino and Pip, or even all of them. They also groomed each other. I saw Pip and Domino grooming each other. Then I also saw Domino grooming Oliver. Things went smoothly after Oliver got over the box. There was no chasing and no fights. Like I said before, sometimes they would all lay together. Sometimes just two would lay together, or none of them would lay by each other. There was still head pushing, but not as much as when the session first started. I think they might be angry to be having the session and are more likely to have a temper for the first few minutes, but then they get over it and get along. So to make it simple, Oliver had a temper and didn’t want to share the box for the first 30 or so minutes, then they all settled down and started laying together and grooming each other. There were no big fights today, luckily. Just a bit of chasing from Oliver.

                                                                                                                                            Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                                            None. ^.^


                                                                                                                                          • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                              Day twenty four~ July 11th

                                                                                                                                              Today the session was three hours long. They were in the pen together again. After about an hour in, Oliver and Domino started fighting. I’m unsure what started it. I did notice Domino continuing to follow Oliver before the fight, though. Very little fur was pulled before they stopped. A tiny improvement, but still not good since they fought in the first place. The little fools ended up spilling the water all over during their fight. Pip just stayed in the litter box and watched. There was the usual chin rubbing and head pushing. After that small fight, they settled down. Oliver stayed in the litter box by himself and ended up falling asleep for about thirty minutes. Not sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. Then Pip got in the box with him and woke him up. Domino didn’t seem as upset with Pip being around Oliver as before. They did lay down together some, but not a whole lot. There was a tiny bit of grooming, but still no grooming from Oliver. I think Domino might be testing his boundaries with Oliver, pushing him over the edge, and then setting him off. Then he starts to fight.

                                                                                                                                              Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                                              Would I be able to stop the playpen sessions and maybe do two or three days of driving around again? Then picking back up with three hours and thirty minutes? Or should I just continue with the playpen sessions?

                                                                                                                                              I didn’t think much of Oliver laying there at the time. But then Pip got in with him and Oliver left the box after a minute with Pip in it too. Then Oliver just sat down and did the same thing when he was out of the box. I checked him several times. No blood, no open wounds, nothing. I was getting worried because all he was doing was just laying there. He would do the loaf thing that cats do and would close his eyes. Then he just suddenly seemed to snap out of it. He was grooming himself, coming over to me when I went up to the pen, everything he usually does. I’m not sure what was wrong with him. I’m going to take him in the living room and keep him in longer so I can keep an eye on him. The only thing we can think of is Domino kicked his head really hard and caused a concussion. Can rabbits even get concussions? This was kind of discouraging to me. I want Oliver to be able to come inside and not sit out in his hutch and be alone all day. But I don’t want either of them to get hurt in the process of bonding. They have gotten into only one fight these past two or three days. Should they be fighting this much? I mean, it’s a big improvement because before they would fight within five seconds of a different fight. But still, I don’t want any of them to get hurt. How often are people just unable to bond their rabbits because of the rabbits being stubborn? Although Oliver was acting normal for a few minutes, I’m still concerned that he got hurt. Should I take him to a vet? Someone also didn’t close one of the doors on his hutch all the way, so he got out this morning. Another reason why I’ll be bringing him in if we ever do bond them. I feel as though each bad, despite a fight, they’re getting closer and closer to being bonded. I don’t want to just call Oliver and Domino unbondable. Do rabbits usually still have small fights this far along? I did try and prompt Oliver to eat some hay, but he wouldn’t. I then went to get some carrots. Oliver loves carrots and he ate some. They all ate the carrot peacefully. I broke it up into six or seven pieces and they started trying to take the last piece away from each other. To avoid another fight, I let whoever had it eat it and pushed the other two away. Oliver had it, then Domino got it. I felt like if I hadn’t done this a fight would have broken out, but one didn’t. Oliver kind of switches between acting normal and just laying down. I’m going to keep an eye on him for a while.


                                                                                                                                            • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                Stopping to start stress bonding again is perfectly fine. I wouldnt start back at 3 hours after stress bonding for a few days, but maybe start with two hours, and if two hours goes well, pick up at three hours the next day

                                                                                                                                                I dont know if rabbits can get concussions, but i know kicks to the head can cause tooth problems. I would take him to the vet to have him checked over just in case. I remember a post a while back where a rabbit hit its head and it actually knocked a tooth out of place. Taking him inside is probly good as well so you can monitor him more closely until you know what is wrong. Also being that he escaped the hutch, he can easily pick up parasites, bugs, fleas, ect from other animals (or other animals poop) that is around, which he could then pass to your other two when you try to bond again

                                                                                                                                                All bonding is different. Some rabbits get along faster than others, some stop fighting sooner than others as well. Of course, having them together longer is more likely to cause fights as well, since theyre slowly getting used to living together for the first time. But its also possible that not all rabbits will get along. Its easier to bond if you allow your previous rabbit(s) to pick out their bond mates, but its not impossible to bond rabbits who dont pick one another out. It all depends on the individual personalities of the rabbits. I think your trio will likely be bonded, its just a matter of time waiting for Oliver or Domino to submit


                                                                                                                                              • vanessa
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                                                                                                                                                  It took 4 months to get Guin and Lancelot to the point where they coudl live together, and another 4 months to get over the small spats. So 8 months total before I coudl eally call them boned and snuggly.


                                                                                                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                    Day twenty five~ July 15th

                                                                                                                                                    These past few days I had been pretty busy, and I thought giving them all a few days to forget about the previous fight was good anyway. Today I had to get some things at Petsmart, so I decided to take Oliver and Domino with me. I figured taking them into the unknown store would help stress bond them more. I decided to leave Pip at home for today and probably will for another day or two. Just so Oliver and Domino can have a bit of one on one stress bonding. I don’t have much to tell about today. It went about like how it did the last time I had to stress bond. They stayed right by each other, didn’t move much, didn’t fight, nothing. Oliver did move a tiny bit. Oliver put his head on Domino and laid down right beside him like he was trying to assure him that it was okay. I feel like I may do four or five days of driving, maybe even a week. The driving seemed to work wonderfully last time. It made Domino completely stop mounting Oliver last time. So I figured five days, or maybe even seven, would help them get closer. I’m hoping it helps them not start fights when I continue with the pen bonding. I’ll add Pip in with them after two or three more days. For now, I’m doing just Domino and Oliver so that they have some one on one time.

                                                                                                                                                    Also if I go the next few days without posting, it’s most likely because there wasn’t much to say because I expect that they’ll just all lay by each other during every car ride.


