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agnesthelion

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HUMPING! Haha

No really, I know I ask a million questions and I'm sorry but I would love some opinions again.

Day 2 of bonding Agnes and Archie was much of the same. Archie attempting mating, Agnes taking it.

She does run from him and she hid between my legs to get away but no biting or fighting from either bun still.

So I browsed around online and this seems like a fairly common occurrence with bonding.

BUT.....there are two different solutions on how to handle.

1) let Archie hump for a few seconds to a minute to get SOME of his dominance/horniness taken care of but then break up the mount

OR

2) pretty much let him go at it as long as Agnes isn't so stressed beyond belief.

From what I understand the downfall of breaking it up is that it takes longer to bond and also hinder bonding in the sense that Agnes could get sick of this and build resentment towards Archie. Not always, but maybe.

On flip side, letting Archie just have his his way could make Agnes fight him back and then taint bonding PLUS I admit I feel mean just letting Agnes get manhandled by Archie :(

Soooooo, thoughts anyone? Thank you thank you for responding. You all have been the biggest help for me.
 
Is he neutered? You need to figure out if this is hormones or dominance. If its hormones then you should try again after his urges have died post neuter. If its dominance then they need to hash it out. All bonded pairs hump, you will see it even years after they have been bonded.
You could also try to encourage different behaviors like grooming. Put something tasty on there heads to see if they will groom it off each other....
 
Haha Katie I think you've asked me if he's neutered a couple times now. I'm sure all the bonding questions from members must run together :)

But yes, he is neutered as of 11 days ago.

I have no idea if it is hormones or dominance....how do I tell?
I plan to try applesauce on their heads tomorrow.
 
The last thing that I'm going to do is separate the lads when they are **ahem** having a gay old time of it.

As long as they aren't fighting, they can do as they wish. Of course I do tell them to cut it out and get a room when the shameless hussies get busy on a neighbor's lawn.

agnesthelion wrote:
On flip side, letting Archie just have his his way could make Agnes fight him back and then taint bonding PLUS I admit I feel mean just letting Agnes get manhandled by Archie :(
Click to expand...
Hmmm.....for some reason the word "issues", "projecting" and Dr. Phil come to mind.
 
Gosh, Lisa, that's a tough one because we don't know how much of that is being driven by Archie's lingering hormones.

Is that the driving thing he does everytime they are together or does he just attempt it a couple/few times during each session?

Mocha used to mount Sapphire a couple times, but wasn't continually going after her. When she'd walk away, he'd just let her go. I wouldn't think you'd want to allow ARchie to continually go after her. Does he ever go near her without attempting to mount her? If so, then obviously that's a good thing that should help Agnes not feel threatened.
 
agnesthelion wrote:
On flip side, letting Archie just have his his way could make Agnes fight him back and then taint bonding PLUS I admit I feel mean just letting Agnes get manhandled by Archie :(
Click to expand...
Bunbuns human wrote::::::Hmmm.....for some reason the word "issues", "projecting" and Dr. Phil come to mind.
[/quote]

^^^^^
@Bunbuns human:I'm just gonna be honest here and finally say your posts are just, well, weird. I've tried really hard reading your responses at different things over the past few months and not reacting. However, you insinuating that I'm deflecting some sort of "manhandling issue" that needs dr phils help onto my rabbits bonding is not only WRONG but completely insensitive and inappropriate for a rabbit forum.
 
Blue eyes wrote:
Gosh, Lisa, that's a tough one because we don't know how much of that is being driven by Archie's lingering hormones.

Is that the driving thing he does everytime they are together or does he just attempt it a couple/few times during each session? 

Mocha used to mount Sapphire a couple times, but wasn't continually going after her. When she'd walk away, he'd just let her go. I wouldn't think you'd want to allow ARchie to continually go after her. Does he ever go near her without attempting to mount her? If so, then obviously that's a good thing that should help Agnes not feel threatened.
Click to expand...

No he has not gone near her on his own without humping. He has ignored her, ate and snuggled with her WHEN I have been petting him....but when on his own he most always mounts.

What I went into it I used the housenrabbits guide to bonding which says to let humping for 10-20 seconds and then stop.

Then brandy and Katie (not "calling you girls out at all, haha, I LOVE your input and it could be right! :) ) said that maybe to let them go at it as long as no fighting.

So researching today, as I kinda said in my original post turned up two very different approaches like i talked about.

Just not sure which is the right one......?
 
After only 11 days it still sounds like hormones to me, but since there is no way to tell for sure I would just give it time and see if the humping is decreasing at all. If it is hormones his humping won't end since he is doing it for a completely difference reason then working out dominance issues. At that point letting the humping continue won't solve anything, just add more problems. In that case its better to let him calm down and let the hormones dissipate before doing some serious bonding.

