Morning and evening grunting

[C.King]

Hi all,

I’ve recently been bonding my male and female bunnies and they’re doing really well, I can leave them together overnight and when they’re in their playpen (it’s a playpen for now until they’re fully bonded and they can have full run of the living room) there is no aggression or mounting just lots of mirroring, grooming and flopping which is such good news as it took a while to get there!

My question is why does my male bunny grunt/honk and chase my female when they’re put back in their cage in the evening and do it again when they’ve woken up in the morning?! I know they’re most active at these times but in the evenings we keep them out in their playpen until we go to bed, so for most of the evening. It’s only when we put them to bed in the evening that he starts grunting and chasing. Is it purely a dominance thing? Because they’re not fully bonded yet I’ve been sleeping downstairs with them and they’re perfectly fine overnight. It gets to about 6am and he’s back to chasing her and grunting. It’s only for about 5 minutes and he stops but I just want to know that this is normal and just a dominance thing?!

[OnyxMoon]

Hmm.  

I would say this is him being territorial in the cage, because he views it as his space. Since they aren’t fully bonded, this could be why. 

Was this his cage before you started bonding them? This could be why he feels territorial in there. After he grunts/honks and chases her, he could feel like she understands this is his space and she is not welcome. Then when he feels she isn’t a threat anymore, he stops.

He could also be doing this at bedtime and waking-up-time because its when he has the most energy, like you said. He wouldn’t be displaying these action’s in the playpen because its their collective territory. 

You could try neutralizing the cage, which could stop his territorial behavior. Take the cage outside or in another room, spray down with a vinegar and water solution. Let it sit for a few minutes, then rinse very well with water. Dry it, and then repeat for the litter box if they use one. 

This will get rid of scents and make the cage neutral territory to both bunnies.  Let us know if these tips have helped, or if the behaviors continue! If he starts doing anything else, please note as well! 

[sarahthegemini]

Why are you putting them in the same cage when they’re not bonded? 

[OnyxMoon]

Thats true, didnt even think about that point! 

[C.King]

The only reason I’m saying that they’re not fully bonded is because I’m trialing them in different areas of the living room in the play pen so they neutralise to it all so when they have full run of it then there’s no dominance issue!
I’m happy with the bond otherwise and they’re very content with each other, this is just the last hurdle!

I’ve neutralised the cage this morning and they definitely noticed so thanks for the advice. I shall see if it worked tomorrow morning!

[Author]

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