Female bunny behavior….

[Jill Lauren]

I have 2 female, 6th month old Holland lops. They were born from the same litter and have lived together their whole lives. However, I have noticed recently they have begin to mount or hump each other. It wont go one for more than 3 seconds before one runs away and its over. I havent seen any violence yet but im guessing that will come? They still sleep together, eat together, and groom each other. They have also most recently become “anti- social” so to say. They’ve never been extremely affectionate to me but are worse now. If i walk near them they run away or even if i make the slightest noise they freak out! So my question is, are they ready to be fixed? Will they still be as loving to each other after the surgery? I am also nervous about having them “put under the needle” but i guess that’s just a mom thing..haha. Also, the share a room to themselves and are litter box trained. Should i separate them now before surgery? Thanks! just need some advice

[Snowytoshi]

Providing that your rabbits are healthy and not underweight, spaying by an experienced vet will be fine! After the surgery they will be just as loving to each other and they will stay bonded, unspayed bonded rabbits will fight once their hormones kick in. If it makes you feel better the chance of a healthy rabbit dying during surgery is less then five percent. You will want to seperate them soon as they will begin to fight and even try to kill each other, seperating may even preserve the bond because then they will not have memories of fighting. After they are spayed you might have to supervise them once you put them back together, just to make sure they are fine together.

[Jill Lauren]

Will i need to go through the full bonding process since they are both females or will it be different?

[Snowytoshi]

After they are spayed it will most likely take less time to rebond them and I know some people whose rabbits have not even needed to be rebonded. It all depends on the rabbit, so supervise them carefully the first few days back together!

[Beka27]

If you can get them in to be spayed ASAP (within the next week or two) you may be able to keep them together as long as they don’t become violent. Humping isn’t a bad thing as long as the one being humped tolerates it and doesn’t start a scuffle. So try calling your vet first thing tomorrow and see when they can get in.

[Monkeybun]

Are you also absolutely sure they are both female? Many times, rabbits are misgendered, even by breeders and some vets.

[jerseygirl]

Separating most likely really depends on them. If for the most part the scuffles don’t escalate, you might get away with them remaining together. You’ll have to gauge whether separating after surgery is for the best or not. Some many pine for their companion and become depressed. However, post surgery they may also be more intolerant of each other and fight more. So i’d recommend clearing some time in your schedule so you can closely monitor them after surgery. Id you do need separate them straight after, having a pen barrier where they can still see, smell and lie next to one another might help maintain a bit of the bond.

I had mother-daughter pair spayed fairly recently. When the younger ones hormones arrived, it triggered humping in both of them. It literally stopped straight after surgery. I was able to keep them together in their room though they did chose hiding spots away from each other for the 24-48hrs after surgery. After recovery, they sort each other out & also become social with me again. It was really nice to see them calm and content again.

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