Dominance change/mounting?

[Christine Ann]

Hi everyone

I have two buns, spayed and neutered, 2 year old Jersey Wooly -Pepper, and 4 year old Lionhead- Sophie.

They have been pretty inseparable since I adopted Pepper from a rescue when he was 6 months old, I got him a few months after my first bun and Sophie’s bonded brother Wesley passed. Sophie was depressed and Pepper has really brought her out of her shell and made her much more social- she’s skittish by nature as she is partially blind in one eye from parasite when she was a baby.

Anyway, I thought that Sophie was the dominant, as she asserted herself early on in the bonding process.

However, in the last month, Pepper has been mounting and humping her- a behavior that is very unlike him.

Pepper is a super momma’s boy, gentle, playful and so sweet by nature. He always lowers his entire head flat on the ground when I offer him pets, even to where if he sees me petting Sophie, he stops whatever he is doing, runs over at full speed and wedges himself between us so that he gets pets too. He even puts his chin in my hand to cause me to stroke him, or he will put his head on the back of Sophie’s neck. 

I’ve noticed that the mounting/humping happens when there is food involved. They circle, until Pepper is able to get behind her. I’ve tried separating them, but they just run over to the other and steal food, sometimes directly out of the other’s mouth, haha. 

Yesterday was the first time I’ve seen him mount her without food present. Sophie and I have a morning ritual where she hops up on the bed and snuggles against my leg and I pet her while I’m waking up. Pepper usually joins in. This time there wasn’t room for him since we were on the edge of the bed, and with no room for him to wedge his way in he resorted to mounting her. He is very much a jelly bean.

However, his tail is never raised, he never shows any aggression and shortly after the mounting, they are cuddling and he grooms her. They love each other very much, but are competitive in terms of food/lovings, they even have eating races. I kid you not, when I pet them both at the same time, they’ll even have “purr-offs” to see who can purr the longest 

Is this happening due to jealousy? Is there something I can do to discourage the behavior? Sophie doesn’t seem frightened or angry, she mostly will just run away and avoid him until the moment has passed. 

Thank you for any help! Let me know if you have any questions or need additional info  

[Gina.Jenny]

If you live in the Northern hemisphere, the longer days can cause buns to start mounting, and unless its bothering the other bun, is nothing to worry about.

[Christine Ann]

bump*

any other advice?

[Bam]

Not really, unless it’s bothering Sophie, you don’t have to do anything. You could try and feed them separately on one occasion per day, so you are sure they both get all the nutrients they need. If you’re worried one is getting more than his/her fair share you can weigh them and note down their weight each week. Since they have so much fur, the eye is not a good judge of a bunnies weight loss or -gain until it has gone pretty far.

The picture is alarmingly cute!!! Judging from their positions, Pepper seems to be the dominant one.

[Love4Bunny]

I experience what you’re experiencing. Honestly, if there is no aggression, I think they’re fine. You sound like you keep an eye on them anyways, and Sophie knows the drill. Food can def. bring excitement, so I would initially give Pepper the attention, whether it be feeding first or petting first, to avoid him taking it out on Sophie. You kinda have to become a master at redirecting attention to where you want it. I, myself, have not mastered it but we’re getting there!

[Author]

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