                                                                                                                                                  • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                      Sounds good! Glad its been going pretty well, and hope it continues to go well for all of your


                                                                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                        This is just a small update. Not really anything to do with the actual bonding process, but I thought I’d share anyway. Today when I was getting Domino for the car ride, I had picked up Pip. I knew I should be watching out for when he was ready to be neutered. I glanced down there and thought I saw something. So I put Oliver and Domino in the carrier and went to go have a closer look with Pip. I indeed was right that I saw something. His testicles had descended. I’m not worried about getting him neutered asap because he hasn’t been showing any aggressive behavior towards Domino. But we will be getting little Pip neutered asap after they are bonded, or before if he starts to become aggressive and causes issues. Just thought I’d give a little update with Pip.


                                                                                                                                                      • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                          Yay! O: Congrats on the puberty, Pip! Hope he continues to be fairly uneffected by it


                                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                            Still doing car rides. But I had a question today. Whenever I go back to the playpen for a few hours a day and it has been a few days, would I be able to set up both playpens right beside each other and leave them there all night? I would put Pip and Domino in one, and then Oliver in the other. I would put them semi close. Probably not close enough to where the bars touch in case they do get a temper going, but close enough to see each other. I feel like this might help them get used to being near each other for longer periods of time, but it’ll keep them separated so that they can’t start a fight. The biggest road blocker of the bonding right now is them getting angry about being together for a long time. But if I put each playpen near each other, they could see each other and get used to being together longer without being able to fight about it. This would maybe be more of a night time thing. Then in the day I’d continue with sessions as normal for like 3 or 4 hours with them together. Would this be a good idea or would it mess with the bond? I don’t see how it would mess with it, but I want to ask before I decide to do it.


                                                                                                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                              Only leave them over night when all possible fighting stops. Even if they are all in their own pens, angry or rivaling rabbits will find a way to fight one another. So i wouldnt do it, unless you are there sleeping in the room with them just in case. Otherwise, i would wait


                                                                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                I would be sleeping with them. The pens would be set up in my room. Though I wouldn’t start doing this until it has been a few days with zero to very little fighting.


                                                                                                                                                              • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                  Today was the last day of the car rides. In total, I did car rides for five days. Three days with just Oliver and Domino, and two with them all. Tomorrow I’ll start again with the playpen bonding sessions. I’ll start with two hours tomorrow and then go up thirty minutes each day, as before. I’ll post an update on how things go tomorrow!


                                                                                                                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                    Day thirty~ July 22nd

                                                                                                                                                                    Today was the first day back into the pen. There was some grooming demands from both Oliver and Domino, and some chin rubbing from Domino. But it wasn’t as near as much as before I did more car rides. They seemed to stick rather close together this time. The first thirty minutes or so, they kind of did their own thing, but then seemed to want to stay near each other. I feel like this is a lot more promising now that I did some more car rides. I only really saw Domino grooming Pip, but like I said, there were a lot less grooming demands today. The session was two hours, and I’ll continue to bump the session up an hour each day. I was kind of nervous at first, but then when they acted fine, I was more relaxed. I had put some food and a few treats in with them, and they weren’t really fighting over who got what. They didn’t seem as interested in the litter box today. They mostly stayed out of it. Which, to me, is good. I know that they can fight over items. So seeing them all not really care about the box was good. They all went in a few times, but while one or two were in, the remaining one(s) didn’t seem bothered by them being in the box. Domino flopped twice, which I was happy to see. I did get one picture of them all laying peacefully together. I took it shortly after Domino flopped, so he’s still on his side in the picture. I’ll put it at the bottom of this post. Domnio did flop another time. They did split up for about ten to twenty minutes and did their own thing again, but then laid down together. They were laying down together when I put them up.

                                                                                                                                                                    Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                                                                    None!

                                                                                                                                                                    Here’s the picture.

                                                                                                                                                                    From left to right: Domino, Pip, Oliver.

                                                                                                                                                                    Thank you to whichever bun flipped over the food bowl and got food all over. XD


                                                                                                                                                                  • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                      Super cute! Very glad everybunny seems to be doing a ton better with one another. It might be worth widening the space they have together along with making the sessions longer. If possible, just add another link or two onto their pen every few days. If not, once they are able to be together for about 4 hours, i would consider letting them have a small room to themselves with you in there to watch them


                                                                                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                        We have two of those pens. I don’t think the panels come off of each other, so I can’t take just a few from the other. But I can put them together in the bathroom without a pen once they can be together for four hours. The bathroom isn’t too big, but bigger than the playpen. Plus, none of them have been in there for a while. It should just be two more days until they have been together for four hours. Well, if all goes well these next two days. I plan on extending each session by an hour each day. So tomorrow will be three, then four. I might stop at four and do two or three days of them doing four in the pen and then move onto the bathroom.


                                                                                                                                                                      • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                          Ah ok, it looks like my boyfriends sister’s pen where the panels can be taken off and reattached. Sorry about that But i do think thatll be a good idea. They seem to be doing very well together the more they get used to one another. Plus, theyre adorable when they cuddle like that!


                                                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                            They have like a pack of 3 panels that can connect to it to make it bigger. But just the regular pen itself doesn’t pull apart. I wish they were. The packs are like 15 dollars each for just 3 more panels. Plus I’d have to order them online and it would take like 5 to 7 days to get here. I think I should just move to the bathroom when they don’t fight for a few days for four hours. Also I really want to get Oliver inside. But I think that if he comes and lives in the playpen in my room until they are bonded, it’ll mess up their bond. I don’t want Oliver living inside the bonding pen and it turning into his territory. Would doing that cause issues with their bond? I can always move the pen, but knowing that he can open the pen makes me nervous to have him out in the living room in the pen. I’d rather have him in my room if he were to get out of the pen. I’m hesitant to move him in, though, because I think it’ll mess with their bond. I’m also really nervous for when I have to put them out in Domino and Pip’s territory.


                                                                                                                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                              Is there a way to clip the pen shut? Normally using the same pen is fine as long as its in a different spot, so the floor doesnt smell like “his territory” but rather smells neutral. I think if there is a way to clip the pen shut so he cant get out, trying to keep him inside would be fine and shouldnt mess with the bond at all since hes pretty submissive as long as hes groomed. Having him inside with his own territory spot might also help with bonding as you will have a set area to swap the bunnies. Once he gets his smell on everything in his area, you can start swapping the bunnies around for a few hours/a day. Itll help spread their smell around and help with moving them into the shared space as they will all have some of “their” scent on everything


                                                                                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                Alright. We could probably think of something to force the pen closed. We had him in the living room for about a week when he got neutered, so we can probably put him there. Is swapping them something I should start right away? Or should I wait until they can be together for a certain amount of time without fighting? Although they won’t be able to fight when I swap them, I just don’t want all of this hard work on bonding them to be ruined when swapping.


