Female humping and chasing brother – I’m feeling stressed!

[MrsHiggie]

Hi everyone.  I’m new to this group and I know this forum will be so useful!
My two sibling buns (dwarf lops) are just short of 16 weeks and we’ve had them since 8-9 weeks and they were fully bonded.  From 12 weeks we kept them apart, as advised but their run is split down the middle with chicken wire, they had cuddles on my lap and closely supervised playtime and Smudge has his snip last week.   About a 1-2 weeks before his snip, sister had started humping him, nudging and nipping him (and from the start she was the protective one of him and the more confident one.  Smudge is a abit more scaredy but loves a fuss and cuddle from us.).  I kept a close eye on it but its got worse.   When I let them come onto the patio (the run and hutch are still split as the vet advised another two weeks for them to be apart) she literally hounds, chases him and mounts him and even seems to sort of nip his neck to try and hold him in place.  I try and leave them to it to see if she ‘gets it out of her system’ but she’s relentless and I’m worried she’ll hurt her brother!   I know her hormones are flaring up around now but its really stressing me out.  Will this behaviour calm down? is it frustration at being separated or simply hormones/teritorial?  Is this something that will calm down once she is spayed? I’d be so so gutted if they lost their bond.  Any advice gratefully received.  I’ve ordered extra tunnels and tubes to keep them distracted while they have time together….sorry this is long!!!

 

[DanaNM]

Hi there,

Sorry you are dealing with this. 🙁 Babies get along fine, but do not truly bond, so all of the behaviors you are seeing are hormonal based and due to puberty etc. Once your girl is spayed and her hormones have settled you can work on bonding them. For now, keep them completely separate (no play time together), but they can live side by side as neighbors. Any squabbles or fights will make it harder to bond them in the future, so it’s best to just let them calm down as their hormones drain.

. . . 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.  

[MrsHiggie]

Thanks so so much for your reply.  Its stressing me out so much!  I have the run split down the middle with chicken wire so they can sniff and see one another and they spend a large chunk of the day in there.   Sometimes they lie next to each other down the side of the chicken wire.  I bring them onto my lap for a cuddle next to each other…..my lovely local vet let me have him castrated despite it being a routine procedure during lockdown.  I’ll speak to her and see what she says about having her spayed…

Do you think there is a good chance of them re-bonding, once hormones settle etc if I continue to let them see and smell one another?  I have a load of new toys/tubes/houses arrive today and I was going to put them in a large, safe area for them to play in, very closely supervised to see if that helps.  I wouldn;t dream of doing this unsupervised though…x

 

 

 

[MrsHiggie]

but its also good to know this is all very normal.  But gosh, she really does sort of pin him down poor Smudge!

[DanaNM]

Hi there,

Glad you have them separated. Do make sure they cannot nip each other through the fence, either by using a finer mesh or creating a buffer of a 4-6 inches with a double fence. Nipped noses can create negative feelings and grudges.

At their ages, it is possible that she may have gotten pregnant (they can sometimes do the deed through cage walls), but hopefully that’s not the case. Males can still have sperm in their system for a few weeks post-neuter, so be aware of that.

They really should not have any time together until she is spayed, her hormones have settled, and you are ready to start truly bonding them. Don’t worry about losing their bond, because they were never really bonded to begin with!

Her smell and attitude will keep changing as her hormones come in, and will change again once she is spayed. Any fights that occur will make it harder to bond them in the future, so it’s best to just keep them apart until she reaches her final form (Lol).

I think there is a very good chance you will be able to bond them once everyone’s hormones have settled. 🙂

. . . 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.  

[MrsHiggie]

Thank you.  I kept them separate from 11-12 weeks and they have both been to the vets, Smudge when he got neutered.   She is 16-17 weeks this weekend so I will speak to my vet about getting her spayed.

They don;t fight through the mesh, if anyting they have long nose sniffs and also lay side by side.

Does spaying change their personality?  I know it will settle her hormones but she is so gentle, cuddly and loving with me I hope that would stay….

 

[Hazel]

It won’t change her personality, technically. However, not all hormonally driven behaviors are “bad”. Being cuddly, loving or even clingy could be caused by hormones, or it could be part of a rabbit’s personality. There’s no way of knowing in advance. So yeah, she might lose some of what you consider positive personality traits, or she might not. My boy actually turned into quite the jerk after all of his lovey dovey feelings went away following the neuter. But, I realized that him being affectionate back then wasn’t “sincere” and simply caused by hormones. Don’t worry though, in most cases the results are mainly positive. 🙂

[DanaNM]

It seems like males have much bigger changes in behavior post-neuter? I’ve been around unneutered male buns that will not leave you alone because they are trying to mount your feet lol. The hormonal behaviors in females seem to be more territorial (even aggression) and marking, so I am guessing she will be fine. 🙂

. . . 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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