2 buns and adopting a third

[Alex&Clary]

I currently have 2 rabbits, one mini Rex, and a Flemish giant, they aren’t bonded but can go out and play supervised. I am about to adopt another rabbit, a male this time, I have 2 females, this is a baby, only about 6 weeks old, and he will be coming home within the next week or so, I was wondering if anyone has any advice for adding him in, and about when to get him neutered so that he is happy and healthy. I’ll post pictures once I get some from his current home!

[vanessa]

Copy/paste 🙂

I’m confused by your second sentence – are they bonded? What are their interactions with each other? Do they cuddle? Do they live in the same space? 6 weeks is very young. I’d keep the baby bunny on it’s own, and start bonding sessions only after the baby is neutered or spayed. This could be 4-6 months of age. . Young bunnies need unlimited pellets. You can taper the pellets off to 1/8 cup per 4lb body weight, between 8 and 12 months. Unlimited pellets are bad for adults. So the dietary differences will be a challenge if they live together while the baby is still young. I have a pair with dietary differences – Guin is overweight and needs less pellets. She is a good hay eater. Lancelot is a poor hay eater, underweight, chronically ill, so I supplement his pellets with homemade hay cookies. But I don’t want Guin to eat all his hay cookies.
Here’s an article on feeding. http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/diet.html
Is the baby a male or female? By waiting till the baby is spayed/neutered, you can avoid hormonal fights, and the baby will be able to grow and eat unlimited pellets – without affecting the weight of the 2 adult buns. After recovering from the spay/neuter, the bonding could last anywhere from weeks to months. Probably by the time they are ready to live together, the baby will be old enough to be on limited pellets, like the adults.

[Alex&Clary]

So for my current 2, they live in separate cages, but they are side by side, and will sleep next to each other, and will nuzzle through the cage, but as soon as they are no longer separated they go into offensive mode and go into the humping and pulling each others hair. Baby bun will have his own cage, separate from the girls, till after he is neutered, and then I will start the bonding process.
Do you have any advice on when to get him neutered? I’ve seen ages from 3 1/2 months to 6 months old before neutering, what is your opinion?

[tobyluv]

Have your two females been spayed? You cannot bond rabbits until both (or all) have been spayed or neutered. Unspayed females can fight and can injure each other. Plus, if they do fight, they can hold a grudge, which can make future bonding very difficult. For their safety and health, not to mention being able to bond them, they should be spayed, with a few weeks elapsing before they are allowed to be together. If they have reached the age of puberty, they shouldn’t be together, not even for play time, until they have been spayed.

A male rabbit can be neutered when his testicles have descended, which can be as early as 3 or 4 months. Some vets may prefer to wait a little longer

[Azerane]

I would be concerned about the rescue you are getting the bun from if they are letting him be adopted out at 6 weeks old, it’s too young. Please remember that Binky Bunny rules require that baby bunnies be at least 8 weeks of age before you post photos of them.

Keeping your new boy separate from your females until after his hormones have dispersed after neutering is the right idea. You will have to wait at least 6 weeks post neuter before starting bonding, although you can do pre-bonding work before then (swapping items in their cages, swapping cages). In terms of age of neutering, often it depends on the vet. Some vets will require your rabbit to be a certain weight before they neuter, others are comfortable neutering as soon as their testicles drop. I had Bandit done at around 4 months when his dropped. What are your plans for bonding? Do you plan to bond all three together? If not, you will need to pick a particular female to bond him with, if it doesn’t work out you can bond him with the other female, however you won’t be able to have them as a bonded pair, and still have the third female out for playtime at the same time. It could cause a lot of fighting and territorial issues and may even weaken the bond of your pair.

[Alex&Clary]

Okay, so I want to just clear some things up, my 2 females are spayed, and cuddle through the cage, and can be out together and will play or ignore each other. My boy that is coming was 6 weeks when I agreed to adopt him, he will be 10 weeks when he comes home on April 10. I plan to try and bond all 3, but I was wondering how I should go about that, should I start with just a pair and then move to a trio, or should I start with a trio? I hope that cleared everything up, if you have more questions let me know!

So my main question at this point is bonding, pair first then trio, or try a trio initially.

[sarahthegemini]

Posted By Alex&Clary on 4/06/2017 9:59 AM

Okay, so I want to just clear some things up, my 2 females are spayed, and cuddle through the cage, and can be out together and will play or ignore each other. My boy that is coming was 6 weeks when I agreed to adopt him, he will be 10 weeks when he comes home on April 10. I plan to try and bond all 3, but I was wondering how I should go about that, should I start with just a pair and then move to a trio, or should I start with a trio? I hope that cleared everything up, if you have more questions let me know!

So my main question at this point is bonding, pair first then trio, or try a trio initially.

The bolded part is what’s causing confusion I think. Bunnies shouldn’t be put together for play time unless they are actually bonded which you said they aren’t. You also said they’re okay through bars but go into defensive mode when out together – that goes against the bolded statement. 

[Alex&Clary]

They aren’t bonded, but they tolerate each other, we’ve worked on bonding before, and they tolerate, until they get to deciding who will be dominate, when it comes to dominance they will both present, and wait, and will sometimes start humping and then it turns into a fur flying spinning fight, they haven’t been out together since our last bonding session, I’ve been busy with school and work, but they will snuggle through the bars. I’m sorry if this is confusing, I am trying my best to describe it all.

[tobyluv]

If you decide to start bonding them as a trio, you will have to wait until the male has been neutered, and a month or more has passed since his surgery. I have only bonded pairs, not trios, so I don’t know the best way to go about that. I agree that until you decide to start bonding in earnest, the females should be kept apart. If they are out for play and exercise, they will need to do that separately. Any further fighting between them may make future bonding impossible.

[Alex&Clary]

I know about the waiting, and that it will be a few months before I can really get to work. I was thinking I might work more on the females and get them bonded if possible and then after the male is neutered I will try to add him to the pair.

[Alex&Clary]

I know about the waiting, and that it will be a few months before I can really get to work. I was thinking I might work more on the females and get them bonded if possible and then after the male is neutered I will try to add him to the pair.

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