Trial 2 of the bonding process, is this a positive sign?

[lizmass240]

I’ve had my boy rabbit Flopsy for 4 years (he is neutered), and I just got another boy, Moo, 2 weeks ago tomorrow. I have put them together once before to bond, and they sat nicely with each other for awhile, with Moo grooming Flopsy. Then, they began to circle each other and each trie dto hump the other, a lot. I eventually separated them after petting them together. 

This morning I saw Moo grooming Flopsy through the bars, so I put them together again in the bathtub tonight. Moo wasn’t really interested in humping, as his hormones have gone down a lot since being neutered 3 weeks ago. But Flopsy was humping Moo constantly.  Moo was lukewarm about it, but then began grunting and thumping because Flopsy kept humping him. Sometimes they had periods where they would groom themselves in front of each other or just sit next to each other quietly, but then Flopsy would start to buzz and hump Moo. Eventually I separated them for the night when Moo became more and more frustrated.

Is this progression? I was really excited when I woke up and the first thing I saw was Moo licking Flopsy. I just really want them to be friends! And can anyone give me advice moving forward? 

[LBJ10]

It may be a bit early if Moo was neutered only 3 weeks ago. The presence of hormones can set the other rabbit off, even if they are neutered (the adrenal glands can produce testosterone).

That being said, some humping is a normal part of the bonding process. They do it to establish dominance. Allowing them to “hump things out” is usually the best way to go, unless the humpee is getting too stressed or annoyed. You don’t want it to cause any fights. One technique people have used is providing a surrogate. This is usually a stuffed animal. When one bunny starts humping the other, allow them to do it for a few seconds. Then redirect them to the stuffed animal.

Maybe let them rest for another week and then try again? If the humping is still an issue, then you can see if a surrogate helps.

[Sirius&Luna]

It sounds like you’re moving pretty quickly, if you only got Moo two weeks ago. I would advise spending a month prebonding them, where you swap them between hutches to get them used to each others scents, and reduce territoriality. Then you can introduce them in the neutral area, and hopefully they’ll be calmer.

For future reference, if one bun keeps humping the other and the other bun finds it distressing, you should intervene after a few seconds.

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