Hello!! dominance? or play?

Hello everyone. Ive recently adopted 2 dwarf lionhead lops at 7 months of age. one is an outdoor bunny and the otehr is an indoor free range kinda bun. both female. I have some questions about the house rabbits behaviour. She has recently bonded really well with my 2 year old daughter(who is very gentle with the rabbit (who she named precious) ) and tonight she started to hop over her, lick her face over and over again and circle round her leaving little poops everywhere. then after my daugher went to bed she was licking her toys like crazy!!. I know the licking is a fairly good sign, but wondered if the circling and pooping round her was a sign of dominance? shes never bitten her just kind of grooms her hair etc.
anyways my two buns are called Precious and Loopy-Lou . Precious is a broken butterfly and Loopy-lou is a REW. Precious is totally adorable in everyway and is better than a dog! we have so much joy from her binkies! Loopy-Lou is a very vocal, she scans all the time and is a bit of a grump in general, but when she somes in for a cuddle she falls asleep on my shoulder and enjoys a nose rub

I look forward to any replies!

Nic

Welcome to the forum!


Sounds like it could be hormonal behaviour. spaying her should stop the behaviour. :wave:

Why is one bun outside and the other inside? Could you not keep them together?
Rabbits are very social animals and prefer to be in pairs or groups :wave:

If you get both females spayed you could possibly bond them, there are plenty of people on this forum who could help and give advice to do so

LilVicky said:

Welcome to the forum!


Sounds like it could be hormonal behaviour. spaying her should stop the behaviour. :wave:

Why is one bun outside and the other inside? Could you not keep them together?
Rabbits are very social animals and prefer to be in pairs or groups :wave:

If you get both females spayed you could possibly bond them, there are plenty of people on this forum who could help and give advice to do so

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Yes I agree with this!

Welcome to the forum:wave:

thanks for replies

they are both needing spayed. I had them together inside and outside and had so many problems with humping biting and chasing each other around.At this point in time they seem much happier apart, Loopy seems much happier outside than in and Precious definately disliked the outdoors! Keeping them apart is just a temporary measure. How much does it cost to have them spayed? and how long do I need to keep them apart afterwards? x

Id go down the spaying route as well.

Hi there, very strange question but are you the girl from friday night who I gave you this forum link to? because I was sitting in my local pub friday just gone and heard someone mention rabbits and I got talking to this woman who told me about her little grey lionhead rabbit and i recommended this forum to her? welcome to the forum anyway, sofi x

Sofi said:

Hi there, very strange question but are you the girl from friday night who I gave you this forum link to? because I was sitting in my local pub friday just gone and heard someone mention rabbits and I got talking to this woman who told me about her little grey lionhead rabbit and i recommended this forum to her? welcome to the forum anyway, sofi x

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no , sorry It wasnt me, someone gave me this link on a photography website actually.

http://njcooneyphotography.blogspot.com/

Rabbitat said:

thanks for replies

they are both needing spayed. I had them together inside and outside and had so many problems with humping biting and chasing each other around.At this point in time they seem much happier apart, Loopy seems much happier outside than in and Precious definately disliked the outdoors! Keeping them apart is just a temporary measure. How much does it cost to have them spayed? and how long do I need to keep them apart afterwards? x

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The spaying should help calm them both down and then they might get on better Its usually a couple of weeks after... until their hormones calm and they are fully recovered and then you can try and rebond them. Your buns might like the indoors or outdoors better if they have someone to share it with, once properly bonded

& Like i said before, there are many members on here who are able to give you advice before you start the bonding process. For example the bonding needs to take place in a neutral small space, such as a dog crate or pen, though some have done it in the bath :shock: :lol: They will need at least the first 48 hours supervision, which means through the night too! So make sure you bond them somewhere you can sleep too :lol:

LilVicky said:

Welcome to the forum!


Sounds like it could be hormonal behaviour. spaying her should stop the behaviour. :wave:

Why is one bun outside and the other inside? Could you not keep them together?
Rabbits are very social animals and prefer to be in pairs or groups :wave:

If you get both females spayed you could possibly bond them, there are plenty of people on this forum who could help and give advice to do so

Click to expand...

