Very loud grunting from female rabbit?

[SarahGail]

I’m very new to owning rabbits. I bought a Holland Lop bunny from a breeder and she was very antisocial and inactive, even when I let her out to roam around the house. So, I figured she needed another rabbit as a playmate, and I adopted a Mini Rex male rabbit who is very playful and got him neutered. After a while, they liked each other enough to share a cage. Even though he’s neutered, the male (Cadberry) still humps the female (Bonnie). They got along well and Bonnie was a lot more active for a while.

However, now when Cadberry goes to play with or hump her, Bonnie grunts and honks very loudly and runs around the cage. He follows, not intimidated at all, and if she keeps running, he thumps. I read that all of these are a sign of aggression or annoyance, so I’m worried. The other odd part is that when I sit down to watch them and make sure they aren’t fighting, they stop after a bit and lay on their sides together like everything is just hunky-dory.

I dunno, like I said, I’m VERY new to rabbit care, and I’m scared they’ll stress themselves out. Thanks for any input.

[skysblue]

how old are your rabbits? is Bonnie spayed? and how long has Cadberry been neutered? it takes atleast a month to really have the hormones to go away.
Is hard to bond a pair. A better chance if they are done at a very young age (though still not guaranteed).

[Bam]

If Bonnie isn’t spayed I think that’s the reason. They enter into the relationship with different expectations, so to speak. She wants a family, he can’t comply.
That said, spayed girl bunnies can grunt. Our member MoxieMeadows has a spayed bunny girl (Moxie) who’s been known to grunt.

[Deleted User]

i wonder why

[Love4Bunny]

My rabbit is neutered and he grunts often: when he hears food being dispensed, when he’s annoyed, when he wants attention, when he’s impatient for treats. Grunts don’t always mean aggression or anger, but I agree with Bam about bunnies having different expectations and desexing the rabbits.

I’m learning that bunnies can be pals one minute, and jealous and vengeful the next. You just have to figure out the triggers (even seemingly insignificant things), and create distractions or make adjustments, whether it means medical, or changing cage set-up, etc. Just keep trying different things.

It’s good that you’re so observant and that you’re researching a lot, because you learn so much from other people’s experiences. I had to change my expectations a bit. The most important thing I learnt is that not all bunnies will have a snuggly relationship but as long as they don’t fight, it’s a good thing.

Also, grooming each rabbit individually in a comfortable space has helped me bond and build trust with my kid’s, reducing stress. When Thor gets annoyed with Crysta, she will sometimes run to be next to me, and this started after I groomed her on a towel on the washing machine. Thor hates being picked up, so I groom him on the floor most of the time. Little adjustments like that will make your life so much easier than trying to do things the way you see people do it on YouTube, etc.

Good luck with Cadbury and Bonnie.

[Author]

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