Behaviors that should be allowed?

[iliketacos95]

Hi! I’m new to the forums, but i’m bonding 2 bunnies. One is a shy, male lionhead from the Humane Society (Bun), and the other is a very curious, unknown breed lop female (Gracie) that I rescued from a poor care situation, so unfortunately they didn’t really get to “bunny date.” They’re both spayed/neutered and they mostly avoided each other during their initial meeting. During their recent bonding sessions in the tub, Gracie tends to face hump Bun which he tolerates for about 5 sec before running out between her legs and she doesn’t chase after. Is this okay to allow? I’ve seen mixed sources, some saying I should get her off immediately, some saying I should move her so she’s humping from the correct direction. 

The other separate issue is that sometimes she sort of shoves her nose into his fur but i’m not quite sure what she’s doing. I separate them if I notice this and she’s never drawn blood but she has gotten chunks of Bun’s fur sometimes. On occasions I don’t get to them quick enough, Bun runs away and she chases but he never chases her and they usually stop for a few seconds before she goes after him again. Is this behavior I should continue to separate? Let them get through it? Bun tends to thump and occasionally growl when Gracie does this too often. I try to set them next to each other and pet them after I separate them. 

Aside from this, they do groom themselves in front of each other (no grooming of each other though Gracie does put her head under Bun’s to get him to groom her I guess), relax on opposite sides of the tub, and Gracie has flopped a few times. Does this seem like its okay for 3 weeks of bonding sessions? Anything i’m doing wrong? 

[A Happy Herd of Hares]

She is acting dominant. If she starts biting while she humps, I’d take her off, but if not let her. I’d say if she starts doing it more, don’t let her.

[Sleepy]

Humping is usually fine but I generally a ) don’t allow if it goes over 10 secs (which is usually a warning to Guinness to get off Bleu at this point) b ) no face humping, since if bunny being humped bites it’s going to hurt.

[DanaNM]

Hi there, welcome

Sounds like things are going fairly normally. Agree that face-humps should be stopped. You can spin the humper around so they are in the correct position. If the one being humped allows it, let it happen. If the one being humped tries to escape, stop the humper from chasing them.

When they shove their faces into each other, or ask for grooms, try petting them both to calm them down and swap scents. This will help them build positive feelings towards each other and learn the other rabbit is not a threat. You can also do this after you stop face humping to calm them down.

Thumping and grunting and all that is fine and normal as they communicate.

I would try out a larger space. I’ve never had great luck in the bathtub, as it’s harder for them to interact without it turning into a circle/chase. In a larger space they can more easily get away from each other and communicate more at their own comfort level, and it seems like things are less likely to escalate to biting. A 3 second chase in a bath tub can lead to a bunny tornado with biting, vs. a three second chase in a large pen usually means 1 rabbit runs away and the other one stops chasing.

. . . The answers provided in this discussion are for general guideline purposes only. The information is not intended to diagnose or treat your pet. Seek the advice of your veterinarian or a qualified behaviorist.  

[iliketacos95]

Thank you all! I’ll try to stop her from face humping after the first few seconds. Bun tends to immediately run away if Gracie comes from behind so there isnt any regular humping happening anyway. They will at least smell each other nose to nose for a bit before devolving to face humping and chasing. I also have a pen that I can use for a bigger area that i’ll give a try.

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