Humping! Why?

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 10sd replies, 7 voices, and was last updated 8 years, 5 months ago by Walter's Mom.

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- 11/08/2015 at 9:22 PM
  Walter's Mom
  Participant
  64 posts
  We now have two does and want to put them in the same hutch for winter. They get along great and aren’t aggressive. Today when we put them together the younger one started humping the older one. She hasn’t done this before and I don’t understand why. Is she trying to tell the older one (Corey) that she (Tink) is the boss? Please help!
- 11/09/2015 at 1:57 PM
  Shannon
  Participant
  158 posts
  Humping is a sign of dominance. So yes TInk is trying to tell Corey that she is the boss. Once she establishes that the humping should stop.
- 11/09/2015 at 2:51 PM
  Walter's Mom
  Participant
  64 posts
  Is it ok to put them together still? Or will Tink try to hurt Corey? They haven’t EVER shown any aggression towards each other. The cuddle and play, but Tink will periodically start humping Tink.
- 11/09/2015 at 3:37 PM
  Bam
  Moderator
  16871 posts
  You really should have them spayed if they are to live happily together. Spaying reduces the urge to fight. Girl rabbits should be spayed for health reasons anyway, since uterine cancer is so very common in unspayed girl rabbits. This is of course sth you will have to discuss with your parents.
- 11/09/2015 at 9:00 PM
  gingerg
  Participant
  123 posts
  When I moved to a new home, one half of my bonded pair of siblings started humping the other, completely out of the blue. They neither had engaged in this behavior since shortly after they were spade. I am fairly certain that it was just a dominance issue, the one wanting to show the other that even in a new space, she was the boss. It ended very quickly.
- 11/09/2015 at 9:15 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  16898 posts
  I agree. While humping is a way of establishing dominance, you will likely have difficulty getting them to bond if they are unspayed. And, as Bam said, they should be spayed anyway for health reasons.
- 11/09/2015 at 10:27 PM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  A fight can break out if the one getting humped decides not to take it-it’s often a sign things are going to escalate. You will definitely need to spay if they aren’t already spayed-remember that females defend their warrens, so in rabbits it’s often the females who are territorial and combative if left intact.
- 11/13/2015 at 12:48 PM
  Walter's Mom
  Participant
  64 posts
  I will talk to my parents about getting them spayed. Is it still ok to put them together until we can get them spayed?
- 11/13/2015 at 8:10 PM
  Hazel
  Participant
  2587 posts
  Sounds like their hormones are starting to play a role. It’s a very bad idea to leave two unspayed does together, right now they’re just humping but it most likely will escalate. You shouldn’t put them together until after they’ve been spayed. They also need a month after the surgery for their hormones to level out before you can start bonding. If you leave them together you risk a nasty fight and injuries. Females especially can get very vicious with each other.
- 11/13/2015 at 8:12 PM
  LBJ10
  Moderator
  16898 posts
  How old are they?
- 11/19/2015 at 10:49 AM
  Walter's Mom
  Participant
  64 posts
  We decided not to put them together as when we tried to put them in the big hutch, Corey showed some aggression towards Tink, so we decided to keep them separated for now. I would like to have them spayed in the future, but we just don’t have the financial means right now to do that.
  LBJ- Tink is about 6-7 months old and Corey is about a year.
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