                                                                                                                                                                              • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                  Day thirty one~ July 23rd

                                                                                                                                                                                  Here we go again! Three hour session today. I was a bit nervous today because the three hour point seemed to be when they fought the most. They mostly did the same thing as before. Some grooming demands, and lots of chin rubbing. The grooming demands look as though they may be slowly dying down. But Domino was back at it with the chin rubbing today. Pip seemed rather interested in being around Oliver. Pip stayed near Oliver and sometimes got right next to him. Domino did dig a few times. What does that mean? Domino also flopped a couple of times. He flopped once when Pip was by him and four times when Oliver was by him. They did all three lay together as a group every now and then. I glanced a the bunnies to make sure they were okay, and I got to see Pip flop! Let me tell you.. it was the cutest thing ever. Then after he flopped he stretched out his little hind legs. This is the first time I have ever seen Pip flop. Oliver is the only one who hasn’t flopped. Today Oliver spent probably an hour just sleeping. Poor thing is probably just as tired as I am with bonding. XD I’m not sure if I would call him sleeping for an hour a good or bad thing. On the one hand, that way he didn’t have a chance to start a fight. But on the other hand, only Domino and Pip got to have a whole three hour experience. With Oliver being asleep for an hour, that was an hour that he didn’t get to interact with the others. But Oliver sleeping a lot did give the others a chance to lay right beside him for as long as they wanted and get comfortable. There was a small bit of grooming. Domino groomed Pip a little bit. Domino did attempt to mount Pip once. Pip ran off before he could, jumped in the litter box, and thumped when he saw Domino chasing after him. After that everything was back to normal with those two. Not sure why Domino did that, but hey, it didn’t start a fight. Domino did continue to dig throughout the session. What does that mean? He was just digging at the floor. I am very happy to say that there was no fights today.


                                                                                                                                                                                • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                    I would wait on swapping until they get more used to one another. Once they can handle a few hours together, then i would start with swapping items for a week or two, then move onto swapping the buns around. Move at their pace though. If you feel that swapping will cause an uproar with them, dont worry about swapping for a while

                                                                                                                                                                                    Domino digging could be a few things. If hes used to digging outside, he was seeing if he could dig inside too. If he seemed comfortable, he could have started digging as a way to play. If he seemed bored, then he was digging to try and entertain himself
                                                                                                                                                                                    Awwwww! Good job flopping, Pip! XD The first flop is always adorable. Its like a babies first step. I had to make a post on here when my youngest did his first binky
                                                                                                                                                                                    Sleeping is actually a very good sign. Sleeping rabbits have slow reaction times, so sleeping around them shows how comfortable he is with them. Hes perfectly comfortable to relax and let his guard down around them. He trusts them. Thats a big step
                                                                                                                                                                                    Mounting without a fallow up like that is more of a “Im just reminding you that I am the boss, ok?” kind of thing


                                                                                                                                                                                  • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                      Alright. Pip eventually fell asleep for quite a while as well. Domino stayed awake pretty much the whole time. He may have been bored with the other two sleeping and him being the only one up.


                                                                                                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                        Day thirty two~ July 24th

                                                                                                                                                                                        The session started off rough. Oliver would chase the other two off when they refused to groom him. He had a bit of a temper. Oliver would run them off for anything. Domino got close and sniffed him once, and Oliver ran him off. Domino still rubs his chin all over Oliver when Oliver wants groomed. Oliver kept going over to the food bowl, so I went and got them some food. Oliver started to eat right away. Domino went up and rubbed his chin all over the bowl right in Oliver’s face, but Oliver didn’t chase him off this time. Pip eventually joined Oliver in eating. They both took turns taking bites and didn’t fight. Domino was just being his usual self and rubbing all over Oliver while the others ate. Then Domino flopped behind Oliver while Oliver and Pip were eating. Oliver settled down after eating, so he might have been cranky because he was still hungry. Like yesterday, they laid together some, did their own thing some, and pretty much what they have been doing. Domino seems fully okay with Pip being by Oliver now. Domino just likes to make sure everything is okay every once and a while when they’re together. Oliver was asleep for quite some time again. There was a small bit of grooming. Pip groomed Domino and Domino eventually groomed Pip back. Pip ended up sitting in the food bowl for a bit. XD It was so cute. Pip and Oliver slept a lot, but Domino seemed kind of hesitant to sleep. He slept a tiny bit, but not as near as much as the other two. The session today was five hours. I’m happy to say that there was no fights today. I think they’re finally starting to get used to each other and comfortable around each other. After four hours, I had decided to do five instead. They were doing so well. I put some carrots in for them as a treat and they didn’t fight over who got what carrot. They just happily munched their carrots together.

                                                                                                                                                                                        Small update:
                                                                                                                                                                                        I managed to get an okay to have Oliver in the living room for a little bit. I put in a new food bowl, water dish, and some other things for him. None of the rabbits really have that many toys. I can’t ever seem to find suitable ones. After looking around, I saw quite a big selection of toys on the Petsmart site. I plan on going either later today or tomorrow to see what I can find. I’ll give some of the new toys to Oliver and some to the other two. Then I’ll give them a day or two and then start swapping items. I’ll probably swap items for three to four days before I begin swapping bunnies. I feel like with how well today went, they’ll be pretty okay with swapping if I start with a small amount of time at first. I’ll update when I get the toys.


                                                                                                                                                                                      • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                          Day thirty two~ July 25th

                                                                                                                                                                                          Today started off with Oliver and Pip eating peacefully together. Pip left and then came back a few times and Oliver kept eating. Domino still didn’t eat with them. Domino was still rubbing his chin on everything. Oliver slept for a while. (What a surprise. XD) Just the usual things to report. A little grooming, some flops, lots of sleeping. They did stay rather close today, though. Usually they had gone off and done their own thing. But today they stayed fairly close to each other. At almost 3 hours in, I saw Domino grooming Oliver. It was a very short and brief cleaning, but then Domino laid down beside Oliver. Pip was licking the bars of the playpen. I have seen him doing this before. What a weirdo lol. There isn’t a whole lot for me to say today. Lately I have been trying to avoid just making long paragraphs about the exact same thing every day. Mostly because they haven’t been doing anything new, really. Just the same things they have been all week. Domino eventually did settle down with the others and sleep when there was about 30 minutes left of the session. The whole 5 hours and 30 minutes before, he didn’t sleep once. But I suppose he finally trusted Oliver and fell asleep. The session was 6 hours today. There were no fights today. So glad.

                                                                                                                                                                                          Question(s) of the day:
                                                                                                                                                                                          When do I know that their bond is almost complete? I know I should wait until after Pip is neutered to say they’re all officially bonded, but what about Oliver and Domino? About the only thing that isn’t perfect with them yet are the grooming demands and the chin rubbing. But neither seem aggressive at all and don’t start fights. For like 95% of the session today, they were laying together, sleeping together, Pip and Oliver were eating together, and they all eat little treats fine together. Is it safe to say they’re almost bonded? Or should I wait until they can at least all be in Pip and Domino’s territory without fights to call them almost bonded? Also would it be possible at all to get rid of most of the smell of Domino and Pip from their room? Such as mopping the floors and things like that? Or would it be best to just try and get them used to him being out there?

