Female ‘spraying’ male

[FlemishLionhead]

Spay/Neuter
Female Flemish Giant (Peanut) is spayed, male Lionhead (Rocky) is not neutered
Spayed at 6 months old (14 months ago)
We acquired Rocky from my daughter’s friend who didn’t have time for him. I wasn’t aware that he wasn’t neutered until after we took him in. The friend keeps saying she will come take him to get neutered, but then keeps making excuses. I will probably just have to take him myself.

Housing
Both have pens set up next to each other, but they are often roaming free. I typically let Peanut roam more than Rocky because he seems to stress her out when they’re both out.

Bonding background

They were initally introduced in a neutral space to see if they would get along before taking Rocky home with us. They both seemed calm but shy. After that, they were in separate pens and only roaming one at a time so they could interact between the cage, or if they were both out it would be supervised. They had time in each other cages as well. They’ve never shown any signs of aggression or fighting. We’ve had Peanut for 19 months and we just got Rocky 2 months ago. But they are both about the same age (will be 2 yrs old this winter). They have time to interact every day. I leave them in their pens while I’m at work but then I let them both out in the evenings. I will let Peanut out first so she can have a little free time before he comes out.

 

Peanut is a gentle giant, and she loves being scratched and petted. Rocky is mostly sweet but he nips sometimes and he has way more energy than Peanut. The issue is that every single time I let Peanut out, she immediately runs over to Rocky’s cage and pees and poops on the floor next to his cage. She’s been completely litter box trained for over a year so this is new behavior. She will rub her chin on his cage and seem interested in him and even lay down next to his cage. Then when I let Rocky out, ALL he wants to do is mount Peanut. It’s nonstop. He mounts her and she runs off, he chases her, mounts her again, she runs off. I feel like she doesn’t get any peace because he’s constantly on her. He will never run off and do his own thing, he wants to go wherever Peanut goes. So we really have 2 issues here. 1 is that she’s going potty next to his cage and 2 is that he won’t stop mounting her. I am trying to get him neutered ASAP, but I’m worried that this won’t fix the problem now that he’s almost 2 years old. Does anyone know if all of this is just because of his horomones and not being neutered? Or am I supposed to be doing something differently with them? What is the reason for her going potty next to his cage all the time?

[DanaNM]

This totally due to his hormones and the fact that they aren’t bonded yet. Things should get better once he is neutered and his hormones have settled, and then even better once they are fully bonded. It is very very difficult for a stable bond to form when one rabbit is not castrated, so for now I would completely stop having them interact. Living side by side is fine though. Once he has a few weeks post-neuter for his hormones to calm down, you can work on bonding them, but all interactions should be in a neutral space, so an area where neither rabbit has been (preferably out of smelling range of their home territories too).

. . . 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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