Lady Bun Humping

[Snickerdoodle & Oreo]

I have a very silly Holland Lop girl named Snickerdoodle. She’s so curious and smart, and such a wild child. 

We adopted her from a rescue last December and noticed that she likes to hump other bunnies. They told us at the House Rabbit Society that most Holland Lops like to do this – spayed or not. It’s a way to show their dominance. (?)

I tested it out by buying a small pillow that’s about the size of a regular bunny and she loves it. She snuggles up to it and sleeps with it and yes, humps it… to death! Just curious if I’m doing the right thing by encouraging her bond with this little pillow or if I should stop it. She is currently in the process of being bonded with another bunny as well. So this felt like a good sign for me, because it seemed she liked the companionship.

I may be totally wrong but that’s why I’m here!

[Asriel and Bombur]

That is so not true about Holland lops. Has she been spayed? It sounds like maybe they missed something and didn’t fully spay her. I have two Hollands and neither of them are excessive humpers. I think it’s worth taking her to a vet to make sure she is indeed completely spayed. If not she’ll still be acting on all those hormonal instincts. The excessive humping could honestly even start stressing out the bun you’re trying to bond her with, which can cause fights.

[Snickerdoodle & Oreo]

We were told that she is spayed and our vet refused to check.

So the back story on that is… Shelly is the owner of the rescue we adopted her from and she works at the vet office that we take Snickerdoodle to. So the vet just said, “She’s one of Shelly’s? Then, she’s spayed.” There was no way to argue against it without calling out Shelly and ruining her reputation.

I’ll have to find a different vet that is willing to check her and see if she truly is spayed or not. But it seems like, all of the information that I’m getting from the House Rabbit Society is wrong. Every time I comment on it in this forum, I’m told it’s not true. So I’m not sure who to believe anymore!

[Bunny House]

I agree with A&B. A vet I took one of my buns to, went in and said she had no female parts(weird) so I take her to a different vet a year later after all her surgeries and a CT confirmed she was fully intact so she went in for a spay. I know that sadly many vet will do a spay and only take out on ovary and they know that they are doing it(don’t ask me how I know) so its possible she still may have an ovary in her.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Like in general it’s just silly to attribute breed characteristics. Every bunny is incredibly unique. Hollands are labelled as quite docile and friendly/cuddly. One of my boys is basically an old golden retriever and just always wants love and attention and could chill for ours. My other boy is very independent and would rather explore on his own and is pretty rowdy when he has the space to be. So it’s pure crud to say this certain breed of bunny humps a lot, because it just isn’t true. Yes some buns can hump a bit when the bonding first starts, but it really does dissipate after a while.

I’d really cease all bonding activities until you can confirm she’s spayed. Because by reading your bonding thread it seems like your other girl is aggressive towards her? or is this one your aggressive one? Either way, a lot of that really can be attributed to not being properly spayed.

[Snickerdoodle & Oreo]

Whoa, seriously? That is so weird! Then, that might be the case…

Don’t get me wrong – I have always held doubts that she wasn’t spayed but again, there was such blind faith in the owner of the rescue shelter that I felt bad if I questioned it. My vet sure didn’t! We’ve taken her multiple times with various issues, but they never once thought she wasn’t spayed. On the other hand, I always thought they never did enough for my bunnies each time I brought them in.

I think it’s time to look for a new vet! Haha.

[Asriel and Bombur]

Like yes girls in general during bonding are usually tough because they’re naturally more territorial than boys. But the humping and what seems like excess aggression just points to the not spayed. Fixed bunnies can feed off the hormones of unfixed bunnies. Which is why it would just be spread around almost.

Good luck finding a new vet!

[Snickerdoodle & Oreo]

Snickerdoodle was originally our aggressive, territorial bun. Since then, she’s calmed down and agreed to share her space with our other bunny, Oreo. But now, Oreo has become aggressive towards her instead. We were thinking that she still remembers the times that Snickerdoodle was mean, so she’s holding a grudge.

But as far as the information I’m receiving, I know that there is a definite bunny community where I live and these people are regarded as experts in this community. They’ve worked with bunnies all their lives. So when approached by them, I can’t help but listen to their advice, since this is my first bunny experience as an adult. I don’t know what I’m doing and I acknowledge that – that’s why I come here.

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