                                                                                                                                                                                          Oliver managed to get out of his pen last night. The actual pen wasn’t open, so I don’t know if he jumped or not. Whatever he did, it worked. So we agreed to have him inside during the day and then put him outside at night. I’m mostly okay with this because I don’t want him to get into anything he isn’t supposed to when he gets out at night. Will him still being inside during the day (probably 12 hours every day) give him enough time to establish his territory? Also I’m going to Petsmart today to see what toys they have. We unfortunately didn’t make it last night since they closed 3 hours earlier than usual. I plan on putting some toys out with Domino and Pip, some in Oliver’s new territory, and some in the bonding pen.


                                                                                                                                                                                        • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                            I would say they are ready to try bonding in their final room/pen together. Dont allow them to share a cage yet, but it sounds like they are ready for the next step. I would start short (30 minutes to an hour) sessions in their final room/pen that they will be sharing. You want to start with short sessions again because their stress will be naturally higher trying to share the not neutral territory. Every day you can boost sessions up a half hour or an hour in the shared area depending on how they are acting with one another. After they can go several hours in the shared area together without fighting, you can work on getting them to share their cage/pen that they will be staying in while not free roaming the room/pen. Again with this, youll want to start with hourly sessions and move up. Once they can stay in the shared cage and pen for a week without fighting (overnight only on nights you can sleep near them to wake up if they scuffle), then they are cemented

                                                                                                                                                                                            It sounds like they are on the right track


                                                                                                                                                                                          • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                              Okay. So do I not need to do any swapping first? Or should I still do like a week of swapping the bunnies for a few hours a day? Also right now Domino and Pip free roam their room during the day. At night we put them in their pen, and they have a small cage within the pen as a litter box area. (Though they pretty much go wherever they want. XD) But when they are bonded, we plan on buying a couple more of the pens we have now. We want to have them penned in at all times for safety, but want them to have the same amount of space to roam. So we plan on getting two or three more pens and stretching them along the back of the room, sides of the room, and the front of the room. That way they’ll have the same amount of space as usual, but will be safely in the pen. Also I went and got some toys today. I put some with Oliver and some with Domino and Pip. I saved a few for the bonding pen. So should I remove the actual cage from the pen and put them in the pen together? Also should I start with a divider in the pen or no? If I don’t need to do any swapping, I’ll probably start with their final area bonding tomorrow with 30 minutes in Domino and Pip’s room.


                                                                                                                                                                                            • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                I would allow them to share the room theyll be staying in, and swap items in their cages/pens around for about a week. Then after that week, if all is going well, start them bonding in sharing the cage/pen together in the room theyll be sharing. Dont leave them overnight in the cage/pen together until you feel comfortable with their bond

                                                                                                                                                                                                I wouldnt worry with a divider unless they start scuffling. Typically you use the divider before officially bonding and while any of them are healing from a surgery (such as when Pip gets neutered). If they start scuffling, you can add the divider to help them get used to seeing Oliver in “their” area. You can keep the cage in the pen theyll be sharing, but if you can, keep it closed. If Oliver goes into the cage and either of the other two dont like that idea, it could start a fight since thats a big step for them


                                                                                                                                                                                              • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                  Day thirty four~ July 26th

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Well, I’m not sure if today was bad or good. It was pretty rough, but let me explain. So I started off with putting all three bunnies in Domino and Pip’s usual pen. I closed the door to the cage and left everything in the pen. Knowing it would start off rough, I got in the pen with them. Domino mounted a few times, which caused a fight. After three scratches (to me..) I decided to do the divider. I felt the divider was necessary at their current state. Took everything out of the pen, moved it because they spilled water, and put Domino and Pip on one side, and Oliver on the other. Domino and Oliver would try to attack each other when they both got close to the divider. Sound familiar? This is exactly how it was when I first started bonding them. I did that for I think 2 hours in total? Then I decided to take a break. I brought the other pen out and set it up across from Domino and Pip’s pen. I left a pretty wide space between the pens since they had been attacking each other when they had the divider. I kept hearing Domino chasing Pip around. I put Pip in with Oliver after that. It was okay. I didn’t hear any chasing, but they mostly ignored each other. But hey, better than fighting, right? So I left them in their pens and went out for a bit. I secured both pens with clips so they couldn’t get out to each other. I came back and put Domino in with Pip and Oliver. It was.. pretty rough, but also a few good things. There weren’t as many fights, but still a few. I started to notice a pattern at that point. Oliver would go over to Domino or Pip and demand grooming. He would wait a few seconds, and then nip them if they didn’t groom him. This caused them both to run. I didn’t allow Oliver to run after them and pulled him back. Again, I was in the pen. Domino wasn’t fighting Oliver back, just running. We had no bananas or apple juice, so I couldn’t help out. Domino kept licking me, though.. even when Oliver was right in front of him, demanding grooming, Domino would turn to me and lick my leg. We needed to take one of the pens for the ferrets to come out and play, so I took Domino and Pip’s. Domino and Pip are currently free roaming the room. My mother said they weren’t fighting and were ignoring Oliver while I was typing this. So, good and bad day. Oliver is now being aggressive over grooming, but Domino isn’t starting any fights at all, or even fighting back. Oliver clearly thinks that the room is his now. Neither Pip or Domino are grooming him. It’s a little frustrating for me. I know that if the others would just groom Oliver, we could move on to cementing the bond and having very little to no fights. Is there anything else that I can use besides bananas or apple juice? They all like bananas, but I haven’t tried apple juice. If there isn’t anything else then we can just go get bananas tomorrow. But the main thing I’m worried about is Oliver getting out tonight. I’m going to secure both pens with clips to hold them closed. But I think Oliver is jumping over it. Any ideas? The only thing we can come up with is to put a blanket over the top, but then he can’t really see the other two. But I think he’d also figure out he could still jump it with the blanket there. It also seems like Domino has accepted that Oliver is going to be out there since he isn’t starting fights. When I first began today, Domino was fighting Oliver for no reason. Now he isn’t.

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Question(s) of the day:

                                                                                                                                                                                                  Is this normal behavior for Oliver? I mean, it is Domino and Pip’s territory, but Oliver acts like he has owned the territory for his whole life. Oliver has never been out there once. Should I try mopping and cleaning everything so it’s neutral? Also why the sudden flip with them? Domino used to be a fighter and fight back to anything, but now he just runs. And Oliver never used to be aggressive with his grooming demands. Domino isn’t rubbing his chin at all. Should I take a step back and not do any sessions for a few days but keep both pens out there?


