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Doe humping, is it likely to start fight?

hayleyhelen

hayleyhelen

Alpha Buck
My 4 month old does have been living together since birth, vet has confirmed they are both female. One, Samba has taken to humping the other, Bettle. The vet said that this is normal behaviour and that when I get them spayed next month the humping should stop. The problem is that for now Samba chases Bettle, tries to mount her and then Bettle will whip round and bite her, often skipping off with some od Sambas fur in her mouth. Then they are fine for a bit until it happens again.
At present I have no spare hutch to seperate them because the buck, Bay (castrated last week) is in the other hutch. Would it be wise to sepearte them before if gets too bad, or do you think they will be ok? I would be so grateful if anyone is around to give advice. x
 
hayleyhelen said:
My 4 month old does have been living together since birth, vet has confirmed they are both female. One, Samba has taken to humping the other, Bettle. The vet said that this is normal behaviour and that when I get them spayed next month the humping should stop. The problem is that for now Samba chases Bettle, tries to mount her and then Bettle will whip round and bite her, often skipping off with some od Sambas fur in her mouth. Then they are fine for a bit until it happens again.
At present I have no spare hutch to seperate them because the buck, Bay (castrated last week) is in the other hutch. Would it be wise to sepearte them before if gets too bad, or do you think they will be ok? I would be so grateful if anyone is around to give advice. x
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If it's just a bit of chasing and fur pulling then I would leave them together. If they lock on to each other and start bitting a lot then you would have to seperate them.
 
Just rang the vets to see if they will spay at 4 months, they said yes but suggested that I just get the agressor done for now. So I have booked Samba in for a spay on Friday.
 
ive heard a female will hump their partner becuase they are the more dominant one, and they are showing they are the leader in their group/pair?
 
hayleyhelen said:
Just rang the vets to see if they will spay at 4 months, they said yes but suggested that I just get the agressor done for now. So I have booked Samba in for a spay on Friday.
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Personally I would take them both in to be done at the same time. If rabbits are kept apart for even short periods of time it can break the bond and make reintroducing them a lot harder.
 
If i get them spayed together will they be able to recover together in the same hutch? Or would they need to be apart until they have recovered?
 
hayleyhelen said:
If i get them spayed together will they be able to recover together in the same hutch? Or would they need to be apart until they have recovered?
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Ideally they are kept together at the vets before and after the operation. When you get them home they can be kept together also.

Because of the drugs they will be quite subdued, they are very unlikely to start fighting.

You should keep them indoors on soft bedding (like a towel, nothing dusty that could get in the wound) for 24hrs after the op and try to get them eating and drinking within 24hrs also.
 
Thanks for your reply, I had my buck castrated last week and think I did a good job nursing him back to health although I understand its a bigger job for the girls. I have had to split them up now as they had a nasty chase, not sure if i was just being a wimp though. I have currently got one in the hutch and one in the run and the buck in his run but I have nowhere for them to go tonight. The buck will be in the spare hutch but if the girls cant go back together i dont know what i will do with them. Any suggestions?
 
I took both of mybuns in even though only one was being done... The receptionist sid it wasnt necessary but i said i wasnt taking any chances and it was fine and they were kept in the same bit... Only thing i was worried about was one humping the other who was feeling sore... Seemed ok though...:)
 
hayleyhelen said:
Thanks for your reply, I had my buck castrated last week and think I did a good job nursing him back to health although I understand its a bigger job for the girls. I have had to split them up now as they had a nasty chase, not sure if i was just being a wimp though. I have currently got one in the hutch and one in the run and the buck in his run but I have nowhere for them to go tonight. The buck will be in the spare hutch but if the girls cant go back together i dont know what i will do with them. Any suggestions?
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It depends how the chase ended really. Mine had a couple of chases around the run and I had to break it up. I don't think seperating them for long will help though, one of them will come to think of the run has hers and the other will think of the hutch as hers and then there will be more teritorial fights. If you can supervise them I'd keep them together as much as possible.
 
Hello I had exactly the same situation as you. If I were you I would get them both done at the same time. Mine had some tiffs in the weeks before they were done, as said, as long as it isn't too serious, mainly fur pulling and they make up after, I would wait to to get them done together as soon as possible. Plus then they'll just have to through the stress of it once, as you'd need to take them both each time anyway. Mine were done about 4 months too :D
 
I've just had my pair of does spayed and one of them is a terrible chaser/humper. They've only just been done so there is still some chasing & humping going on but fingers crossed that this should subside over the next few months!
I had both of mine done together so they could be together in 'recovery' too.
 
I have had exactly the same with my 2 does. Sisters who at 12-13 months old started humping and nipping each other and then it turned nasty. Had them spayed at the same time but had to seperate them for there own safety and still cannot put them together more than 2 months later:cry: The vet said it could take 6 weeks for the hormones to settle but that time has come and gone to no avail!

Don't be so sure the anaesthetic will subdue them mine were grunting and having a go at each other through the indoor cages we borrowed. they are now seperated in our 2 tier hutch which isnt ideal as one doesn't have a'bedroom' but we swap them round every day.

Good luck.
 
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