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!