Question for Trio Masters

[vanessa]

So… I have tried a trio in the past with Guinevere, Avalon, and Morgana. Avalon and Morgana are bonded. Guinevere is single now that her bonded pal Lancelot is too frail to be with her anymore. I felt I had to separate them since he is in a diaper (which she tries to remove), he falls over when she nudges him, he needs his food within stretching distance so he needs limited space, and he needs unlimited pellets where she needs rations. He is a senior. Guin is 4 years old, rambunctious, overweight (but trimming down now that she is back on rationed pellets, very cuddly, but also dominant. I initially removed him to my room when he had a dizzy spell, so I could watch him closely, and change his diaper more easily in the middle of the night. After a few days of that, when I’d put him back with Guin, she would nip him for attention. He is so thin – I can’t have her nipping him. Re-solidifying their bond would be stressful for him, and he is not in a condition for extra stress. He is super happy being a single bun – always was. He loooooves his stuffy, and enjoys grooming me, his stuffy, and his blankets.

Avalon is 3 years old, active, dominant over Morgana. Morgana is 4 years old, a quiet rabbit. Occasionally (maybe a few times a year), I see Avalon giving Morgana a nip, chase her for a few seconds if he wants to brand new cardboard box to chew, or trying to hump her. Other than that, they are very snuggly.

All are spayed/neutered.

When I took Lancelot out of the bunny room, Guinevere started pooping along the fence line that separates the pairs. That has died down now. The three rabbits spend a good amount of time relaxing on opposite sides of the fence. It is a single fence made from NIC cubes. They haven’t licked or groomed through the fence, but they do lie side by side next to the fence. Or sometimes back to side. Once or twice – I’v seen Avalon put his ears at 45 degrees  with regards to Guinevere.

When I tried to bond them before, I thought Guin and Morgana were actually a good match. Avalon wanted nothing to do with it, sat in a corner and thumped. I wasn’t able to get him out of his shell with her. I was trying the three rabbits together in the bathtub. When I would put them back in their rooms, Avalon would chase Morgana.

So… I want to try prebonding for a few months by swapping their sides of the room. Then once I see the territorial poops stop, I’ll try bonding sessions in alternating pairs at first, not putting all three in the bathtub like I tried last time.

I want to do a trio so I can (a) get rid of that annoying fence that trips me up every time I step over it (although I could always make a better constructed fence with an actual gate), (b) have only one bunny area to clean, instead of two, and (c) Guin is lonely and destructive without Lancelot.

I’m concerned about Avalon’s rare chasing of Morgana. I do worry that I’ll end up with a Guin/Morgana pair, and a single Avalon.

So my question – to those who have done trios – is there anything that jumps out to you about this?

[Mikey]

“When I tried to bond them before, I thought Guin and Morgana were actually a good match. Avalon wanted nothing to do with it, sat in a corner and thumped. I wasn’t able to get him out of his shell with her. I was trying the three rabbits together in the bathtub. When I would put them back in their rooms, Avalon would chase Morgana.”

Avalon is the type of bun, as seen here, that when trying to bond in a third, he will ruin his current pair bond with Morgana when the third(Guin) is out of the picture. Its not a bad thing as its very common. If they always work it out, it means theyll most likely always be willing to bond back together after a break. You can try marathon bonding for a few days (24/7 bonding, but you need to be right there at all times, and sleep next to them) with the trio to see if Avalon warms up better that way instead. Or, you can separate Avalon and Morgana, prebond the three of them next to one another, then try to bond them all as “new” bunnies together. It would be more work as youd have to break Avalon and Morgana’s bond first, but its easier to put three “new” bunnies together than it is to bond a new bunny into an already bonded pair. You risk none of them bonding though, causing three permanent single bunnies.

Theres also a chance that Avalon just doesnt like Guin, so he will always refuse to bond with her, whether he be single or already bonded.

Also, sorry to hear about Lancelot D: I recently had to move my bun with disabilities out of my trio for similar reasons. Happy to hear that he is a happy single bun

[vanessa]

Thanks Mikey.

[vanessa]

So they have been living side by side with a NIC cube fence between them, and lately they have been hanging out next to eachother on opposite sides of the fence. They have been living like this for 2 years, but hanging out routinely next to the fence – for about a month. Today Avalon and Morgana sniffed eachothers nose briefly through the fence. Is this living arrangement considered prebonding? Should I swap litterboxes next or have them swap sides of the room entirely?Or maybe litter boxes first, and when the terretorial poops die down, swap sides of the room? (No terretorial poops at the moment).

[Mikey]

Yep, that would be prebonding! I would stay with that for another week or two, so they can get a bit more familiar with one another and hopefully sniff some more. After about a week, start swapping litter boxes around, or if youd rather wait for the territory poops to die down first, thats fine

[Author]

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