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HELP! Having a bit of a panic over the newly bonded bunnies.

Kerryyyy

Mama Doe
Milly and Patchies started bonding on tuesday and they have been fine and in love until like 10 minutes ago. Milly started humping Patchies and chasing him when he tried to get away from her. He is showing no aggression towards her whatsoever. She tries to hump him then they are fine even doing binkys and then she starts humping him again. What does this mean??
 
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She is just trying to show him she is boss! He is taking it well by just running off, but he may get fed up with it eventually and put her in her place if she doesn't calm down. My Pebbles is doing it a lot at the moment and he has been bonded to Poppy for 3 years..I think it's spring fever!
 
Mine do this too and I have had to learn that it's part of their relationship and who wants to be in charge. I did try to break it up once and ended up with a really nasty bite that made me faint due to the pain and bleeding :shock:

If it looks like its getting out of hand I try to distract them whilst keeping my hands well away :D

A veggie distraction tends to help x
 
Have you moved them at all or extended their space recently? If they've been together since Tuesday they are still bonding really and sometimes it does take a few days before one of them decides to launch a bid for dominance! It also commonly happens if they are moved, given more space, or let out for exercise during the early days/few weeks of a bond. If they have been moved/exercised I would just put them back in the smaller neutral space and wait for things to settle down again. If nothing has changed, keep a close eye on them today, distract them by scattering food and hay, and hopefully they will sort it out and settle down during the day. Alternatively, sometimes if buns have been kept in a small bonding area, they can get a bit of 'cabin fever' so sometimes doing the opposite and letting them out to explore somewhere neutral and let of steam can help, so you will have to look at their space and context to decide whether there's anything needs changing.

keep a very close eye today as sometimes bonds which look like they're going completely to plan can change after a few days so if it looks like it's getting worse, get ready to intervene by placing a hand gently across the back of the 'aggressor'/humper, probably better to bat off any problems before they escalate. Good luck x x
 
There has been a development. I think there is a power struggle to be honest because he keeps bowing his head to be groomed and before all the humping started last night she would groom him like mad. But now she just sort of ignores him which I think is annoying him and quite a few times this morning he has lunged and nipped her for what seems like no reason. Is the bond breaking down??

They are both still eating, cleaning themselves, going to the toilet and doing bunny flops. And Milly will settle next to Patchies is he is laid down but she is just not grooming him. They have been so cuddly since I brought them home on Thursday, so to go from cuddly bunnies to this is quite heartbreaking.
 
It's just bunny power struggles. My opinion is it's best to let them rough it out as long as they're not hurting each other and as long as it's not constant. Watch them for signs of stress or injury. If it goes on for more than a day I would consider reducing their space. But they have to sort out who's boss and when that's done hopefully they should be fine.

Mounting is quite normal, a little bit of chasing and gentle nips and even a small amount of fur pulling. I would separate if they lock onto each other properly, if there is a lot of fur or blood or if one becomes withdrawn. If they're still flopping ant eating I think I would leave them for a little while.
 
I wouldn't say it's the bond breaking down, it's just the bond developing - bunnies first put together on Tuesday won't be fully bonded by Saturday so do keep a close eye because they are still bonding, so there is always a risk that it could disintegrate into a fight if the power struggle goes unresolved for a long time. It sounds as if they like each other, so hopefully things will settle down over the next few days, but don't be complacent as this period after the initial few days is often when it can go wrong during a bond. Hopefully all will be fine xx
 
We cut their space down to just their crate and so far there has been no humping but Patchies has nipped her a few times. There is a lot of head bowing nose to nose and both are demanding to be groomed and it ended with Milly grooming Patchies head for a good while. And now they are both sat next to each other eating hay.

I think me and my boyfriend have been a bit naïve thinking they were bonded because they were snuggling. It is because our other bunnies bonded in a few days and I think we keep comparing them together. But we are both watching them closely for signs of fighting or injuries.
 
Heyy Keryyyy just seen this.
As I said once they got back to yours I would be expecting a few scuffles.
It sounds like to me Milly has became so relaxed around Patches (which is a good thing! as at first she was very nervy about him) that she is now quite happy to be a bit bossier :L This has probably confused Patches a wee bit and as I said I observed when they were with me he can get a bit nippy (I think its whenever he is a bit anxious). Anyway there has never been any signs or real aggression from either on them, so I wouldnt be too worried and I would leave them to sort it out in this new space, they should soon settle. Though I would obviously watch Milly and make sure her pestering dosent increase to the point where Patches is severly distressed. But if all he does is turns around and give her a quick nip I would leave it. And as said please feel free to contact me if you need any help :)
 
My buns have been together for about three weeks now, all snuggles and flops after a bit of chasing for the first couple of days. Last weekend all sorts of chasing/mounting/fur pulling started. I'm fairly confident it's just Spring hormones, and they're not hurting each other. I had to separate them for a little bit when the fur pulling went a bit far, but they're still grooming, eating, snuggling, and there's absolutely no signs of aggression like lunging. I'd just keep an eye on them and give them very brief time outs if they get too carried away. The fur pulling definitely isn't fun to watch, although my buns binky whilst they're chasing each other so I know they're not too bothered - cheeky creatures!
 
Heyy Keryyyy just seen this.
As I said once they got back to yours I would be expecting a few scuffles.
It sounds like to me Milly has became so relaxed around Patches (which is a good thing! as at first she was very nervy about him) that she is now quite happy to be a bit bossier :L This has probably confused Patches a wee bit and as I said I observed when they were with me he can get a bit nippy (I think its whenever he is a bit anxious). Anyway there has never been any signs or real aggression from either on them, so I wouldnt be too worried and I would leave them to sort it out in this new space, they should soon settle. Though I would obviously watch Milly and make sure her pestering dosent increase to the point where Patches is severly distressed. But if all he does is turns around and give her a quick nip I would leave it. And as said please feel free to contact me if you need any help :)

Do you think it would be a good idea to keep them in the crate for the next few days?? I was silly enough to think that they would be okay adding the pen onto their crate and let them out just to stretch their legs a little and that's when Milly started being a little bossy boots. They are laid together right now acting like nothing has happened which is so confusing.
 
Do you think it would be a good idea to keep them in the crate for the next few days?? I was silly enough to think that they would be okay adding the pen onto their crate and let them out just to stretch their legs a little and that's when Milly started being a little bossy boots. They are laid together right now acting like nothing has happened which is so confusing.

I would give them the pen aswell. They were in an area bigger than that with me :) . They would of just been excited with the extra space and needing to let each other know who's who in this new area.
 
Watching him nip her is horrible. He isn't hurting her but it's still not nice to see. She has humped him again after spending most of the afternoon grooming him when he put his head down.
 
Would it be safe to leave them for a few hours today?? I need to go out and there will be no one in the house.
 
Yes as long as nothing has escalated I wouldn't worry about them :)
I am away this week so if you want to contact me please phone or text as I may not have Internet signal most of the time :)
 
I have started to notice that Milly only starts humping Patchies at night time, during the day she grooms him to no end. But when she does hump him a sort of pattern happens. She'll hump him, he runs so she chases, he nips her then they both go nose to nose to see who grooms who then they both settle. Most of the time Milly gives in and grooms Patchies but he will groom her too when he feels like it. Is this normal behaviour??
 
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