Stop girl bunnies humping faces?

[Bambam]

 Pebbles and Flin are both under a year old and are both girls. Flin loves to hump pebbles face and last night Pebbles bit Flin’s vagina and its very red and swollen (seen a vet already)

How do I get Flin to stop humping her sisters face?

[MoveDiagonally]

Are your bunnies spayed?

If they are not, it might be a good idea to separate them until they are spayed as head humping can lead to injuries.

EDITED to add: I just saw you other post where your bunny was already injured because of this. I would definitely separate them until they are spayed. You don’t want to risk continued or repeated injuries. Territorial/dominance/etc… behaviors are amplified when hormones are involved. After they are both spayed + 1 month for hormones to die down I would try bonding them (if that’s what you want). 

[Bambam]

Would it not be mean to separate them if they have been living together for 8 months? They get on well apart from the incident last night. Also don’t know how I would separate them as they both live in my bedroom and my flat mates aren’t their biggest fans so I can’t take one out my room

[MoveDiagonally]

Honestly, I can’t tell you whether or not it will be mean to separate them. They may not like being separated but the issue at hand really doesn’t leave you with many options. Keeping them together risks further or repeated injury. The humping is likely due to hormones which increases a bunny’s territorial/dominance behaviors. The only possible solution is spaying.

While some rabbits can stay together while they recover from spays I would NOT recommend this for you rabbits. With the head/humping biting behavior + a fresh spay incision it could easily equal ripped out stitches.

I just don’t see a way around separating them.

[Beka27]

I thought your girls were already spayed… I must be thinking of a different member.

Unfortunately, I have to agree with the others. It isn’t safe for them if they are humping the “wrong” direction. If they are biting each others’ genitals, this can lead to infection, or if they become violent during this, the injury can be much worse, possibly requiring surgery to repair the area.

I understand your concern about whether or not it is “mean” to separate them. Sometimes as the thinking, reasoning “parent” in charge, you need to make decisions that “the children” don’t agree with… but it is done for their SAFETY. You will feel much, much worse if your hesitation to act results in one or both becoming badly injured.

What is your timeline for their spays?

Another thing to keep in mind is that certain behaviors can become ingrained in them prior to fixing, and they may continue to behave in that manner afterwards if you wait too long to fix. And if they continue to have less than ideal experiences around each other, this is likely to affect their bond after as well.

[Bambam]

i am planning on having them spayed in September, this is because there is no bunny savvy vet in my town that I feel comfortable with. However, when I go home (I am a university student) I can take them to a vet there.
Will I have to bond them all over again if I separate them now?
Can I just put one in the cage when I am not around and let the other run free in my room and give them supervised visits?

[Beka27]

You might have to bond them again, there’s really no way for us to know for sure. If you can cage one of them when you’re not around, that will be safer since they can interact through the cage but not hump. Maybe try separating them when you’re not home, and let them out together when you are home and in the room so you can intervene if necessary. To be fair, you could alternate who is caged and who is out each day. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than them injuring each other. You might be able to preserve the bond this way, but again… there’s no guarantee. It’s tough when you’re dealing with limited space, but it’s just temporary.

[Bambam]

OK I will do that, thanks so much for all the help

[Beka27]

You’re welcome!

When you do let them out together, if they are humping “the right way” (heads facing the same direction), that is okay as long as neither is becoming aggressive, and you shouldn’t need to stop them. That is an act of dominance. The only real danger is if it’s backwards.

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