                                                                                                                                                                                                • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                    Thats not uncommon. Being as he was previously passive, i didnt think he would become this territorial during the ‘move in’ phase. It can be very stressful for a bunny to move into another bunny’s territory. So to compensate for their nerves, theyll act overly dominant towards everyone in the territory, even if the others there dont mind sharing. Dont worry about trying to make it neutral, that could cause an upset with Pip and Domino. I think swapping the toys around will help him feel better, if youd like to take a break for a day or two. Itll get his smell on more things so its not “Domino and Pips territory” its “Domino and Pips territory, with a little bit of Oliver”. You can also try full on swapping the bunnies if you think that would work better, but it can cause stress so if you do this, i wouldnt for more than a few minutes at a time until they are more used to it


                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                      Alright. For right now I’m going to just have them in the room together in separate pens. The pens are closer by, so they can see each other. There is a little bit of a gap for now because I still don’t really trust them to have the pens right next to each other. Domino and Pip were running around free roam of the room for 2-3 hours while the ferrets were out. I didn’t hear or see any fighting when I went to check on them. I was just a room over, so I would hear if they were fighting. I didn’t hear one peep from them. Every time I checked on them they kind of ignored each other, which is still a lot better than fighting to me. I’ll leave them all alone for a few days. That’ll give Oliver a chance to settle in. I’ll swap their items every few hours so they can get all of their scents on it. I’ll give them a few days break and then pick it up again after a short break. I just have one more question about it. Should I let Oliver have a few hours to free roam the room? Then let Domino and Pip free roam for a few hours after or before Oliver? Or should Oliver stay in his pen the whole time? I feel like letting him free roam for just a few hours will help him get his scent on things.


                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                        I think the swapping free roams is a good idea. Its similar to swapping their items around, but theyll all get a chance to put their scents on everything and everything. On days you do that, i wouldnt have a bond session though. Like, let Oliver free roam 2 to 3 hours, then let the other two free roam the same space for 2 to 3 hours, then bond session the next day. We did this with our trio a lot near the end and it worked out well


                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                          Domino and Pip have been free roaming for a few hours now. They still aren’t trying to fight each other. I’m going to go put Domino and Pip back in their pen and let Oliver free roam for a bit. I also swapped some of their toys and their food bowls earlier. I don’t plan on doing any sessions for another day or two. So I’ll continue with the free roam swaps and item swaps for now.


                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                            Domino is fine when him and Pip are free roaming. Domino is friendly towards Oliver when him and Pip are out. But when I put them up and let Oliver free roam, Domino becomes aggressive. Whenever Oliver gets near Domino and Pip’s pen, Domino will follow him around. Domino will try and nip him when Oliver puts his face near the pen. Oliver seems to ignore him now. Yesterday Oliver would try and attack back, but today Oliver just ignored him and went on his way. Also we ordered more pens today. That way I can increase the bonding space when they start to get along again. I’m going to pick back up on sessions tomorrow. I have also been swapping toys, food bowls, water bowls, ect. If they still fight tomorrow, I’ll probably put a pause on sessions again and swap their places for a few minutes a day. Hopefully it goes well tomorrow.


                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                              It sounds like Domino is ok temporarily sharing “his” territory with Oliver but doesnt like when Oliver is alone in “his” territory. Swapping items should help a lot with this. Same with swapping free roams like you are doing now. They might fight when you try to do bond sessions again, because tension will be high. It might help if you give them all more attention than they are used to. This helped out my Blue a lot when it came to bonding Badger into their cage and the living room (their free roam room). Giving Blue more attention than i normally did made him feel more comfortable about sharing everything, because he knew he wasnt being replaced


                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                Domino seemed a little more okay with Oliver free roaming, but still followed him around when he got near the pen. Several times when Domino and Pip were free roaming, I saw them laying right against the pen with Oliver. Both Pip and Domino would lay beside the pen. Sometimes they would still lay beside the pen, even if Oliver was on the other side. I have continued to swap items throughout the day. Tomorrow I plan on doing sessions again. Should I put them all in Domino and Pip’s pen, or in Oliver’s pen? I had been putting them all in Oliver’s pen before.


                                                                                                                                                                                                              • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Can you do both? Half of the session have them in Oliver’s pen, then the other half of the session, if all goes well, move them into Pip’s and Domino’s pen?


                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I had put them all in Oliver’s pen to start the session. I was going to to do 15 minutes in each pen, then stop the session. Oliver was still being quite aggressive with the grooming. He would nip and chase after the other two if they refused to groom him, which they both did. Neither of the other two will groom Oliver. Seeing as we had nothing that they could eat that I could put on Oliver’s head, I simply left Domino and Pip in Oliver’s pen and put Oliver in Domino and Pip’s pen. My mother is going to get some bananas on her way home. I’m going to swap them a few times today for a few minutes each time. Tomorrow I’ll see if the banana works. If not, I may have to not do sessions for a few more days until they get used to each other living in the same area.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Good plan Hope the banana helps and they all calm down soon enough


