Concerned about one rabbit’s constant humping of my other rabbit

[bumpleshnuggins]

Hello all,

FWIW, I searched thoroughly and found similar topics, but nothing this specific. Apologies if this is a duplicate question, or if I should have posted it somewhere else.

I’m very familiar with rabbit ownership, and although I’ve never had a pair to call my own, I’ve had years of experience caring for other bunnies. Last month, I received two of my own when a friend who fosters animals informed me she had one that she needed to re-home. Bumpleshnuggins is half American Lop, half Lionhead, and completely adorable. She seemed lonely, and I had been informed of an unethical breeder down the road, so I went to him and purchased Alfred. We couldn’t figure out what breed Alfred is, but he’s much larger and much more shy. I’m frustrated with myself for supporting this breeder, but Alfred was clearly sick, scared, and sad… and I wanted to get him out of there. No one had taken him home yet because he was grumpy and sad.

Alfred is nearly 2 years old, while Bumples is only about 9 months. They were very scared at first, but quickly adjusted to me and became familiar with their new home. I got them fixed a couple of days later from a very qualified vet. Once they had recovered from surgery, I started to introduce them. First, I put their respective pens beside each other. Once they started to boop noses and sleep next to each other through the pens, I then supervised them while letting them in the same pen. They constantly wanted to snuggle, and seemed bummed out when I separated them.

After speaking with the vet, she decided that it was safe to put them in the same pen for longer periods of time. I knew they would hump each other, both from reading and from past experience with bonded rabbits. However, I didn’t expect Awwfred to hump Bumples so much… it’s starting to worry me because he does it 30-50 times per hour. He spent nearly 2 years living in filth and mating almost constantly. He wasn’t allowed to stay with other rabbits after mating with them, so he never developed an attachment to another rabbit as far as I know.

This behavior concerns me. Several times per hour, he goes from lying down and snuggling with Bumples to humping her for minutes. He doesn’t even mount her correctly–he mostly humps her face. When she gets annoyed, she’ll slip away from him, and he doesn’t chase her for very long. I know they like each other; ever since they’ve been introduced, they’ve started displaying signs of happiness (they binky all the time). The vet believes they’re happy around each other as well. What she isn’t certain of–and what I can’t find on the internet–is whether or not Awwfred will be able to get over this behavior of constant humping. It’s also worrying me because I don’t want Awwfred to frustrate Bumples and mess up their bonding.

Is there anything I can do to help him move on from this behavior? Should I be worried about either of them? If humping 30+ times per hour isn’t normal, could this habit have come from Alfred’s past? Will it damage their bond if he doesn’t stop?

Sorry for the long post.

TL;DR: I received two new rabbits, and one came from a very unethical breeder. They are bonding but he wants to hump her all the time, and I want to know if this is to be expected given that he has been used as a breeding rabbit for 2 years.

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome

How long have they been fixed? I have heard that when buns are neutered later in life, they can take longer for hormonal behaviors to die down. Females can also have hormonal surges several weeks after spaying, that might be triggering this?

That said, are they living together 24/7? And did he hump a lot during the bonding process?

If they are already living together 24/7, and you see lots of good signs (grooming each other, snuggling, sharing food and litter box comfortably), and the humping isn’t leading to any scuffles, then it might just be a normal part of their relationship.

If they aren’t completely bonded yet, then I would expect this will die down once they are cemented. Nutmeg recently bonded her two, and the humping didn’t really stop until she started marathon bonding them. Here’s her bonding journal, it might be helpful to you : https://binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/aft/168826/Default.aspx

. . . 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.  

[bumpleshnuggins]

They were fixed about a few weeks ago now, almost a month ago. During the bonding, they jumped each other quite a lot, but Bumples eventually stopped. After several days, it was only Alfred who was doing the humping.

They’re now living together 24/7, and show constant signs of happiness. They bonded in under a week, and now seen inseparable. The vet told me they bonded quickly, especially given that it was after surgery.

They share a litter box, food, water, and favorite resting places. They groom each other and play with the same toys. They are acting very loving towards each other, but Alfred’s humping is nonstop and that’s what worries me. I don’t want there to be some sort of random hormonal development or a problem due to this behavior that damages their bond.

I measured it today, and it took place about 35 times per hour. Bumples did thump, and Alfred stopped once she did… only to resume 4 minutes later. They do spend all of their other free time cuddled up and grooming each other. The hours that they use to nap are spent cuddled up very snugly.

I’m reading the bonding journal! Thanks so much for the reply. It’s relieving to know that it may be a normal part of their dynamic, or hormonal behavior that may change.

[Nutmeg]

Hey – OMG did my two hump… Rupert (my boy) eventually stopped and Penny (my girl) would not give it up.

The face humping is what concerned me the most, as I was worried that Rupert would get upset and bit her underside. But he never did.

DanaNM is right in that it did start to settle down once I started Marathon bonding – which it sounds like you skipped and went right in to 24/7 – so it sounds like this is your marathon bonding. Once I started Marathon bonding and had them out together for 8 hours or more it started to lesson to maybe 4 or 5 times in 8 hours – so not as much as your guy.

Bunnies can take a good 2 months for their hormones to fully adjust to being fixed.

It sounds like your girl is submitting – in that she isn’t trying to hump him or fight back when he humps her – so It could still be partially sexual and also partial learned behavior (every time another bunny was arround his only interaction with them was to hump them) and also needing to learn to fully trust her.

He may need to learn to “Speak” bunny, which comes with time.

Keep a good eye on them for any stress from your girl or any tension that could lead to fighting. You dont’ want to break all the progress by them fighting.

And I totally understand what you mean about feeling upset by supporting the horrible breeder – BUT You didn’t rescue him to support the breeder – you took him to help save him!!

[DanaNM]

Since they were only fixed about a month ago, and you are already calling them bonded, my sense is that there are still some hormonal behaviors playing out, and that they were definitely still hormonal during the bonding process. Females can take longer for hormones to settle, anywhere from 6 weeks to 3 months, and can have surges or hormones during that period. Males are less time, but still take several weeks.

So, since they seem to be happy otherwise, keep a close eye on things. I am guessing as time goes on it will settle down. It’s quite possible that Bumples (such a cute name, btw!) is going through a post-spay hormone surge that is triggering this.

And as Nutmeg said, keep an eye on her to make sure she isn’t too stressed. If it seems like she is getting worked up or upset over the humping, separate them and go back to bonding sessions until things calm down.

Also, and most importantly, trust your gut. If you don’t feel comfortable with the level of humping, separate them and go back to pre-bonding and bonding sessions. They won’t forget each other if they are side by side. You know them better than we do, so if you have any feeling that the humping is going to lead to a problem, no harm in letting them calm down a bit and taking a step back.

. . . 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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