Got 2 buns, thinking of 4...how do I check they're compatible?

[Jumilli]

Hi,, I have had 2 Flemish giants ,living in a shed outside.They are nearly 3 years old.
I've seen many pairs of buns in rescue centres and have thought of looking for another pair.
Could this pair live with mine,,how could I do this causing the least stress to any of them?
Ideally they would share the same large shed and then have access to a large garden in the daytime.
Do you think this is feasible?
Any advice gratefully received.
Thanks .

 

[Ruth]

In my experience, the older they are, the harder it is to bond. They tend to get a bit more set in their ways.
Though I did bond an older boy to a 1 year old girl recently.

One thing I have noticed that works well is have a smaller cage in their pen or area and put one of the bunnies in it. Then rotate which rabbit is in the smaller middle cage and which gets the main running room. I don't get why exactly but from what I can tell this tends to let both bunnies feel more comfortable in the larger area and get let's each have time getting adjusted to it being their space, while also being able to sniff and get adjusted to other rabbit as well.

 

[Jumilli]

In my experience, the older they are, the harder it is to bond. They tend to get a bit more set in their ways.
Though I did bond an older boy to a 1 year old girl recently.

One thing I have noticed that works well is have a smaller cage in their pen or area and put one of the bunnies in it. Then rotate which rabbit is in the smaller middle cage and which gets the main running room. I don't get why exactly but from what I can tell this tends to let both bunnies feel more comfortable in the larger area and get let's each have time getting adjusted to it being their space, while also being able to sniff and get adjusted to other rabbit as well.

Do you think I could do that with 2 bonded pairs as I already have a bonded pair and had hoped to rescue another bonded pair?

 

[Ruth]

Do you think I could do that with 2 bonded pairs as I already have a bonded pair and had hoped to rescue another bonded pair?

Honestly, I don't know. It's not something I have ever tried. It's definitely possible though, but it heavily depends on the personality of the rabbits involved and again it is easier to bond rabbits when they're young (under 6 months.)
Since you are getting rescues I'm guessing most of them are neutered or spayed which would make bonding generally easier, but not guarantee it. However, if they are not fixed, as long as you only have one boy it could be alright.

 

[Preitler]

I wouldn't be too optimistic, but I haven't done anything like that. One thing that, in my opinion, can cause problems is the two males, even when neutered there can be issues when girls are around. A neighbour has a group of about 5 neutered boys and tried to introduce a girl - didn't go well, had to remove her again.
There are already hierachies in the pairs, not sure in which ways this might influence the dynamics when they meet. Maybe someone with first hand experience speaks up.

Obviously it has been tried before, search engine shows results for "bonding two pairs of rabbits"

https://binkybunny.com/forums/topic/bonding-two-pairs-2/
https://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/index.php?threads/bonding-2-pairs.267626/
Also on Reddit, but no idea how to link without that link doing wiered things?

Anyway, if you go ahaed and try it have a plan B ready where can keep them seperatly, or find the second pair a new home.

 

[JBun]

It's possible it could work, but there's an equal chance it won't. There's no way to know ahead of time because you're dealing with a bunch of individual personalities, and you don't know how they'll react when combined. There's always the possibility it won't work and you'll be left with two pairs, or even singles, that have to be kept separately. It's even a possibility that attempting bonding a quad could break the bond of your current pair.

So I wouldn't recommend proceeding with bonding a quad unless you're prepared for the possibility that it doesn't work out and you either have to rehome or keep rabbits in separate enclosures permanently.

(This is going off the presumption all rabbits involved are spayed/neutered and hormones aren't complicating the bonding process. And definitely never two unneutered male rabbits.)

I tried a quad at one point. I had a bonded pair (m/f) and I wanted to bond in two girl buns with them. Each girl bun got on well with my bonded pair with relatively little trouble. But no matter what I tried, the two girl buns just wouldn't get along with each other. They hated each other. I tried all sorts of bonding techniques for months, and they just wouldn't get along.