                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Well. I put them all in Oliver’s pen for a session today. I put banana on Oliver’s head and a little on his side and back. Domino and Pip both ate the banana at the same time. It seemed to satisfy Oliver, but not enough to calm down his aggression. I had to put more banana on his head every few seconds to avoid fights starting. Domino eventually seemed like he wanted Oliver to return the grooming, so they both started demanding to be groomed. Which, in the end, started a fight. I let them settle down for a second and then put Domino and Pip back out to free roam. Before I started to session they were all laying beside each other through the pen. For the sake of hoping to calm them and get them used to each other again, I have decided to return to car rides for a few days. It has helped tremendously in the past. I hope that the car rides will help Oliver stop being aggressive. But I can’t think of anything else to try, so I suppose we’ll see if car rides help this time.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • vanessa
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                          You know – Oliver is doing exactly what Guin did while I was bonding her with Lancelot. She would nip him if he was ignoring her, or not jumping at her request for grooming. She nipped and chased him – and he didn’t appreciate it, so he kept ignoring her and not grooming her when she demanded it. So it was a vicious cycle. For the most part, they got along fine. This was after 4 months of bonding sessions, and I was allowing them to live together. It wasn’t enough for me to separate them, but I did check up on them FREQUENTLY, and distract her when she was getting nippy. It was stressful for him. I didn’t know what to do about it, so I just let them figure it out. He was avoiding her and spending time in my bedroom, while she preferred to spend time in the rabbit room which is quieter. About 4 months later – yes 4 months of her nipping him – they had figured it out. I think the key moment was – I decided that his avoiding her was straining their fragile bond, so I put him in the rabbit room with her, and shut the door. I came in to feed, water, pet, etc, but I left the door closed for about a week, and let them figure it out. All of a sudden – they were snuggly. So although the aggressive bun causes problems, the other bun – in your case the other 2 – need to accept Oliver. Once they give in, and groom him, things will be better. It is hard to figure out how to help them accept Oliver. But that’s what I think needs to happen next.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Sorry I haven’t been giving updates. I have been very busy with other things and have kind of neglected bonding sessions. But at the same time I think it gave them time to settle in and know that Oliver was there to stay. Today I went in and saw that both cages had been pushed closer. None of us moved them, so Oliver and probably Domino (I have seen him moving it before) moved them to get closer. Whenever I let Domino and Pip out, I find them laying right beside Oliver’s pen all the time. Even if Oliver isn’t laying with them. But I have seen Oliver lay against the pen with them as well. They seem fine with each other when Oliver can’t demand grooming. But as soon as I put them together, Oliver and Domino eventually fight because Domino gets nippy if they don’t groom him. I put them in today for a few minutes. They seemed fine. Oliver seemed less demanding, but still demanded grooming. He wasn’t as nippy, but still nipped a tiny bit. Both others groomed him a little bit. But Oliver didn’t seem satisfied still. It ended in a fight and a little bit of cooling off time before I returned them to their pens. It seems like Pip and Oliver could eventually work it out if I just left them together. But not Oliver and Domino. Domino fights back, which is a big issue. I feel like since Pip doesn’t fight back, Oliver wouldn’t be as aggressive. Oliver only hurts them when Domino starts fighting with him. All Oliver does is light nips, sort of like a warning that he’ll continue to nip if they don’t groom him. Oliver never seems satisfied with the amount of grooming they give him. We have only got around to doing one day of car rides. That was two days ago. It seemed to go a little better today at the beginning, and I think it might have been because of the car ride. But I’m going to keep doing car rides. I’m going to make sure that we actually do them starting tomorrow.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                            You see, the problem is that I’m too afraid to just leave them together to work it out. This is my first time ever bonding bunnies, so I’m not really sure when to stop them. I usually just stop them right when they start fighting or chasing. I’m also afraid that if they don’t start giving in and grooming Oliver, Oliver will just get worse and do more damage than just light nips. Domino takes even a light nip as a sign that Oliver is looking for a fight. That’s when it goes badly. I don’t want any of them to get hurt, and that’s why I can’t help it but break up fights right away. I have been very lucky so far. But I feel like just leaving them together for a few hours to work it out will be really pushing my luck with no rabbits hurt so far. I feel like Oliver and Pip may be able to be left alone to work it out, but not Oliver and Domino. Domino will fight back, even at the lightest nip Oliver gives him.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • vanessa
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Fighting back is definitely not good. In my case, Lancelot didn’t fight back. When I tried Guin an dAvalon, same thing – she demanded and nipped – but he DID fight back. In that case, I wouldn’t either want to let them duke it out. There does come a point where they have to figure it out. Perhaps the car rides aren’t stressfull anymore? My rabbits have gotten use to car rides. Another technique is to tire them out. Put them in a small cat carrier so they dont’ have room to circle, but can only sit net to eachother lengthwise. Do the car ride, walk around a store, go home, sit down and watcha tv show, but keep them in the carrier for 3 or so hours. After a while, they have no choice but to stop being stubborn, and relax.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                Alright. I don’t need to go to the store for anything really. But we can drive them around for a bit and then come home and bring them into the living room, or wherever I plan on going. I’ll let you know if they try and fight or anything. Thanks for the suggestion. ^.^


                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  So I put them all in the carrier and set it in my room. They were doing fine. Domino thumped a bit, but that was nothing new. Then Domino and Oliver eventually started fighting. I took Domino out. When I put Domino back in front of the carrier, Oliver would start attacking him. I put them up. I honestly feel like giving up at this point. They can’t be together for more than five minutes before Domino and Oliver start fighting. I don’t really know what to try anymore. Oliver is the main issue now. He nips when they ignore him and don’t groom him and then Domino starts a fight because of the nips.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Yea, never let them fight. Always stop it when it starts. Say “No” in a stern but not overly loud voice. Then pet them when they have calmed down. What happens if you start to give Oliver more attention while theyre all in their bonding sessions? Does you petting him make him feel better about not being groomed?


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Oliver seems to relax a little, but still demands grooming after I pet him. I decided to put Oliver and Pip today. I got in and pet Oliver. I would scratch his head, which he absolutely loves, when he could go over and demand grooming from Pip. It seemed to calm Oliver down a bit, but he still demanded grooming. He just wasn’t as nippy. I watched for a bit and then left. I felt comfortable leaving Pip and Oliver together. I stayed in the living room so that if I heard anything, I could go check. I didn’t hear one peep. Which meant he wasn’t chasing Pip around like before. I checked back several times. They overall seemed relaxed. Every now and then when I checked, Pip would be grooming Oliver. Then I put Domino in. I kept a close watch. I put floor and fresh hay on the floor to distract them. They all ate right beside each other in peace. I kept petting Oliver when he would go over to Domino. They did okay. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t as bad as before. Domino did give Oliver’s ear a few licks, then hopped off. Rather than nipping and chasing, Oliver seemed okay. Things heated up when Domino got in the litter box. It was fine until they both put their heads near each other. For whatever reason, one of them decided to start a fight. So Oliver hoped in the box and they fought. I broke it up, gave them a second to cool off, then put them both in the box together. I squished them close and pet them both. Then Domino left. Things were going good. Oliver stayed in the box. Then they started fighting again. I put them both back in the box and did the same thing. I put Domino back in his pen after they cooled off together in the box. Pip and Oliver are still together with no issues. Though every time I go and check on them, all three are right against the pen. They get as close as they can to each other and all three just lay down. That’s what confuses me. They seem fine and act like they want to be together. But when I put them together, everything goes down the drain.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • vanessa
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Wow. How about a break? I gave guin and lancelot two 2-week breaks. They could still see eachother.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Theyre bonded through the bars but not in the shared area, yet. Just like theyre bonded pretty well in the car thanks to stress sessions, but not bonded inside of their pen. Youre basically in the final part where they are cementing their bond. All three agree that Pip is on the bottom, but Oliver and Domino are still trying to figure out which is the second bun and which is the top bun. So when Domino and Oliver are split up by the pen bars, there is no trio, but a pair and a single; they dont have to fight about who is on the top of the totem

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          It might be a while until they figure it out, but you are doing everything right. I think spoiling Oliver more than normal might help too, since it seems to calm him down anyway. Forcing them to share the box after a scuffle is good as well since it forces them to calm down and share it. Think of Domino and Oliver like two little kids who keep fighting over the same toys


