Bonding a quad, advice?

[CottonTop]

Hi everyone! Looking for some input from people with group bonding experience.

Bit of background info, I have three siblings and their dad. They were two bonded pairs, Floyd and Hazel (father and daughter) and brothers Timbit and Dandelion.

Initially I figured three bucks to one doe would be too big an ask, especially as Dande is quite dominant and puts his brother in his place pretty regularly, but they’ve been sharing a fence and interactions have been very friendly.

I ended up doing a couple of short sessions with Floyd and Dande - had two minor scuffles, then they were gold, (some mounting from Floyd but nothing aggressive, Dande seems to be submitting) so decided to go for an immersion bond with the four of them.

I was worried initially that it would be too much but...they’ve been great. Not a peep for two nights - no fights, no nipping or chasing. Everyone has been grooming each other and most of the time they’re flopped in a pile together.

They’ve only been together now 48hrs, and I have two more days to dedicate to them before heading back to work. Definitely not comfortable trusting them unsupervised after only four days together no matter how good they’ve been, but I’m not sure how to go about structuring their time together from now. Should I just leave them together for the next couple of days then separate them for the time I’m at work? I have a completely new enormous run ready which none of them have seen but I'm wary of letting them out too soon. How long would you wait for a bond to solidify before considering it safe?

Also, is three males to one female even viable long term or will it always be volatile - or is it REALLY all down to personality? Would love any advice!!

 

[JBun]

If there are no scuffles at all in 4 days, I would consider them bonded. I wouldn't want to go backwards and separate if they are showing all signs of getting along. When expanding their space, I would do it slowly. Many times when they're space is suddenly expanded to too much too fast, they can become territorial. So small expansion, then see how they react before expanding again.

It it will work long term, all depends on the rabbits personalities. I had a mom that had 5 babies, 3 boys, 2 girls. I started off bonding the girls with mom, and two brothers when they were neutered. The last boy I had to wait to get neutered. Bonded him in. They all got along for years, minor chasing and fur pulling that happens with rabbit groups, but never any fights.

The brother who was the boss, died about 3 years ago, the mom died last month. I bonded in a pair to the group last year. So there have been a few changes. The one's that are left are about 8-9 years old. And for the most part all get along without issue. Minor chasing and nipping on occasion but never fights. For my group, it's important that they have space to get away from one another when needed. Especially for the subordinate buns, so that when the boss bun is being testy, they can get some space.