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Forum BONDING neutered male mounting spayed female… help!

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    • K D
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        Hi everyone!

        A month ago, we’ve adopted an adult male bunny from the animal shelter as a friend for our 6-year-old spayed female. The male bunny’s exact age is unknown (2-6 years) and has been neutered by the shelter approximately 5 weeks ago. I waited about 3 weeks after his surgery before introducing them,  in hopes that his hormone levels would decrease.

        At first, things appeared to be going quite well. The female likes to leave territorial poops in his presence, but displays no aggressive behaviour otherwise. She ignores him for the most part, but will sometimes lower her head and demand for licks. The male accepts this, and always seems happy to lick her. This goes on for quite a while, but his hormones always seem to kick in as the sessions progress. Eventually, he will start honking like crazy and chase her around, attempting to mount her from all directions . I am aware that mounting isn’t only attributed to sexual behaviour, but is also a display of dominance. However, SHE seems to be the one to receive the grooming… so wouldn’t that mean she is the dominant one? This leads me to believe that the mounting behaviour from the male is more to do with hormones and sexual behaviour.

        I figured this behaviour would subside as more time passes from the date of his neuter, but it only seems to be getting worse. Now, he will instantly start honking and chasing and mounting from the moment he sees her. The female often runs from him, but will occasionally lay down and just “take” it. She has never nipped him, but I am a bit worried that she will become annoyed the more he does it. My biggest fear would be if a fight were to break out between them . I’ve been starting to feel hopeless, and fear that this bond may not take hold. Has anyone had a similar experience when bonding bunnies? Could this potentially work out, or is the male too persistent with this mounting that it would not be safe to put them together? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!


      • Stickerbunny
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          Mounting is dominance and very, very normal in rabbit pairs. Who receives grooming doesn’t mean they should be the one mounting. My pair Stickers receives grooming and will NOT groom Powder at all, but Powder does all the humping to put her in her place if he decides she’s gotten too comfortable with his stuff (mainly the litter boxes). During bonding, Powder humped nearly non-stop for the first week, her face, her side, her backside, he didn’t care. I had to expand their bonding area enough to allow Stickers room to run away from him if she wanted, because she started whining like a puppy from stress he was so persistent. 

          Don’t allow face mounting, as if she decides to nip him there it would be very bad for him, but allow it to play out otherwise unless she gets too stressed. Keep something handy to put between them if there are any fights during the bonding process (not your hands, something like a metal colander, that won’t be hurt if it gets bitten). They need to work out who is top bun. And even if there is a fight, try to end it on a pleasant note if you can. I would separate mine to different corners after they got stressed (they never fought) and pet them both and give a treat and then take them back to their own areas. 


        • K D
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            Thanks so much for your help! I’ve noticed that he exudes a strong door (almost onion-like) after he mounts her. Is this normal?


          • Stickerbunny
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              They scent mark during bonding, so he may be releasing some scent from his glands when he asserts dominance. I am not sure when mine scented, the room always smelled badly because they were fighting over who claimed the space lol


            • K D
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                Thank you, I’m glad to hear its normal!

                Lately, things have been getting better between them. The female is much more relaxed around him, and they will lie down together side by side. However, I’ve noticed that the male bunny is EXTREMELY clingy. Whenever the female gets up to hop around/explore, he will follow her and try to mount her to make her sit back down. Either that, or he will get up and lick her intensely until she stops moving. Is this normal behaviour?


              • K D
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                  I’ve also noticed that he will “dig” at her side when she is lying down. She didn’t mind at first, but after a few times she would jump away. Is this “digging” considered aggressive behaviour?

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              Forum BONDING neutered male mounting spayed female… help!