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Things have been so-so. Sometimes things go pretty well, and other times they fight. I have been doing 2-3 very short sessions a day. Like 5 minutes each session just to kind of get Oliver used to having Domino come into his pen. I have been keeping Oliver and Pip together most of the day, and then I put Pip back with Domino at night. Pip and Oliver have no issues being together and left alone. Oliver doesn’t chase Pip around or nip at him when he doesn’t groom him anymore. I think that Oliver getting used to accepting Pip is helping him become a little less aggressive towards Domino. Oliver mostly just ignores Domino now, which is a lot better than nipping and starting a fight. Oliver mostly stays in his box during sessions unless I put down food to distract him from Domino. Domino keeps going up to the box and waiting for Oliver to turn his face towards Domino, then Domino nips at Oliver. So the main issue now is Domino. So today during a small session I was thinking about how to do some stress bonding other than driving around. So I put a laundry basket in Oliver’s pen and put the two adults in it. After shaking it around and neither getting scared at all, I was afraid they’d still have room to fight. So I put them in one of the carriers that we use for the ferrets. The two fit in it together, but were very squished together. But I think that’s good, because it gives them literally no room to fight except for nipping faces. But neither nipped at all. Oliver managed to turn around a few times. (Surprisingly. XD) I left them in there together for about 20 minutes, then put them both up. I think I might do that for about 30 minutes each day for a few days. Just to help them kind of get used to one another again and not have room to start a fight. After their regular carrier didn’t work since they ended up having enough room to fight, I wasn’t sure what to do. But now that I remembered the tinier carriers, they don’t have room to fight at all. i put the top on, but didn’t latch it into place completely. I sat with them out in the bunny room for 20 minutes before I let them back into their own pens.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Thats good then! Im glad Oliver is showing pretty good improvement with sharing, and that they are willing to get along in the small carrier. Hopefully Domino will understand soon that Oliver isnt as interested in being the top bun any more


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                First of all, I apologize for not posting much. Some quick updates. I still have not been able to make too much progress with bonding. I have been like of letting them have a break to try and forget the bad experiences with each other. Pip and Oliver now share the same pen. I figured Pip would be better off with Oliver since Domino constantly chases Pip around, while Oliver doesn’t bother him at all. The two seem to have grown to become good friends. Most of the break is because I have been pretty busy. With school starting up last week, I have had a few less hours a day to work with them. I also made the choice to transition my ferrets to a raw diet today, so most of my time and patience will be spent with transitioning them. With six ferrets needing to go from eating kibble to raw meat, it could take some time. Though I did begin the transition today, so hopefully it won’t be too long. Not much else to update about the actual rabbits. About the only thing to say is that my mother let Pip and Oliver out while Domino was out while we were cleaning their pens up a bit. I told her to put Domino back up, but then stopped her. I wanted to at least see how they would react. Domino and Oliver did run into each other a few times. Oliver would demand grooming, but surprisingly, Domino wouldn’t run up and attack him right away as he previously would do. I was watching very closely in case I was needed. There wasn’t one fight, which really surprised me. Perhaps they behave better in a larger area? When I would put Domino in with Oliver and Pip in the small pen, Domino would strike right away when Oliver got near.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Bigger areas could very well make them feel better. Theres more room to run, more places to hide if needed, they dont have to see one another if one is grumpy, ect. When you have more time, giving them the entire room and sitting with them might be a good bonding session Also, congrats to your ferrets for starting a raw food diet! I hear that is the healthiest diet for most animals


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Well, I have some bad news. Last night Domino jumped into Oliver and Pip’s pen. My mother woke up and there was fur everywhere. For the longest time I could not find Domino since she left him to free roam. I finally found him, and after having to forcefully push him out of a corner with a broom, I got to look over him. He wouldn’t come out for anything. He had some pretty bad bites. The top inside of one of his ears was dry with blood and had several what looked like claw marks. Another spot on the same ear was still bleeding a little bit when I touched it. He had several minor bites on his skin, and two pretty bad looking bites. Whenever I would touch them, they would like crack.. Is that just because they’re trying to scab over or something else? I let him go after that. He was very skittish of me when I was first trying to get him. He ate only one straw of hay, then went back to hiding when I put him back on the floor. I looked over the other two. Pip had not a scratch, but I didn’t expect that he would have jumped into the fight anyway. Oliver didn’t look that bad, but he did have one pretty large and bad looking bite. We will try to get them into the vet asap, but I think my mother’s phone is dead and she’s at work. So I won’t be able to have her call the vet until she gets home. But I think that I’m done with bonding. The only thing I may do is switch Pip back with Domino and see if he seems happier. Oliver seems happy to be in a pair, but unaccepting of becoming a trio. Domino also seems to enjoy being in a pair, so long as the other rabbit in the pair is submissive. Unfortunately, it’s very clear that Oliver and Domino both are not submissive rabbits. I’m not sure what to do at this point. Who do I keep Pip with? Or do I put Pip by himself? Or perhaps we can do some bunny dating to find a partner for either Oliver or Domino? I’m not sure if we’d be able to get another rabbit, but we’ll see.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    I’ll keep you updated on Oliver and Domino as far as the wounds and vet.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I am so sorry to hear that I hope both boys will heal up ok. Domino seems to have been beaten up pretty bad if he is still bleeding and hiding. If he is not eating, youll have to syringe feed him. Most rabbits will not eat if they are stressed out and in pain, and you dont want him going into stasis on top of that. The wounds could be cracking because they are trying to scab, or because the skin as dried out extremely around the wounds. Rabbits have very weak, tissue paper like skin

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I still think Domino is willing to submit (as long as he is groomed), but its very obvious Oliver just doesnt like him at this point and wouldnt be willing to bond with him at all. See who Pip prefers to be with over the next few days and keep Pip with whoever he chooses. If the single bun seems to be lonely and wants a partner, if it is possible to get another bun to have two pairs, i think after everyone is healed and cleared of infection, it would be a good idea to do. But, if you cant afford it, you can try to move Pip back and forth every week or so, so each bun can say hi to their friend


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Domino luckily is eating. Oliver and Domino have an appointment at 10:20 am tomorrow.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        On another note, my mother was messing with their pens so that they weren’t right next to each both. Pip had gotten out during that time. Apparently Pip was chasing Domino and trying to bite his rump. Little, tiny Pip was chasing poor Domino, and terrifying him. So I suppose Pip will remain with Oliver. Pip is getting neutered asap after us seeing this. Should we keep him with Oliver until the neuter, or put him in his own pen to avoid fights with those two?


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          Thats good! I hope the vet appointments go fairly well for both of them, and that Pip will get the OK to be neutered soon

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          See how he is with Oliver. If his hormones are kicking in, he will likely try to nip/mount/fight any bunny you pair him with until he is snipped. If its not fully hormone driven, he could have been trying to nip at Domino because he knows the two fought earlier, and didnt want to get beat up too so he was acting in somewhat defense


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            We got back from the vet about an hour ago. They said that none of their wounds looked bad enough to need stitches. They did clean Domino’s ear and find one pretty deep bite, but they weren’t able to suture it because of where it was on his ear. They said to just keep an eye on them both. They said call back if any of the wounds get pus, start to smell, ect. They also will be able to neuter Pip, so we’ll look into that more. For right now we split the pens up and left a pretty wide gap between them. Pip will remain with Oliver as of now because Pip isn’t being aggressive with Oliver. Both pens now have blankets on them all the time so that they can’t hop off. Domino’s pen is also completely covered with the blanket, so they can’t see each other and get influenced to try and fight again.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Good to hear! Sorry that the bonding didnt work out, but if everyone is happy where they are at, that is what truely matters. Hope everyone continues to heal well and that they learn to be good room mates


