Bonding with excessive mounting

[KatieBonnieandHarry]

My female, Bonnie, lost her mate almost 2 months ago and has been very quiet and reserved ever since. On the advice of my vet, I have adopted another rabbit. He is a 6 month old male who was neutered 3 weeks ago. After one week, I moved their hutches so they could see each other and over the last two weeks I’ve moved them closer so they can almost touch.

They had begun to ignore each other in their runs and were just getting on with thee own bunny lives so, yesterday, I introduced them for the first time.

I used a neutral space where the rabbits had space to move away from each other and also had two large food piles to try and distract them. The new male, Harry, continuously mounted the female, Bonnie. She showed no aggression and instead flattened herself against the floor and let him continuously mount. This didn’t stop him so eventually I split them up as I could see she was becoming distressed. Again, once in their own runs they were happy to spend time laid next to the bad tkgehter and to eat close to the bars.

Today, I let them meet again. Again, Harry mounted and Bonnie just laid still. Finally, he decided he wanted to explore and look round. Every time he moved away from Bonnie, she tried to stand up and move. As soon as Harry realised she was moving, he mounted again then walked away again. This continued for about 10 minutes.

They are currently back in their hutches and I’d just like some advice on their next meeting.

Firstly, is this normal? I’m worried about my female being so submissive!
Secondly, is there anything I can do to stop Harry being so dominant? At the minute, the female can’t even move without being mounted.

There’s plenty of space for them to live seperately but I think Bonnie would benefit from the company if I can just convince Harry to behave a bit more gentlemanly.

Thanks for any advice.

[DanaNM]

I think he needs more time for his hormones to settle after his neuter, it can take up to 6 weeks.

It does sound positive that they didn’t fight though, and mounting in itself is not necessarily bad. It is also quite normal for there to be a lot of mounting in the early dates, so don’t worry too much just yet. Having one bun being submissive is not a bad thing, and usually means the bonding process will be a bit easier. That said, he still sounds a bit frisky! And if she is distressed, then that’s not great.

Also, have you been doing cage swaps during pre-bonding? I would hold off on dates for a few more weeks (maybe 3 or so), and start swapping their cages every day or so. Let him get really really used to her scent, so that way he won’t go so crazy when they actually interact.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[KatieBonnieandHarry]

Thank you. I’ll leave it a few more weeks for his hormones to settle down more.

Are they still okay living close in the garden? They can’t touch but they can see each other.

We have been hutch swapping them and swapping toys but Harry is much bigger than Bonnie and can use the ledge of her run to escape! Will have to re-think her setup so we can keep swapping them.

[DanaNM]

Living near each other is good. Is swapping hutches isn’t practical you can swap litter trays, food bowls, toys, etc.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

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