Young male pair humping/fighting

[MeganRB96]

Hello everyone,

The purpose of this post is mostly for reassurance, I'm not sure if I have done the right thing or not, or advice if there is something I could do differently.

I have two young male rabbits, around 6/7 months old, and they have been together since they were babies. I have had them for about 3 months now and they have always got on beautifully. The slightly larger boy would occasionally hump the smaller one, but this was rare and didn't seem to cause any distress to the smaller rabbit and I thought this was just a display of dominance and the smaller one does not challenge him. Otherwise, they like to cuddle up together, groom each other, share treats and toys well, and generally happy as can be.

They are both due to be neutered on the 30th of March (finance and time amongst other things have prevented me from doing this sooner) but yesterday I noticed that there was a significant amount of fur scattered around the hutch (no signs of physical harm to either rabbit) and the larger rabbit was constantly humping the smaller one. The humping wasn't causing any adverse fighting behaviour, e.g. circling, chasing, etc. but I assumed there had been a brawl of some kind at some point as both were quite reserved and seemed on edge, and they seemed quite tense with each other. I watched them for a while and the humping escalated and was continuous, though I would not describe the behaviour as aggressive, it just looked like typical dominance behaviour from the larger bunny with the smaller one submitting (he wasn't trying to challenge his dominance or fight back).

I decided to separate the rabbits before it turned nasty as I didn't want either of them to get hurt. They are currently in two separate cages and they can see and smell one another. As said before, the point of this post is mostly for reassurance that I have done the right thing, or for advice on what I could do differently. Both rabbits seem to be okay at the moment, they are grooming themselves, eating well, playing with toys, and flopping over and laying down as close as they can to one another, and there isn't any signs of aggression.

As I have managed to separate them early before any fighting escalated and have kept them so that they can still see and smell each other, do you think that their chance of rebonding after being neutered is good? (I will of course keep them separate after neutering to ensure their stitches have a chance to heal properly). How long does it typically take for their hormones to settle? Will they need to be rebonded before putting them back into their hutch together (very large hutch with big indoor space and large outdoor run attached) or will the fact that they can still constantly see each other help to maintain their bond whilst separated? Is there anything I can do to make the transition after neutering easier?

Any advice is much appreciated! I have owned rabbits for many years (my 7 year old lop had recently passed) but never had a pair of boys.

 

[Apollo’s Slave]

Welcome to the forum.

Since your rabbits are past the baby stage and are becoming more like adults now. The fighting and humping is for dominance. It’s a good thing to seperate them.
Rebonding them a month after neutering, s should be fine. I doubt that they’ll hold a grudge. I would wait about a month before introducing them again (after neutering) that’s when they’re hormones are calm.
They will need to be bonded before they can share a hutch again. Their bond was more like a baby bond. They didn’t have hormones then and they have started to kick in now.
I’d give each rabbit a blanket that smells like the other to help with the bonding during.

Good luck

 

[zuppa]

Hi, you did good that you separated them, in fact they had to be separated a few months ago to prevent it because it is always expected, your rabbits are very laid back perhaps, usually this situation arises when they are around 3,5-4 months old as they become sexually active.

I would recommend to separate them completely so they can't see/smell each other and wash your hands/change clothes (or spray with 5% white vinegar) before holding one after holding another one so they could completely forget each other. In two weeks they get neutered and you should keep them separated for another 6-8 weeks. Or even longer.

In my experience, I adopted two boys from same situation, they were 'bonded' when people brought them from a petshop (they were 2 months old), when they were 3,5 months old they suddenly had a major fight and started hating each other. People separated them immediately and neutered both same day, then tried to bond them after one month and they showed so much hate so people just gave up and rehomed them.
I kept them completely separated for another month and then decided to bond one of them to a female they just have very similar habits and look very nice together too like they were made for each other, but I started after full 2 months after his neutering and he still was spraying her and humping her he just kept chasing her so I had to wait a few more weeks to stay on safe side. Then when he was full 3 months after his neutering everything went very well and they bonded beautifully, now it's their second month together and they are doing amazing, I still keep close eye on them but hopefully they will stay bonded.

The second boy is still alone I watch him study his character and habits and have a plan on bonding him with another rabbit, no rush here, I will go slowly with short dating sessions and see if they like each other.

In my other experience, I adopted one of two brothers were also together since birth and seller at a petshop recommended keeping them together since they 'are best buddies'. This also ended with a major fight when they were 4 months old and they both had serious damages, people also separated them and neutered but when put together after one month they kept hating each other and one of them was rehomed (to me). He has a large scar around his eye which is now almost healed, believe me it was scary when I got him, and he still has a hole in his ear there's a large scar on his ear but almost healed by now but this hole he will probably have for life. There were also many wounds on his back, almost healed now and new fur growing nicely, so just a large scar around his eye thankfully eye itself not damaged and a very large scar on his ear with a hole at the end of it. I will definitely bond him to another rabbit later but I will see which one will suit best, no rush here, I just want him to have a good pair, I will probably be looking for a female as two males are more difficult to bond as far as I know, but could be done probably, just some preparation needed.

So as I said I would recommend to separate completely and keep separated after neutering at least 2 months, then do massive research on bonding process and try reintroducing as completely new rabbits and watch signs if they can be bonded together. You will have to introduce them to each other in a new territory so I would advise keeping them in cages for a few weeks before bonding and be really prepared with all new place, playpen, dustpan and ski gloves and lots of patience.

Your other option would be rehoming one of them and after neutering the remaining one and waiting at least 2 months after that to go to rescue speed dating and find suitable fixed female (or male) for him, after a few dates you will be able to take her home and continue bonding, that way would be much cheaper and you will have more options and also support and advice from the rescue workers, also rabbits are already fixed there and ready for bonding.

Good luck in any way you go and please keep us updated

And remember, they won't bond naturally again if you just put them back together after neutering, you need to do some serious research on bonding two males and there's no guarantee they will bond. Also remember that they need to be introduced to each other in a neutral foreign for both territory and bonding process can take from a few days to a few months, you start from short sessions and see how it goes.

 

[Katie94]

You definitely did the right thing to separate them. You’ve given yourself the best possible chance of being able to rebond them by separating them before the fighting became vicious. It’s difficult to save a relationship once blood has been drawn, unfortunately we learnt this the hard way.

When we bonded our rabbits we were told to wait 8 weeks after neuter surgery before doing so. Make sure when the time comes you bond them in an area new to both rabbits and preferably somewhere that they can live together for at least a week or longer if possible just so they can establish the relationship again. If you move them back in to old territory too soon it can cause them to fall out again very quickly.

Best of luck and let us know how you get on

 

[Mariam+Theo]

Thank you for separating them, it could have gotten very dangerous if you had not. When, and if you decide to bond them, here is a link and video on bonding: https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/bonding-bunnies.html