One very submissive bun

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BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

This topic has 4sd replies, 5 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 5 months ago by Vienna Blue in France.

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- 10/03/2016 at 12:19 AM
  Erin
  Participant
  9 posts
  So I’m in the very early stages of bonding my neutered male with a spayed female. My male seems to be very confident. – lot of mounting which I’ve started to interrupt because the female doesn’t seem to be a fan of this behavior. He seems to be controlling the interactions. He mounts her for a while, will explore the (neutral) territory, and lounges comfortably near the female. However, when he mounts her, she typically flattens herself out and doesn’t move. He will approach and sniff her and even put his head under her chest to be groomed, but she’s not moving around unless he’s in his relaxed lounging position. While he’s relaxed, she’ll move around a little bit, munch on some hay, /’d slowly begin to approach him and sniff him from behind. I think she may be considering mounting him when she does this but as soon as he notices her back there, he jumps up, mounts her, and she goes still again for a bit.
  So my question is, is the female a bit too distressed? Should I separate them for a bit so she can gain some confidence, or keep em together until she decides to fight back a little? Because, gauging from her reaction to his advances, it seems inevitable that she’ll eventually snap at him. So how should I proceed? There’s been no aggression yet, but I sense tensions building. Is it better to separate them when the female seems to get a bit agitated or should I let them sort it out a bit? Under my careful supervision, of course.
- 10/03/2016 at 12:27 AM
  LongEaredLions
  Participant
  4482 posts
  I experienced this in bonding my current two. My male is very submissive while my female is very dominant.
  In every bunny bonding, they have to create a hierarchy. From what I’m getting from your post, it seems your male is very set on dominance, while your female isn’t-that is ok. I would keep doing the bonding sessions and let them work things out, it sounds like everything is going very well with the lack of aggression.
  Some nerves are to be expected from both bunnies during bonding, which actually can help them get along.
- 10/03/2016 at 12:57 AM
  Mikey
  Participant
  3186 posts
  Flattening can be a sign of stress as well, so you will want to watch that. Pull your male off her after a few seconds then set him next to her and pet them both. You might have to do this multiple times before he gets the idea that he doesnt have to keep mounting her. Keep going with the sessions, but try to help your female feel as comfortable as possible. Its unlikely she will start a fight as she is very submissive indeed, but should she try to mount him, it sounds like he would have no problem starting a scuffle so it should be watched. Otherwise, nips, mounting for a few seconds, and head pushing for grooming are all acceptable
- 10/03/2016 at 1:27 AM
  Love4Bunny
  Participant
  878 posts
  Yes, I have also experienced this. I agree with Mikey that it is unlikely that she will start a fight, but there are always exceptions. It sounds like you have a good handle on the situation and are prepared, so I wouldn’t stop bonding. It’s not like she is narky with him or anything. It’s likely just a waiting game to see when she submits. The sooner the bunnies can figure that out, the better. I, personally, chose to groom both their heads and ears to help calm them and mix their scents when my girl looked stressed (maybe I got too involved), but I don’t regret it because I think it helped in my case. I did keep a tennis shoe in my hand to separate when Thor’s humping was too much. I gently pried him off her. She would try to hump him, and he would just sit there like nothing was happening, so I knew that he wasn’t going to submit. Also, the shy ones can surprise you with their tenacity. That has also been my experience. They can get stressed but they can also be tougher than we think.
- 10/03/2016 at 6:48 AM
  Vienna Blue in France
  Participant
  5317 posts
  Oven gloves saved my 10 fingers and wrists last night And they are flexible enough to pick up, interact or remove bunnies if necessary.
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