Relentless humping and aggression from previously bonded pair

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This topic has 2sd replies, 2 voices, and was last updated 10 years, 1 month ago by Loren Benton.

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- 01/12/2016 at 11:52 AM
  Loren Benton
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  2 posts
  Hi there! I’m new, so I’ll take a minute and introduce myself and the bunnies. My name is Loren and I live with my fiancé Tyler and our two buns, Herman and Haddie. Herm is a Californian and he’s about 5 years old. Haddie is probably some kind of dwarf cross and around 3-4 years old. Both around 6 pounds. Herman came from a group home for disabled individuals when they could no longer keep him, and Haddie was a rescue from a terrible backyard hutch situation with an abusive owner. Herman picked Haddie from a rescue in May 2014.
  
  We moved from Ohio to Georgia at the end of November, and ever since then it’s been chaotic between the two of them. Herman keeps relentlessly trying to hump Haddie, and in response she grunts SO LOUD and either lunges/nips at him, or runs away. It started the first night we were in GA at a hotel (November 29), and hasn’t stopped since. When Herm approaches her from the front everything is usually fine, but as soon as he starts to move around back Haddie freaks out. This goes on for several hours at a time and Haddie gets increasingly aggressive over that period. She’ll even lunge and grunt at me or Tyler if we walk by or try to pet her sometimes. However, after a calm period, Haddie will go back to her regular self and ask Herm for grooming and let us pet her.
  
  I should note that we went to visit family for 6 days over Christmas and they stayed with a sitter at her apartment. I told her about all of this beforehand. She said they were absolutely fine! I made her swear she was telling me the truth haha. They even made friends with her two dachshunds.
  
  We are now dividing their x-pen with those wire cube shelving panels and and alternating them on both sides. I’m not sure what else to do! I would try stressing them, but this all started after a 12 hour car ride and staying in a hotel. Plus our apartment and everything in it was neutral territory from the beginning. I have them separated in their pen right now and they’re both trying to bust through and get to the other one… I don’t get it. Help us please!!
- 01/12/2016 at 10:28 PM
  Kokaneeandkahlua
  Participant
  12067 posts
  Welcome!
  
  I think they are stressed-I don’t think stressing would make it any better.
  
  Do you have the same setup as before you moved, or is it different?
  Do you have lots of room? Time and supplies to change setups? I would say, ideally (i.e. if you can) I would set them up in two separate rooms (rooms they will not be in eventually) and let them settle and relax and adjust to the new home completely separate, for several weeks. Then start bonding sessions as if they are new to each other, and move up to housing them together-not in either one of the temp homes you set up-but in a new home.
  
  Keeping them together when they are aggressive, even if they aren’t hurting each other, is making them associate negative things with each other and will make rebonding harder. I’d separate and let them chill, then start over.
- 01/13/2016 at 7:22 AM
  Loren Benton
  Participant
  2 posts
  Thanks for replying! We used to have them in a large cube shelving cage with an X-pen attached for extra room. Now it’s just the X-pen, but we do have plans to put the old set up in our living room. But for now I will try setting up two separate areas. Do you think it would be okay to let them out for exercise in the same room, but at separate times? We live in basically a glorified studio apartment (there is an L shaped wall separating the bedroom from the living area.)
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