I agree with this too,

Welcome to the fourm! :wave::wave:

LilVicky said:

The spaying should help calm them both down and then they might get on better Its usually a couple of weeks after... until their hormones calm and they are fully recovered and then you can try and rebond them. Your buns might like the indoors or outdoors better if they have someone to share it with, once properly bonded

& Like i said before, there are many members on here who are able to give you advice before you start the bonding process. For example the bonding needs to take place in a neutral small space, such as a dog crate or pen, though some have done it in the bath :shock: :lol: They will need at least the first 48 hours supervision, which means through the night too! So make sure you bond them somewhere you can sleep too :lol:

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thanks for the sound advice, it know you will all help me give the rabbits the best life, and thats what I hope to give them. Tell me, these buns were bonded before and I adopted them as a pair, however, the woman I got them from seemed unaware of their constant battle for dominance and unhappiness together (biting and pulling hair out, humping etc) have I done the right thing separating them? or is that just just what happens? (theyre 7 months) or do u think theyd be happier together although they are hormonal?
I wont be able to afford 2 spays any time soon, will this behaviour stop if I spay one? or shall I just keep them apart until theyre both done and face a possible difficult bond as theyve been apart for longer? sorry for so many questions, I just want the best advice and direction as Ive fallen in love with them so much!

Rabbitat said:

thanks for the sound advice, it know you will all help me give the rabbits the best life, and thats what I hope to give them. Tell me, these buns were bonded before and I adopted them as a pair, however, the woman I got them from seemed unaware of their constant battle for dominance and unhappiness together (biting and pulling hair out, humping etc) have I done the right thing separating them? or is that just just what happens? (theyre 7 months) or do u think theyd be happier together although they are hormonal?
I wont be able to afford 2 spays any time soon, will this behaviour stop if I spay one? or shall I just keep them apart until theyre both done and face a possible difficult bond as theyve been apart for longer? sorry for so many questions, I just want the best advice and direction as Ive fallen in love with them so much!

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I wouldnt suggest putting them together while they are unspayed.
Do you know which one shows more dominance and hormonal behaviour? I would possibly get that one done first... if you can and you could try and bond them once one is spayed but if it didnt work out it would make it very hard to bond them again once the other is spayed... But all bonding is different, in one way or another. Humping and a bit of chasing or fur pulling is normal bonding behaviour but it should calm down alot once the bond is made. Though my Fuzzy still humps Daisy to make sure she knows her place :lol: The only time you should stop the bonding process is when one bun is getting stressed to much or if there is fighting.

What area are you in? I know some Rescues can do bonding for a donation? And some members on here do bonding as well. If you would like someone else to bond them you could possibly make a thread and ask around the forum

LilVicky said:

I wouldnt suggest putting them together while they are unspayed.
Do you know which one shows more dominance and hormonal behaviour? I would possibly get that one done first... if you can and you could try and bond them once one is spayed but if it didnt work out it would make it very hard to bond them again once the other is spayed... But all bonding is different, in one way or another. Humping and a bit of chasing or fur pulling is normal bonding behaviour but it should calm down alot once the bond is made. Though my Fuzzy still humps Daisy to make sure she knows her place :lol: The only time you should stop the bonding process is when one bun is getting stressed to much or if there is fighting.

What area are you in? I know some Rescues can do bonding for a donation? And some members on here do bonding as well. If you would like someone else to bond them you could possibly make a thread and ask around the forum

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the REW loopy-lou is most definately the more dominant one, to the point where Precious was cowering in a corner frozen stiff. I think she needs done first. thanks for your advice again. x

Rabbitat said:

the REW loopy-lou is most definately the more dominant one, to the point where Precious was cowering in a corner frozen stiff. I think she needs done first. thanks for your advice again. x

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Your welcome

I look forward to hearing more about them! And of course any photos you would like to share

Rabbitat said:

no , sorry It wasnt me, someone gave me this link on a photography website actually.

http://njcooneyphotography.blogspot.com/

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That was me! :wave: Hiya and welcome!