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The subject of intentional breeding or meat rabbits is prohibited. The answers provided on this board are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet.  It is your responsibility to assess the information being given and seek professional advice/second opinion from your veterinarian and/or qualified behaviorist.

BINKYBUNNY FORUMS

Forum BEHAVIOR Bonded buns are spraying

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    • Harlowsgirl
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        My boy, Harlow (neutered about a year ago), and my girl, Blossom (spayed back in September), have been bonded for a month. During the time they were bonding they sprayed and pooped everywhere. Well one bonding session, Harlow lifted up the gate and broke Blossom out of the bonding circle and have been best friends ever since. Unfortunately the spraying has not stopped. It got better- they were only spraying around the litter box, but they were still spraying. The past week the spraying has gotten worse again. I think it has something to do with Harlow’s behavior. He wants to be right at Blossom’s side constantly and tries to hump her still. She tries to get away when he does this. Sometimes he sprays or sometimes she sprays. Honestly though, they are the best of friends. They flop against each other and groom each other constantly. Is this because they have only been together for a month and trying to figure things out? Has anyone had any similar experiences? Does anyone have any solutions? Before they were introduced they never sprayed! Scrubbing my walls and carpet daily is getting old!


      • sarahthegemini
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          To me it sounds like they haven’t fully cemented their bond yet – the spraying is territorial and obviously Harlow is still humping Blossom. Bonded bunnies can still hump occasionally but how often does he try it? It’s good that they are grooming each other though!


        • Harlowsgirl
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            Thanks for commenting so fast SarahtheGemini! He mellowed down the humping up until this last week. And now all of a sudden he tries for….maybe twenty minutes combined a day? Aaah it’s so frustrating?! I will take all the help I can get!


          • sarahthegemini
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              Posted By Harlowsgirl on 2/11/2017 4:22 PM

              Thanks for commenting so fast SarahtheGemini! He mellowed down the humping up until this last week. And now all of a sudden he tries for….maybe twenty minutes combined a day? Aaah it’s so frustrating?! I will take all the help I can get!

              Hmm, perhaps he’s feeling a little insecure and needs to assert himself again? Has anything in their living space changed at all? Has their been any new smells or sounds? How is Blossom reacting to the humping? I know you said she’s moving away from him but is she particularly stressed about it or just kind of irritated? 


            • Harlowsgirl
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                The only thing I can think of that’s changed is that my husband had the week off. He was out and about most of the time, but heir routine has changed a little bit. Oh! Also, Blossom has only started to let us pet her. She is much more skidding than Harlow. She would run and hide behind Harlow when we tried
                to have any contact with her. She now lets us pet her while she eats or if she is next to Harlow. She doesn’t seem stressed about Harlow humping her. It’s more of an annoyance. It’s like a human marriage. He adores her and she puts up with him ha ha ha.


              • Harlowsgirl
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                  Update: buns are still spraying! And he’s still trying to hump her! I think you’re right- I think that they haven’t fully solidified their bond. They do better roaming the house than they do in a small ex pen area. But I’m still cleaning the carpets. I separated them into their own cages at night. They are against each other but separate. It helped at first but now Harlow shakes his cage all night wanting to be with her. Any suggestions or helpful tips to help with their bonding? Again they love to be around each other and have never been in a fight or gotten aggressive. They just have this annoying spraying problem?.


                • Mikey
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                    Since you mentioned that Blossom is becoming more comfortable with petting, it could be that she never truely showed her personality to anyone. Since shes comfortable to be herself, now their bond has changed since she technically changed. It wouldnt cause an uproar between then, but could explain the random need for Harlow to assert himself more

                    It could also be the petting. Some alpha bunnies get jealous very easily. So with Blossom being more welcoming to pets, Harlow could be getting jealous that all of the humans attention is now being shared

                    Since they are still fighting for territory, there is not much you can do to stop the spraying until their bond is cemented and theyre both ok sharing the area


                  • Azerane
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                      It could also be the time of year making things worse. If you’re in the Northern hemisphere, sometimes in spring pet bunnies can get a little hormonal and crazy.


                    • Harlowsgirl
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                        You know, I was wondering if the time of year could be causing this behavior!? I’m just hoping that things will settle down between them! They get free roam of the house all day right now and I love it! I would hate to block them off to one room after they’ve had this kind of freedom. I made them a little snuggle fort today out of chairs and blankets and they’ve been loving it and snuggling all day with no spray (knock on wood). Hopefully this is the start of a spray free relationship! I will keep you guys posted with how things progress from here. Thanks for all the input! I’m a bunny mess… literally!

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                    Forum BEHAVIOR Bonded buns are spraying