New rabbits - what to do?

[Justalittlebitfurther]

We recently adopted some adult rabbits. Two are neutered and one isn't. It is younger than the others, but is being aggressive towards the others and our DC. I realise this is probably hormonal, but I don't feel that we are being fair to any of them at the moment unless we intervene. Ideally we would get her neutered but at £100 we can't afford it straight away. I'm not sure what to do. Would it be cruel to put her in a separate hutch for a while? She could still socialise in the garden with the other two when we let them out?

I would separate them until you can afford to get her neutered. Look for rabbit welfare charities, one offered us a voucher to get them neutered for £30. We ended up not taking them up on the offer as the vets they used was miles away, our local vet did it for £80 per rabbit. Hasn’t stopped one of them humping the other, apparently it’s dominance not sexual!

What sex are the other two?

Did they come as a bonded group of three? Or as a bonded pair and a +1?

I think they were originally a bonded pair and then she came along. But she's lived with them for at least a year. The other two are male and female. I just feel awful for them as I had to remove the un-neutered female from the male earlier as he couldn't get away. That's whats prompted my post. I'll look into charities, but I have considered that maybe she shouldn't be living with them at all?

It can be a really difficult process to bond rabbits and group bonding (3+) even more so!

In your situation, I would separate the pair and the younger female and watch them to see how they react. Particularly if the little one is not spayed yet, she might be happier/less stressed out by herself. Could you consider bringing the young female into the house as a house rabbit so she has company? It is important that rabbits don't get lonely if on their own - they should optimally be kept in pairs but as the owner of a single house rabbit (who HATES other rabbits) I know this isn't always the case and you just have to go by the animal.

If your pair seem happier by themselves I would be tempted to keep them that way. Then it's just to decide what to so with the other one. If you can keep her as a house rabbit and she seems happy (is interested in you/her surroundings, playing and binkying, eating and drinking and pooing normally etc) that could be a good solution. However, if she seems lonely or distressed I would look at either rehoming her (to a sanctuary/rescue where they will bond her) or looking for another rabbit (neutered male) to keep her company. Sanctuaries often offer a 'bonding service' for single buns. Of course, she would need spaying. Get her spayed anyway ASAP as this often calms down bossy female bunnies (...a bit!).

Hope that helps and good luck. Any chance of a photo of your new buns?

That does help and I think we'll try that and see if it eases the situation. We could consider bringing her inside. We had them all inside during the heavy snow and they were ok then, but they had the run of a whole room and it wasn't spring. When I was looking for a photo I found the one of them all laying together and wondered if they are better bonded then I think, but its just not how they are right now.

Don't separate them! It will be too hard to reintroduce her and she'll end up alone. It isn't as simple as separating them and putting them back together when you feel like it. Even a trip to the vet can be long enough to undo the bond.
Get her spayed asap. If they are rescued, the rescue should pay. If nothing else she is at high risk of getting uterine cancer. (Take all 3 of them to the appointment).
Are they in a large enough hutch? It doesn't sound like it - any rabbit home should have plenty of room with plenty of places to hide. If they were fine indoors then that's probably the problem.

Can they all 3 live inside as house bunnies if they were happy like that?

They are gorgeous. Just look at those fluffy bunny bums 😍

I kept forgetting to reply, but just wanted to say thanks for everyone’s posts. We have spent today reorganising their home and extending it so that they have free access to a run for more space and ultimately we will get her spayed as soon as we can!

They are so cute! :)