What are the chances 3 does will bond

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What are the chances 3 does will bond (or just not fight and hurt each other) if they are in a really big space, about 22 feet by 24 feet. 2 of the does already are bonded and living in one half of the space and I want to open the divider so the other doe can share the one big open space. I have opened the divider before and they did fight- no blood but fur was flying. They are Jersey Woolies and not spayed.
 
I am not an expert at this, as I house all my rabbits in their own cages.
My opinion is: They, [the two that are already bonded]
will see the other as "An intruder' and will most likely attack
with a vengeance! But, it's only my opinion and I would not risk it.
We all must do what we feel is best for those who are in our charge.
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 
It really depends on the does.

I currently keep 3 intact house bunny does in the same cage and they get along great. Two are mother and daughter and the 3rd I added as an 8 week kit. I have a 4th doe who is VERY anti social an must live on her own, she was the mother to one of the 3 does and lived with her for about 4 months then started beating her daughter up so I seperated them. She was always a rather territorial rabbit and often lunged at the buck when it was breeding time.

When I had a large outdoor colony some rabbits were either very bossy and just couldn't get along or were very submissive and always got picked on even after the most dominant rabbits were removed.

You'll just have to give it a shot and hope for the best :shrug:
 
Like Dood says, it just depends on your rabbits' personalities. I have colonies, and they work great for my rabbits. I have 3 does living together in a 10ft by 20ft pen, but they are mother-daughters. I also have my mellow mature buck living with 3 16week old bucklings in a 10ft by 10ft pen (with hutches attatched, and 2 water crocks and 2 feed bins so no one gets bullied out of food/water), and they all get along fine.

It might help if you put the unbonded rabbit in a cage sharing a wall with the pen containing the 2 bonded rabbits. That way, they could get used to each other's scent, say hi, and all that.
 
Is there any way that you could add a fourth doe to the mix so you are not putting one new solo rabbit in there?

With my chickens if I introduce just one or two birds into an established flock the outcome isn't good, but if I introduce a large group they have to "spread the hate around" so usually just one doesn't get singled out for bullying.

If you can't do that, I would try WildWolf's suggestion and maybe confine one of the established does for a couple hours when you first let the newbie out. If all goes well with just the two, let the other doe out and see how it goes.

I would also recommend nail trims all around a couple days before the intro to allow the cut ends to smooth over so there is less chance of them scratching one another badly.
 
I don't have a third doe that can go outside right now but I have a neutered buck that has been neutered for 7 weeks. They've already been living side by side and sit next to each other all the time, each on the other side of the partition. I think nail trimming is a great idea and today I'll do that. They fought when I first opened the partition and now the third one is hiding from the other two and runs from them. This morning they where all in different areas of the enclosure- one in each hutch and one has taken over the lawn chair that has a rabbit hole under it (that's been there for a while) and she seems to be stuffing straw in it and building a nest but she can't be pregnant- but I bet she's going to be really territorial about that hole. I wonder if I put the buck in there if that will make things better or worse.
 
Something I've done introduce new does is put them in a cage on the ground in the colony for about a week, I keep them where the other does can get used to them and then after a week or two I let them loose
 
I sort of gave up on trying to bond them for now- one of the does started to act like she was having a false pregnancy and was really getting aggressive. But when I try again I will try putting the new doe in a cage. I'll have to make sure the bars on the cage are close together - because the worst injury I've had so far was nose being bit through bars.
 

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