Edith mounting Winston…should I stop it?

So Edith and Winston are still getting along really well. I have started letting them out into the living room now which has been going well. A couple of days ago I saw Edith mount Winston whilst he was eating hay. It looked quite gentle and I didn't even realise what was happening for a few seconds, and by the time I realised she had stopped and Winston looked like he hadn't even noticed. However today whilst they were in the living room and I was hand feeding them pellets Edith mounted Winston again but this time it looked a lot more vigorous (there was definite 'humping' going on). I clapped my hands and shouted 'stop' but it took ages for her to stop. I was quite shaky afterwards to be honest. Winston seemed fine about it. I've put them back in their pen and Edith is happily grooming Winston and they are totally fine together. I really didn't want to shout but it was kind of an automatic reaction!

The rescue says mounting is something that will always happen every so often to kind of reinforce the bond, but this mounting didn't look very pleasant?! Should I stop it when I see it happening or just let them get on with it as long as it doesn't escalate?

ImoT said:

So Edith and Winston are still getting along really well. I have started letting them out into the living room now which has been going well. A couple of days ago I saw Edith mount Winston whilst he was eating hay. It looked quite gentle and I didn't even realise what was happening for a few seconds, and by the time I realised she had stopped and Winston looked like he hadn't even noticed. However today whilst they were in the living room and I was hand feeding them pellets Edith mounted Winston again but this time it looked a lot more vigorous (there was definite 'humping' going on). I clapped my hands and shouted 'stop' but it took ages for her to stop. I was quite shaky afterwards to be honest. Winston seemed fine about it. I've put them back in their pen and Edith is happily grooming Winston and they are totally fine together. I really didn't want to shout but it was kind of an automatic reaction!

The rescue says mounting is something that will always happen every so often to kind of reinforce the bond, but this mounting didn't look very pleasant?! Should I stop it when I see it happening or just let them get on with it as long as it doesn't escalate?

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This.

Skye used to mount Noah all the time, it was completely harmless and usually when she was excited about food. Noah is such a softy he used to just sit until she had finished. Rest of the time they were the most loved up buns I've seen.

Towards the end of her life it actually turned into a 'oh Skye is humping Noah, she must be feeling better today' kind of thing, and I used to hope she did it

My two are very firmly bonded but occasionally one will hump the other - sometimes the 'wrong' way. Neither takes any notice when he/she is the humpee ... and then life just goes on as before.

Okay thank you both for your advice I'll try my best not to freak out next time it happens!

Mabel used to hump Arthur now and again to just to keep in in check and make sure he knew she was boss. She humped his back and his face. It usually didn't last long anyway so by the time I'd get to them she'd have stopped.

mabels mum said:

Mabel used to hump Arthur now and again to just to keep in in check and make sure he knew she was boss. She humped his back and his face. It usually didn't last long anyway so by the time I'd get to them she'd have stopped.

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Okay great, i'm glad it's normal and not a sign of the bond deteriorating or anything. They are so loved up, Winston just adores Edith so I would hate for things to go wrong now.