Bonded bunnies humping

[Howens]

I have 2 rabbits they bonded well and have been bonded for around 5 months with no problems. When they first bonded Barry would hump Sally but this stopped pretty quickly.

Over the past 2 days I noticed Barry humping Sally again but she was just taking it as usual. Now Barry is humping her to the point she is getting annoyed and making noises trying to get away, ive also noticed Sally’s hair in the cage and it seems Barry is biting her while he is trying to hump her

I try to stop it when I can see Sally is getting annoyed and they will lie next to each other for a while and then Barry will do it again.

I don’t know what to do to stop them as they also circle each other when Sally has had enough. Are they no longer Bonded? Do I need to separate them?

I want to make sure they are okay abs nothing happens while I’m asleep on a night.

nothing has changed recently apart from I am home all the time due to isolating

please can someone help me to make sure there both okay and happy

 

[Madelyn L.]

Are they both fixed? If they aren’t then your rabbit(s) could be feeling horomonal. If they are both not fixed then sally could get pregnant.

 

[Howens]

Yes there both fixed

 

[Madelyn L.]

Well... I don’t really know... I’ll look into it though

 

[JBun]

A possible cause is environmental stressors. If they are outdoors, it could be something like a sudden change of weather setting the behavior off. Or possibly another animal coming around their enclosure, like a predator or even something like a wild rabbit.

Then there are possible health issues that can set off unusual and sudden changes of behavior like this. If something is making a rabbit feel unwell, it can sometimes cause them to act in unexpected ways as they try and find a way to feel better. Possible adrenal problems can also cause unusual hormonal behavior in already altered rabbits, in which case sometimes medication can help control this.

https://rabbit.org/sex-hormones-in-altered-rabbits/
https://rabbit.org/sexy-bunnies/
So I would suggest looking at these possibilities. If you can rule out something in their environment triggering the behavior and it doesn't calm down anytime soon, it might mean a trip to the vet for a general exam and blood test is in order.

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-...abbit-friendly-vets/rabbit-friendly-vet-list/
You are going to need to be careful about whether or not to separate at this point. Circling is usually the precursor to a possible fight breaking out. If his excessive behavior continues, she could get frustrated to the point of lashing out and biting him. If he backs off then it could be ok, but if he doesn't and goes after her, it could mean a full out fight and their bond breaking.

 

[Zeruca]

I have 2 rabbits they bonded well and have been bonded for around 5 months with no problems. When they first bonded Barry would hump Sally but this stopped pretty quickly.

Over the past 2 days I noticed Barry humping Sally again but she was just taking it as usual. Now Barry is humping her to the point she is getting annoyed and making noises trying to get away, ive also noticed Sally’s hair in the cage and it seems Barry is biting her while he is trying to hump her

I try to stop it when I can see Sally is getting annoyed and they will lie next to each other for a while and then Barry will do it again.

I don’t know what to do to stop them as they also circle each other when Sally has had enough. Are they no longer Bonded? Do I need to separate them?

I want to make sure they are okay abs nothing happens while I’m asleep on a night.

nothing has changed recently apart from I am home all the time due to isolating

please can someone help me to make sure there both okay and happy

I actually had a similar problem with my two Brownie (girl) and Oreo (boy).
Oreo is much smaller due to age and being a dwarf but would follow Brownie around humping her. Brownie would usually just ignore him and eat/drink water but after a while would get annoyed. When she got annoyed Brownie would run around the cage to try to lose Oreo or kick her back legs to let him know to back off.
After a while whenever Oreo would try to hump Brownie she would start making a honking noise and back into a corner. Whenever this happened I would separate them by holding Brownie and she would stop within seconds.

Long story short she got pregnant and after them being separated for about two weeks the humping has completely stopped.

From your response I can see yours are fixed so they can't have babies but they may still be trying to off of instinct.

Obviously just a guess based on my experience.

 

[JBun]

I actually had a similar problem with my two Brownie (girl) and Oreo (boy).
Oreo is much smaller due to age and being a dwarf but would follow Brownie around humping her. Brownie would usually just ignore him and eat/drink water but after a while would get annoyed. When she got annoyed Brownie would run around the cage to try to lose Oreo or kick her back legs to let him know to back off.
After a while whenever Oreo would try to hump Brownie she would start making a honking noise and back into a corner. Whenever this happened I would separate them by holding Brownie and she would stop within seconds.

Long story short she got pregnant and after them being separated for about two weeks the humping has completely stopped.

From your response I can see yours are fixed so they can't have babies but they may still be trying to off of instinct.

Obviously just a guess based on my experience.

It's not the same thing with fixed rabbits. Unaltered male/female rabbits do it because of hormones driving them. Altered rabbits don't have these hormones affecting their behavior in this way because their sex organs are no longer present to produce the hormones that cause this excessive hormonal behavior. When this type of excessive 'hormonal' behavior happens in altered rabbits, the cause of it is going to be completely different and is usually going to be attributed to the causes I listed in my previous post.

 

[john.thorpe1952]

While all the comments regarding potential
illness,hormone imbalances,weather triggers etc, are probably absolutely correct,i can only comment by my experience with my pair of rabbits at present,and others I have had.All have been neutered,thankfully without problems,and all very closely bonded and affectionate.I've seen the circling display by the buck on many occasions,sometimes follwed by mating,sometimes not,but never with any aggression from either partner.My observations have been that it simply a show of affection and love,and obviously if it became aggressive or the female was upset by it I would intervene,but otherwise don't worry too much.they are all individuals and as long as it's friendly and not oppressive let them alone.