a few behaviour questions

well being new to bonded bunnies i have a few questions about their behaviour towards each other and me.

first of all-even though Errol is obviously the alpha Tiny Tim erm, humps him ive seen Tiny Tim humping Errols head a few times now, but up until today i hadnt noticed Errol doing it back to Tiny Tim. is this normal for the non alpha to do that?

also, Tiny Tim seems to be obsessed with Errols ears. he is always washing them and Errol definately enjoys it as he often nudges his head under Tiny Tims so that he will do it :lol: what does this mean?

another thing i wanted to ask-a few times when ive been stroking them they have grinded their teeth quietly. does this mean they are scared? or do they like it? Gabriel has never ever done this so it had me stumped and i assumed they might be a little scared of it.

hope someone can help me with this so i can understand them better!

I don't know about the nonalpha humping but watch out if the humpee becomes agressive. If his head is being humped he can bite bits which could be very bad.

Also the grooming is a sign of submission and affection. The top bunny will show his dominance by pushing his head under the others to demand grooming now, on his time.

And the teeth grinding is sort of akin to a cats purr. If they chatter loudly it signifies annoyance but the soft grinding is pleasure.

Here are some good websites to reference bunny behavior...

http://www.rabbit.org/behavior/body-language.html
http://www.cramptonarts.com/rabbits/r_language.html
http://www.muridae.com/rabbits/rabbittalk.html

Hi,
The grooming means they love each other, so does the humping. It can be a dominence thing, but it can also be hormonal. Are they both neutered, and if so how long ago? If fairly recently then it will probably reduce with time. If they aren't done, you really should have them done or trouble could erupt.

The tooth purring is a sign of contentment

!!

when I first brough a tiny storm home to Gypsy it was she who chased and humped to show she was the boss! She is also obsessed with storm's ears and grooms them ( maybe because he's a lop and she's facinated by floppy ears! :lol: :lol: ) Grooming is a sign of affection.
I thought a rabbit laying flat with his chin under the other rabbit's chin was a submissive sign, saying " please don't hurt me," but I might be wrong.
Now is a different story, only 4 weekson Storm is bigger than Gypsy and the hormones have kicked in!!! so he does the chaseing and TRIES to do the humping!

thankyou for your replies. its good to know that they are enjoying me stroking them rather then being scared of me

yes they are both neutered-they were done in september. i have now noticed them both humping each other quite a bit but they have never once been agressive towards each other. i shall keep my eye on it, but with them being brothers and being so devoted to each other i dont think i have too much to worry about? i just wonder if they have more of a mutual relationship rather then one being in charge of the other?

I'd try to stop them if they're humping the head though! Fudge gave Amy a really nasty bite earlier (see bonding Fudge and amy thread), if she was male think it would have been the emergency vet! :shock:

touie said:

I'd try to stop them if they're humping the head though! Fudge gave Amy a really nasty bite earlier (see bonding Fudge and amy thread), if she was male think it would have been the emergency vet! :shock:

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EEK! :shock: il be watching them closely and make sure i split them if they do that :shock: hope your girl isnt too bad?*goes to read thread*