3 rabbits?

Question
I have a 15 week old female Dutch rabbit 'Munchie'(brought from pets at
home) and about 8 months male Dwarf 'Smudges'(guessing, as he is a rescue
rabbit!). Smudge is neutered and once Munchie is old enough I will get her
neutered too.

I was thinking of getting an additional rabbit, young rabbit 8 - 12 weeks old,
however I was unsure whether to get a male or a female rabbit. I have read
rabbits like to be in groups, so in your opinion would it be all right, especially
if I get a young rabbit?

Answer
Hi Zeb,

I would probably wait to get the third rabbit until after your 2nd bunny (gal) is spayed.  Wait a month after she is spayed before even considering a third bunny.  You will have to make sure your first two guys are bonded properly before attempting a third bunny.

Bonding three is tough because there is a chance it destroys the bond of the current two and nobody gets along.

The third should also be fixed and a month passed before attempting to make a trio.  It takes a month for hormone levels to resettle at their new lower level.  You don't want to start bonding when they are still high and more aggression can occur.

My suggestion is that if you get a thrid rabbit it should be female.  More than one boy with a girl will result in the males fighting more (for the girl).  One male and multiple females is the better setup.

So if you don't have a 3rd in mind yet, wait until your 2nd is spayed (plus a month), bond them properly, then get a third rabbit (female) hopefully from a shelter (where she probably will be fixed already), do some bunny dates to see if it looks like they can all get along, wait a period of time before attempting to bond if she was fixed recently.  Keep her in a separate room of the house before bonding.

House Rabbit Society has good articles on bonding:

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/introductions.html

http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/multiple.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/bonding-tips.html

http://www.rabbit.org/chapters/san-diego/behavior/expect.html

http://www.rabbit.org/journal/3-8/rabbits-in-the-plural.html