Neutered male just won’t quit humping bond-mate

[HitchcockDT]

I have a bonded pair that are both fixed, and they have been living together without problem for almost a year now. I’ve never had any problems with Tolkien (the male) humping Diggy (the female) excessively before, but within the last week Tolkien has been attempting to mount Diggy again and again. She wants nothing to do with him and leaps out of reach. I can tell she’s becoming more and more frustrated with him. I hope it doesn’t escalate into violence, but I don’t know where it’s coming from or what to do about it? Should I separate them? Has anyone else had to deal with this? Do you know what might be causing Tolkien to turn into a humping monster all of a sudden?

Thanks for the help!

[Hopper]

I have no experience with this but I offer you best of luck and my post will bump yours up.

[LBJ10]

Humping is a normal part of all bunny relationships. They hump for dominance, so perhaps Tolkien is suddenly feeling insecure about where he stands in the relationship. This can be brought on by a number of things. A change in routine, people who are in the house, changes to the environment, a new baby or pet, etc. are all things that might be upsetting. They simply get it in their little bunny brains that they need to reassert their dominance and “control” of the environment. Sometimes this manifests as humping. Hopefully that helps.

As for what to do, I would let them work things out on their own as much as possible. If they aren’t hurt each other, then there is not need to intervene. If one bunny is visibly upset and you’re worried it will escalate, you can allow the humping for a few seconds and then redirect them to a soft toy.

[HitchcockDT]

Thanks for the advice! That makes sense, and it’s probably related to the fact that I’m trying bond my does. There’s been some rearranging and Diggy keeps disappearing for bonding sessions. There just seemed to be a bit of a lag between when I started working on bonding and him turning into Humpy McHumperson, so I didn’t make the connection, but the more I think about it, the more sense it makes. Hopefully he’ll calm down soon and their relationship will go back to normal.

[LBJ10]

Sometimes they get stressed but it takes awhile for it to manifest as something. It’s as if the stress builds and then it boils over or something. I can see how some intense bonding could get him worked off, even if he isn’t directly involved in all the tension.

[Gina.Jenny]

Pippi and Rusty were both neutered around two years ago, and both started humping each other this time last year. I put it down to the days getting longer and brighter, signalling their brains that its springtime aka lets-make-kits-time to a bunny.

Pipp and Gina have both recently had the odd amorous moment recently, which I’m putting down to spring. Both started before we got Podge, so its not the new bunny that caused it.

Pippi also got amorous with both girls during the first of yesterdays long quartet bonding sessions, which triggered off a brief hair fog

If Diggy is having bonding sessions with another doe, she will come back smelling quite different. If you are planning up bonding them as a trio, it might be worth trying them as a trio during the bonding sessions? I tried bonding my two girls, so they could end up a trio, but the hair flew when I bought Pippi into the mix, as Jenny just would not share him. I ended up getting a second boy, bonding him with Gina, and am now working on bonding them as a foursome, which is going way better than trying to bond the three!

[flemishwhite]

It seems to me that I have read where female rabbits will also hump other rabbits, either male or female.  I’ve been lead to think that it’s a sign of either friendliness or aggression.  I’m not enough of an expert on bunny thinking to decide which it is! 

[HitchcockDT]

Tolkien seems to turn into Humpy McHumperson in waves. He cooled off for a bit, but now he’s back to chasing Diggy around our living room. Maybe it’s a combination of upheaval of his routine and that it’s Spring. Diggy seems to be handling it okay, so I’ve just been letting it play itself out. Diggy has been showing off her acrobatics, though. To get away from Tolkien she’s been using binky-like jumps. It’s kind of amusing.

Posted By Gina.Jenny on 4/03/2016 2:19 AM

If Diggy is having bonding sessions with another doe, she will come back smelling quite different. If you are planning up bonding them as a trio, it might be worth trying them as a trio during the bonding sessions?

I’ve tried to some degree to have all three intermingling but Diggy seems to either attack Hitchy or Tolkien. At one point Tolkien ended up with a nice gash on his ear from Diggy. Diggy seems to hate Hitchy and when Hitchy comes into the picture, Diggy will take out her aggression on whoever happens to be nearby. I’m hoping I can get Diggy less aggressive around Hitchy before we work on any three-way bonding.

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