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IS THREE COMPANY?

22 11:04:51

Question
I have two bonded rabbits(both altered).  The male lop is very friendly, but very dominant.  The female (I got from a rescue centre 8 months ago), is lovely, she will come on my lap, but will not let me stroke her (which I find strange).  She grooms the male constantly, but it is never reciprocated - he is just so bossy around her!!  I feel quite sorry for her, especially as she won't take any love from us humans, and am seriously considering adding a third bunny to the brood in the hope that she may get some love in return and I would like another bunny!!  Can you give me some advice on what would be the best way of going about this.  I would love a baby, but I'm not sure if this is advisable or not.  I assume a female would be best.  Someone suggested to me that 2 more would be better.  They live outside, but have a massive, safe enclosure.  Your advice would be appreciated.  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Heather,

some bonded pairs are like what you describe.  As long as he enjoys having her around and they do not fight, they are okay.  It may not be ideal in our minds, but if it works for them, it's okay.  Not every rabbit is going to act the same way.  I have a girl bunny who did the same thing as your boy.  It's just not who they are.  They express things in other ways.

I would not worry about your gal not wanting you to pet her yet.  This is a trust issue and will take time to trust you that way.  She most likely had bad experiences with people's hands in her prior situation.  They never forget this kind of thing, but they can learn to tolerate it from a person they trust.  It is just that trust builds slowly and depends on how bad they were scarred prior to you.  I know you will be patient with her, just keep trying every now and then.  And relish the fact she likes to hop into your lap - some people would kill for a bunny that wants to hop into their lap.

I think at this point, the way you describe things, it would not be good to get a third bunny.  Bonding a trio is one of the hardest things to do, because often you wind up destroying the bond between the first two and then nobody gets along.  I think you are over-estimating how 'bad' things are, when they really are not.  

Not only does she have to trust you, but your boy and gal have to learn how to get along with each other and trust each other.  And then factor in their unique rabbit personalities.  As long as they get along, even though it appears lop-sided, it is something I would not tinker with.  Your female gal needs some stability in her life to get over whatever she went through.  Let her be in a stable environment that isn't going to stress her by more changes, and get to know you and her boy better.

Also, as a general rule, it is not a good bet to 'fix' a bad relationship of two bunnies by tossing a third in there and praying it works.  It's kind of like the gal who thinks having a baby will make the guy settle down and marry her.  A bunny threesome is very hard to make work.  And it sounds like your twosome is doing okay.  

Your boy may over time start changing his mind about reciprocating.  (He may do this when you aren't around, too.)  Even if he does not reciprocate visibly, I know that some of the most strongly bonded rabbits may not show it, until a stranger tries to pet their mate, and then they wind up defending their partner.

And just for info purposes, trios work best with one male and two females.  Two males would pretty much fight in order to claim the female (even if they are all fixed).

Lee