So to make it so everyone had a bun companion, I had to separate my current bonded pair and bond each of those rabbits with one of the girl buns. I ended up having to keep the two pairs separate for several years until one of the girl rabbits died.

But I've also had a group of 6 rabbits that bonded together successfully. They were a family group though, but being related doesn't necessarily matter with rabbits and mean they'll bond easily. Bonding is unpredictable, and you just never know until you actually attempt it, how things will work out.

I would suggest reading up on bonding and bonding groups. Also have a good understanding of rabbit body language and what the signs are of escalating aggression, so you can hopefully intervene before any serious fights break out and risk injury. Once a true fight breaks out, there's very little to no chance of a successful bond happening after that.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html

https://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information-resource-centre/health-and-welfare/bonding-bunnies/

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/when-to-intervene-rabbit-bonding.104770/

 

[Diane R]

Your best bet is probably to find a rescue that is willing to do the bonding for you.

 

[Jumilli]

I wouldn't be too optimistic, but I haven't done anything like that. One thing that, in my opinion, can cause problems is the two males, even when neutered there can be issues when girls are around. A neighbour has a group of about 5 neutered boys and tried to introduce a girl - didn't go well, had to remove her again.
There are already hierachies in the pairs, not sure in which ways this might influence the dynamics when they meet. Maybe someone with first hand experience speaks up.

Obviously it has been tried before, search engine shows results for "bonding two pairs of rabbits"

https://binkybunny.com/forums/topic/bonding-two-pairs-2/
https://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/index.php?threads/bonding-2-pairs.267626/
Also on Reddit, but no idea how to link without that link doing wiered things?

Anyway, if you go ahaed and try it have a plan B ready where can keep them seperatly, or find the second pair a new home.

I'm thinking of looking for a bonded pair of fixed females.Thanks for other links.x

 

[Jumilli]

It's possible it could work, but there's an equal chance it won't. There's no way to know ahead of time because you're dealing with a bunch of individual personalities, and you don't know how they'll react when combined. There's always the possibility it won't work and you'll be left with two pairs, or even singles, that have to be kept separately. It's even a possibility that attempting bonding a quad could break the bond of your current pair.

So I wouldn't recommend proceeding with bonding a quad unless you're prepared for the possibility that it doesn't work out and you either have to rehome or keep rabbits in separate enclosures permanently.

(This is going off the presumption all rabbits involved are spayed/neutered and hormones aren't complicating the bonding process. And definitely never two unneutered male rabbits.)

I tried a quad at one point. I had a bonded pair (m/f) and I wanted to bond in two girl buns with them. Each girl bun got on well with my bonded pair with relatively little trouble. But no matter what I tried, the two girl buns just wouldn't get along with each other. They hated each other. I tried all sorts of bonding techniques for months, and they just wouldn't get along.

So to make it so everyone had a bun companion, I had to separate my current bonded pair and bond each of those rabbits with one of the girl buns. I ended up having to keep the two pairs separate for several years until one of the girl rabbits died.

But I've also had a group of 6 rabbits that bonded together successfully. They were a family group though, but being related doesn't necessarily matter with rabbits and mean they'll bond easily. Bonding is unpredictable, and you just never know until you actually attempt it, how things will work out.

I would suggest reading up on bonding and bonding groups. Also have a good understanding of rabbit body language and what the signs are of escalating aggression, so you can hopefully intervene before any serious fights break out and risk injury. Once a true fight breaks out, there's very little to no chance of a successful bond happening after that.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html

https://cottontails-rescue.org.uk/information-resource-centre/health-and-welfare/bonding-bunnies/

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/when-to-intervene-rabbit-bonding.104770/

Yes I am definitely understanding the problems which is why I wanted to get more views on it.
I did start off with 3 litter mates who were brilliant together 2 bucks and a doe.There were all fixed together in the same day.They came home and the next morning 2 had pair bonded and set to work on the other buck very aggressively.No way would they accept him back and I had to re-home him for his safety .I may rethink and perhaps start up another shed space for a pair of rescues.It seems more sensible as I would not want my original pair to fall out.
What a great forum this is.You can really openly discuss this stuff on here.