If it is soley based on figuring out dominance, I don't think there really is a "right" answer. In my experience it all depends on how the rabbits reacts to the others' behavior. If Agnes isn't completely fed up with him, you could let the humping go on and let them work it out. If you ever see signs of her getting angry or upset I would stop Archie right away and not let it happen so much in the future.

Another factor is how confident you are in watching them and not letting a fight break out. If you are good at reading the two rabbits you'll have a much easier time knowing when enough is enough. The most important part of this is to make sure fights don't start because not only do they get nasty fast, but rabbits hold grudges.
 
^^^ok thanks christine. You brought some clarity to my thinking.
If I just give it some time and see if the humping decreases even in the slightest, it might give me some clues on how to proceed.

My initial plan was to take it slow anyway, but then I read something about resentment building from Agnes's point of view (ie here's that Archie again who's just gonna hump me,lol) and thought maybe the fast track approach (ie get it all over with now) was better.....

UHg, I keep questioning my judgement.......

But thanks for your input. It did give me things to think about!!

Any other opinions?
 
Gosh, I know there are no easy answers. For every opinion about one situation, there are 10 other opinions.:p
I think with all my bonding ups and downs, I think I'm slowly coming to one realization. And that is, you're the one who is hands on and seeing every subtle behavior and sensing your bunnies' attitudes. If something doesn't feel right, I'd say, just trust your instincts. You know your bunnies (especially Agnes) better than anyone.

I too, like to get input from others. I guess I need to also start trusting my instincts. :wink

Well, that may not have helped much but I guess I'm trying to say that maybe we should have more confidence in our own opinions, our own inner voice. :muscleman:
 
Blue eyes wrote:
Gosh, I know there are no easy answers. For every opinion about one situation, there are 10 other opinions.:p
I think with all my bonding ups and downs, I think I'm slowly coming to one realization. And that is, you're the one who is hands on and seeing every subtle behavior and sensing your bunnies' attitudes. If something doesn't feel right, I'd say, just trust your instincts. You know your bunnies (especially Agnes) better than anyone.

I too, like to get input from others. I guess I need to also start trusting my instincts. :wink

Well, that may not have helped much but I guess I'm trying to say that maybe we should have more confidence in our own opinions, our own inner voice. :muscleman:
Click to expand...


I do agree with this. I think you are looking for a right/wrong. There really isn't a clear cut answer. Each person has a different style with bonding depending on their personality, history, and buns involved. You have to do what you and the buns are comfortable with. Just because one way worked for me doesn't mean the same thing will work for you. Sorry we can't be more helpful.

 
Thanks Suzette and brandy. I actually agree with what you are saying. Every bun is different therefore every bond will be different so I think I need to be more confident in my gut feeling on what to do. I tend to not be confident in myself sometimes. I HAVE the answer, but second guess myself too much :)

I think at this point I will continue with the slow track approach like I wanted to from the beginning. I will keep everyone updated. Thanks so much to everyone taking the time to help :)
 
Date 3 showed definete progress so I'm glad I stayed with the slow track approach.
The humping decreased immensely. He still tried but not with as much gusto, if you will.
She still does not get mad. Not even one ounce of grumpiness from either bun.
I tried the applesauce on the forehead method. Neither seemed to even want to taste it. I put the dish on the floor even just to see if they would lick it and be like, "oh yeah, that stuff is good" Neither wanted to try it.
But what it did do is caused them to both groom themselves for a fairly long time at the same time which is a positive thing.
I also had moved a stool across the floor that startled them both which turned out to be good because they huddled together and it kinda snapped Archie out of humping. He ended up laying down on his side (yay!!!) Agnes would go up and smell him and he would just stay laying down.
So all in all it was a good postivie 3rd date. I plan to stay the course for at least a week :)

Thanks again for EVERYone's help!!!!
 
agnesthelion wrote:
Date 3 showed definete progress so I'm glad I stayed with the slow track approach.
The humping decreased immensely. He still tried but not with as much gusto, if you will.
She still does not get mad. Not even one ounce of grumpiness from either bun.
I tried the applesauce on the forehead method. Neither seemed to even want to taste it. I put the dish on the floor even just to see if they would lick it and be like, "oh yeah, that stuff is good" Neither wanted to try it.
But what it did do is caused them to both groom themselves for a fairly long time at the same time which is a positive thing.
I also had moved a stool across the floor that startled them both which turned out to be good because they huddled together and it kinda snapped Archie out of humping. He ended up laying down on his side (yay!!!) Agnes would go up and smell him and he would just stay laying down.
So all in all it was a good postivie 3rd date. I plan to stay the course for at least a week :)

Thanks again for EVERYone's help!!!!
Click to expand...
try taking a syringe and getting a little dab of it in their mouths, lol - once they actually taste it, they'll go crazy as soon as they smell that you have some! :p that's what happened with mine and the syringe of apple/wild blueberry baby food.
 
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