Bonding help

[AmandaEib]

So i just got a new bunny friend for my current bun Harper. I had them together yesterday for a few 30 minutes sessions and there wasn’t a whole lot to speak of. Upon their first meeting in the bathroom, Harper (the male) insisted that he mount Midnight (the female) several times which she wasn’t into so she kept hopping away but she was never aggressive aside from a thump or a tail wag. Today I decided since I was home all day that I’d try to let them interact in our living area because that’s where Harper is all day anyway (he pretty much has free reign when I’m home). Well it didn’t go too bad. There were a few moments that I got a bit worried and had to put them away for a bit because they were chasing eachother but they weren’t hostile to eachother at all. This evening I took them into the bathroom again and Harper again tried to mount Midnight every chance he got and she proceeded to hop away in response or sit still until he tried to grip her hair with his teeth and then she hopped away. Still not fighting or anything so I sent them into the living room where they again chased eachother so I put Harper in his cage to cool down and let Midnight explore a bit on her own without being humped. Well after I got Harper in his cage I hear him thumping as usual in detest to being put away, well Midnight starts thumping back to the point where I had to go over and see what the fuss was. As soon as I sat down in front of the cage Midnight was so eager to get in so I let her and she immediately hops to the top level and lays down and Harper again tries to mount her but she just avoids him and waits until he gives up and then lays back down. I can’t find any sort of explanation of this behavior so I’m not sure if they’re bonding or if Midnight is just really patient and Harper is being overly aggressive? I just don’t know what to make of the way they’re acting. It seems like he annoys her yet she wants to be near him. Anyone else experience this?

[Mikey]

Are they both neutered/spayed? If not, this is the big reason why your bun wont stop mounting. If they are both neutered/spayed, then its because hes trying to claim the alpha role over her. As long as she doesnt fight him, i would let it go. Remove him from on top of her after 10ish seconds. Put him next to her and pet them both then let them both explore again. You might need to be removing him often but it will die down as they get more used to one another

[AmandaEib]

Yeah they’re both fixed. He’s younger than her so I chalked it up to maybe him having more energy than she does but I can tell she wants to be the dominant one, she even mounted him a couple times but he always gets away so really neither of them get much mounting done since the other always runs off. I make sure not to let either stay on the other too long. I’m just hoping since they’ve been doing so well that they bond quickly and can live in the same cage together in the next few weeks. Harper really hates being away from her, it’s kind f funny how much he likes her

[Mikey]

If its only mounting and no extreme chasing, nipping, biting, fur pulling, ect, then i would leave them be for the most part. Keep removing them if they mount for too long, but otherwise its a normal part of adjusting the bunny hierarchy

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