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                WELL. I have some very interesting news. So while I was starting to get the rabbits ready for bed, I got to thinking. Yesterday we had seen Pip chase and try to bite Domino. Nobody saw the fight. By the time we woke up and got them separated, they were all just on opposite sides on the pen. So we don’t know who fought who. So I was thinking, whose to say that Pip wasn’t the one to beat up Domino? So, I put Pip in with Domino just to see what they would do. Pip went right for Domino. It was bad, very clearly a testosterone influenced attack. I had stepped into the pen and had my mother watching outside if needed. It was really bad. Pip went right for Domino and started attacking him before we even knew what had happened. I honestly had a hard time ripping Pip away from Domino. I had managed to shove him off of Domino, but he ran right back at him. Domino, of course fighting as self defense, clearly was losing. By the time I finally gotten Pip away, (which was only about 30 seconds, but seemed longer in the heat of the moment) he had a tuft of Domino’s fur in his mouth. I then put Pip back with Oliver. I put Oliver in with Domino next. Knowing the two had had a past with fighting, I stayed very close to them. They ignored each other at first, then finally bumped into each other. They had their faces close, and that was all I needed to see. Before things heated up, I put a hand in front of both of them. The only time that Oliver seemed to want to fight was when I put my hand in front of him and blocked him from seeing Domino. I put Oliver back with Pip. I was then informed by my mother that she had seen Oliver starting to groom Pip a lot. Oliver went into his box and Pip followed and started to rub his chin all over it. I have also noticed in these past few days that Pip has started demanding grooms from Oliver. My step father is convinced that Pip is too young to be neutered. His testicles have descended and have been for a while now. I suggested that we take Pip to the vet and see what they think. I asked about a pricing on it today, and the rabbit vet seemed like she thought he was ready, just by me telling her that we have had him since March and he was at least two months when we got him. Not wanting to come check on them in the morning and find Pip dead because he crossed the line with Oliver, I split the two up. We currently have them all in their own pen, a clip to keep them from opening the actual pen, and a blanket on the top to prevent jumping. Then the question of why didn’t we see any wounds on Pip crossed my mind. We saw how quickly Pip dived at Domino and had managed to pull out his fur, and how slow Domino was to react. We think that perhaps Pip was the one that beat up Domino, and Oliver might have gotten in the way and that’s why he only had one wound. Then Pip was too quick for Domino to wound. We were watching them a little bit after they were put back in their pens. At this time, Oliver and Pip were together. My mother said Pip had gone to the bars and started trying to attack Domino. She said that Oliver had gone up and put himself between the two, as if trying to break up the fight. Although Domino and Oliver have fought before when bonding, Oliver didn’t go straight for Domino like Pip had. A few minutes later, Pip went back to the bars while Domino was at the bars of his pen. Oliver, again, went over there. Pip had raised his tail, clearly being aggressive. Oliver got between them again, and even nipped at Pip as if to warn him to break it up. But then a few seconds later, Oliver started pawing at the bars like he was trying to get to Domino. Pip was not being overly aggressive with Oliver, only demanding grooming. Though, I feared that one morning we would come find Pip dead because he decided to attack Oliver and lost. That is the only reason they have been split up, to prevent future fights while Pip is going through his hormones. I’m honestly not sure what to think of at this point. My only thought is getting Pip neutered asap. More likely than not, if we get the okay from the vet, he will have it done either this week or the next. Of course, this is assuming they have spots open at the vet. As far as future bonding? I’m honestly not sure if I will even attempt, besides putting Oliver and Pip back together once Pip has healed. With Domino, I’m hesitant to even consider trying to attack him to the trio. Nonetheless, I’ll be sure to keep updates on Pip’s neuter and what I decide to do.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  As long as the testicles have descended, the bun is ready to be neutered. My earliest bun was ready at about 4 months old, and my latest bun was finally ready at roughly 7 months old. Good move keeping everyone in their own pen for a while to ensure that Oliver and Pip dont fight. It is very likely that Oliver tried to stop the fight, that is what my Blue did when my Badger and Bombur tried to fight; Blue jumped in between them, and being so much bigger than them ended up sitting on them, which forced them all to relax and cuddle. It is very likely Oliver tried to stop the fight and Pip was the aggressor due to hormones. If you do decide to bond them as a trio, i would wait a few months/maybe a year, then try to put Oliver and Domino together and gauge form there if you think they would work as a trio

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Thank you so much for keeping me updated on everything. I hope the neuter comes sooner than later so everyone has some peace of mind


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The vet requires us to bring him in prior to being neutered. I guess they want to ensure that he is ready. Anyways, we have an appointment next Wednesday to take him in. Not sure why they had to wait a week, but I suppose that’s fine. I’ll keep you updated on when he gets his neuter date.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  • vanessa
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      I think they need a few weeks break. That was a bad fight. It will probably cause anxiety and distrust. I would seriousely consider giving them a few weeks break before considering to bond them again. If I did try it again, I woudl take things slower. It took me 8 months to completely bond my last pair. Currently I have 2 pairs of bonded rabbits. Ea h pair are good room-mates. The rabbit room is divided in half. They have a 28″ fence between the 2 pairs. They fence is a NIC panel setup, so they can touch through the fence, and have known eachother long enough that they are fine with a single fence. They would fight if they had the chance, but they haven’t tried to jump the fene. I have had them within sight of eachother for 3 years. They started off with 6 feet between the fences, outside. I closed that distance, and after 2 years, they were indoors, with just one fence separating them. Sometimes bunnies are happy being roommates with a dividing fence. Of the 4 bunnies, Lancelot doesn’t care either way. Guin likes to hang out next to the dividing fence for company. Morgana feels the same. Avalon is slightly hostile, but not enough to spark trouble. I’m sorry your bonding din’t go well. I woudl reccommend to keep them separate, or give them a few weeks break after th eneuter has healed, and take it VERY slowly. As in – only allow them enough space and distance that they can tolerate without a scuffle. But perhaps keepign them separate woudl also be a solution. It is more work for you though.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Like I said, I probably won’t attempt bonding them again. The most I would do is get Pip and Oliver back together after Pip’s surgery. It’s not very likely that I will add Domino to the mix. It’s also not very likely that I will be able to get a fourth to pair Domino with. But if I do decide to bond, which will take some serious thought on my part, it won’t be for a while.


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      • Mikey
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The vet probly wants to do blood work on him to make sure the anesthesia will take correctly during the surgery. Hope the meeting before hand goes well and that you can get him in sooner than later to be neutered


                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        • Kittensmew
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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Got back from the vet a few minutes ago. They gave us the okay to get him neutered. We set up his neuter for Tuesday next week.

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                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Forum BONDING A journey of bonding a trio