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problem bunny - humping issue

L

LucyJK

Warren Scout
Hi

I have a neutered male bunny and an un-neutered female. This combination has always worked for me in the past and never had any issues till now. My female bunny constantly humps the male one. I know a bit of humping is normal, but this is constant and the poor male bunny is getting very fed up of it and now even hides from her. I have spoken to my vet who has only suggested neutering the female, but has said this may not actually stop the behaviour.

Has anyone got any experience of this and any suggestions as what to do.

thanks

Lucy
 
Sounds like she needs to get neutered! :thumb:

Un neutered females will always be very hormonal, and to let them both have a happy life together, ideally yes she needs to be spayed. Your vet is correct in one way and as you say humping is normal but certainly excessive humping isn't and you can't have your male scared of her, it's not fair on him.

How old is she? Sometimes in older does, because they get used to it being a normal behaviour, she may continue but it will be much much less.. And as you'll see on here or Google, it is always recommended to have 2 neutered rabbits living together
 
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Yes, I would advise having her spayed. Apart from behaviour, up spayed females stand a very high chance of getting uterine cancer.
 
thank you. Ive always kept un-neutered females with neutered males - perhaps I've always been lucky with regards to behaviour and cancer. I'll get her booked in asap to be spayed. She's a year old now and only been humping him for the past month, so hopefully not a learnt behaviour now. thanks again
 
Please make sure you are confident your vet is rabbit savvy, when rabbits get spayed they should be given 5 days of pain relief as spaying is an invasive operation for a female. wishing her all the best xx
 
Ruthyjones89 said:
Please make sure you are confident your vet is rabbit savvy, when rabbits get spayed they should be given 5 days of pain relief as spaying is an invasive operation for a female. wishing her all the best xx
Click to expand...

thanks she's booked in for Thursday and they did advise me that she would have antibiotics and analgesia for some time post op. fingers crossed it stops the humping !
 
Thanks for everyones advice, she's been spayed and doing well post op - the little man is much happier as she's a bit quiet so he's had some hump free days - long may it last !!
 
aww that's great news, is she eating well? it can sometimes take a little longer to go back to normal eating after an op!

But topping up the vibes for her, and hope they have a long and happy 'hump free' future ahead! :thumb:
 
Sadly little Tinka just died in my arms :(

She had been doing so well, but last night (7 days post op) we noticed she had severe diarrhoea, she had been fine until then and eating and drinking well and hopping around her run. we brought her inside and phoned my friend who is a vet. she told me to mush down her food and syringe feed her. we did this all through the night. this morning she looked a little brighter but was covered in diarrhoea again, so i washed her off as i had done last night and she started kicking and going mad - great i thought she's got he fight back but then she started making strange breathing sounds so i put her on a towel and she started fitting in front of me. i gave her mouth to mouth and cpr but she died in my arms moments later :(

so now Im in a quandary as to what to do about our other rabbit - keep him on his own or go through the ordeal of spaying another female to keep with him :( this is the first rabbit I've ever spayed and it didnt end well :(
 
I'm so sorry to hear about Tinka :cry: If your remaining rabbit is an outdoor bunny I would recommend getting him a partner. I would recommend going to a rescue as the rabbits are already spayed/neutered and vaccinated and there are lots of rabbits in rescue, so there would be plenty to choose from :thumb: sometimes they will help with bonding too.

Thinking of you and your remaining bunny xx
 
Zoobec said:
I'm so sorry to hear about Tinka :cry: If your remaining rabbit is an outdoor bunny I would recommend getting him a partner. I would recommend going to a rescue as the rabbits are already spayed/neutered and vaccinated and there are lots of rabbits in rescue, so there would be plenty to choose from :thumb: sometimes they will help with bonding too.

Thinking of you and your remaining bunny xx
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thank you, hate to think of him on his own for the rest of his life as he's so young. have looked on the RSPCA website and they have a spayed little girl who they are struggling to home as she's not people friendly, we'd be happy to offer her a home though, so have left an answer phone message x
 
LucyJK said:
Sadly little Tinka just died in my arms :(

She had been doing so well, but last night (7 days post op) we noticed she had severe diarrhoea, she had been fine until then and eating and drinking well and hopping around her run. we brought her inside and phoned my friend who is a vet. she told me to mush down her food and syringe feed her. we did this all through the night. this morning she looked a little brighter but was covered in diarrhoea again, so i washed her off as i had done last night and she started kicking and going mad - great i thought she's got he fight back but then she started making strange breathing sounds so i put her on a towel and she started fitting in front of me. i gave her mouth to mouth and cpr but she died in my arms moments later :(

so now Im in a quandary as to what to do about our other rabbit - keep him on his own or go through the ordeal of spaying another female to keep with him :( this is the first rabbit I've ever spayed and it didnt end well :(
Click to expand...


Oh Lucy I'm so sorry :(

Run free Tinka xx
 
LucyJK said:
Sadly little Tinka just died in my arms :(

She had been doing so well, but last night (7 days post op) we noticed she had severe diarrhoea, she had been fine until then and eating and drinking well and hopping around her run. we brought her inside and phoned my friend who is a vet. she told me to mush down her food and syringe feed her. we did this all through the night. this morning she looked a little brighter but was covered in diarrhoea again, so i washed her off as i had done last night and she started kicking and going mad - great i thought she's got he fight back but then she started making strange breathing sounds so i put her on a towel and she started fitting in front of me. i gave her mouth to mouth and cpr but she died in my arms moments later :(

so now Im in a quandary as to what to do about our other rabbit - keep him on his own or go through the ordeal of spaying another female to keep with him :( this is the first rabbit I've ever spayed and it didnt end well :(
Click to expand...

How utterly tragic, I am so sorry :cry:

When/if you feel able you could do as Zoobec has suggested and contact a Rescue to enquire about adopting a companion for your remaining Rabbit. A Rescue Rabbit will almost certainly already be neutered and vaccinated and the Rescue may be able to help you with bonding too xx
 
I'm very sorry you have lost Tinka, they are such fragile little animals [emoji22]
I hope you manage to find a suitable partner for your boy bunny, if you could rescue one it would be best as she would be vaccinated, neutered and hopefully help with the bonding
 
Thanks all, we've just buried her :(

We've reserved a gorgeous little bun at the blue cross, passed the photo/measurements homecheck. meet her tomorrow but need to wait two weeks after her spay for her to come home x
 
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