Confused MALE bunny

Ok... recently, as you know, I got a young nethe... (still haven't found a name for her). I introduced her to my male nethe (Rex-10 mos old, neutered, and usually very calm), he got a little excited, but after a little calming down they became best buds. they will snuggle, groom each other, nudge each other, play sometimes ... for a while. (we're still on fairly neutral territory). However, after a while, Rex got understandably very very excited.... and started mounting little bunny. I decided after several occasions of scolding him to see if he could get it out of his system, but he got more frantic- circling her rear, and just vibrating with energy (let alone humping). Little bunny got very stressed, so rex went back home for the evening. :no:

The strange thing is, Rex only does this after they've been snuggling for several hours... and 5 mins after all this when I put little bunny back down after a good snuggle, they're best buds again.

Strange thing #2- about half the time, he mounts the wrong end :shock: . why is this?

Rex has been spayed for about a month, and the two have been bonding for about a week now... The time they spend together is always supervised, but I was wondering if there was any way to stop this behaviour? I know they're rabbits and all, and it may take a little while for Rex to realize he's out of commision, but I really don't want to stress little bun out!!! Any help out there? thanks!!

Rex still has hormones and there is still a chance he is fertile. It takes 6-8 weeks for males hormones to calm down. The humping and excitment is just that, he still has hormones (and possibly still sperm) and is literally humping her. You will need to keep them apart for another 2-4 weeks before trying to bond them.

Oh dear.... Thanks a mill... I'll keep em apart for a little while longer...

no more bunny snuggles for you Rex but I certainly don't want more little bunnies...

I've seen fertile rabbits mate and it looks completely ridicuolous at times.
Quite often it starts out with the female mounting the male, then the male mounts the female from every possible angle
One time my friend came and pushed the male of, placing him in the correct position:lol:

My male rabbit mounts my neutered female. It doesn't matter to him if she doesn't work:roll:

Every time you break them up for any length of time, they have to re-establish authority, so it might have something to do with this?

Mine often hump each other's heads, if they are in a new area, or smell a new bun or something:shock: :lol:

If she's only just been spayed, she still might smell girly too, & be driving him wild. As long as neither bun is being physically hurt, or so stressed they stop eating, i'd leave them to it

EDITTED TO ADD, if he was neutered within the last 8 weeks, I'd keep them apart fullstop, until he can no longer be fertile

When rabbits are ready to be paired up they need to be introduced and then stay together, Rex's behaviour is very normal for a male neutered rabbit if left together they will sort out their pecking order over a period of time. By keep separating them they will have to go through the whole procedure again each time they are reintroduced which will end up more stressful for both the rabbits being paried up. The behaviour of both your rabbits sounds perfectly normal and is a positive sign for a successful bonding.

I only pair up if the rabbits have done adequate time post neutering, they are fully fit and healthy and if I have the time to continue the pairing up without having to separate them.

The problem is, she's only 8 weeks old... (not spayed obv) I realize she's not fertile yet (?), but she seems to panic when this happens as Rex is about twice her size... Sooo.... should I let them be? or what...

oh dearie... i'm confused.

How old is she? I hope there's no chance that she could get pregnant:?

LittleBunniesRock said:

The problem is, she's only 8 weeks old... (not spayed obv) I realize she's not fertile yet (?), but she seems to panic when this happens as Rex is about twice her size... Sooo.... should I let them be? or what...

oh dearie... i'm confused.

Click to expand...

Kepp them apart until 8 weeks after he was neutered so another 4 weeks or so, then strat to bond again, if they are ok and no fighting then leave them to it. A bit of humping at any end is fine as this establishes dominance, but do make sure he is past the fertile stage of at least 8 weeks post neuter.

Rabbits usually become fertile at 10-16 weeks so if she's only 8 now I'm pretty sure she's not pregnant:wave:
Keep them apart untill you're sure the male is infertile and try again.

Ok... hate to have to do this but i'll just have to keep them apart for about 3-4 weeks until he's totally clear... What a shame... still, it's for their own good... Thanks for the advice everyone!!! really cleared a lot of things up for me!!!

I'd wait until your female bunny is older, as she's so tiny now he could hurt her - apart from the fact he's still fertile for another month (don't vets tell anyone this? :shock: )

Another Question: would it be OK if they were separated , but close? (ie in a cage close-by so they could sniff or lay by the grate together???) sorry for all the questions... but thanks for your help!!!

LittleBunniesRock said:

Another Question: would it be OK if they were separated , but close? (ie in a cage close-by so they could sniff or lay by the grate together???) sorry for all the questions... but thanks for your help!!!

Click to expand...

No reason I can think that you cannot do this.