Very Hormonal

Misty lost her bonded partner last December and, after much deliberation, I decided to find her a new one. On 13th January I introduced her to Joseph. He is a rescue bunny who is around 6, neutered in January 2015 and fell out with his brother. That is all I know.

I put hem in my conservatory, one in a pen and one on the outside of the pen and after two weeks of swapping items and swapping bunnies from one side to the other, I decided it was time to meet face to face as there had been no aggression between the bars. He was showing way more signs of interest in her than she him but she had groomed him through the bars. So they were introduced and he constantly chased/mounted her and she ran away. After about 15 minutes I separated them. I tried again many times but it was the same outcome each time. It's a hard watch seeing your own bunny constantly being chased and mounted but it's nature. After a month I was getting nowhere, yes there were still signs of her grooming him but not the other way around. They would eat together but then its like his hormones kicked in and the food was not important, all he wanted to do was get her. She was not aggressive at all, neither submissive, she would just run away.

A friend of mine who is great at bonding took them and I thought a change of surroundings may help but after two weeks they are back with me. They have been left for 24 hours together but then he would just wear her out with his chasing and mounting. He also sprays and chiins and digs. He has also bitten me a couple of times when I went to put his food down. Also, when I swap them from each side of the pen he chases her, then I separate them and then he thumps a lot.

I am concerned that he has some kind of hormonal issue which I hoping can be fixed as he is a lovely bunny otherwise. When they are in the carrier together they lay opposite ways to each other, no snuggling, but he is a totally different bunny, very calm, very placed and as soon as they are let out of the carrier its all guns blazing for him.

I have requested that the rescue have him vet checked. Any other advice/help would be appreciated.

Have they only ever been together for 24hrs max? I don't have a lot of experience, but there seems to be a few of us on here who had hyper-humpy buns and the constant splitting up just meant they never got past a certain point - I know with mine it just reset back to square one, so we bit the bullet and did 24/7 bonding under supervision. The first 36hrs were tough, but then they did settle down and start to have nice moments, and they were clearly safe to leave at that point too. It took the humping a long time to settle, and we had to be really careful and really slow at expanding territory as each change brought another week of humping, but they have a lovely bond now, with lots of snuggling and washing each other and sleeping cuddled up. But we never ever saw any aggression, and we did take moment to make sure each of them was eating throughout, gently keeping them apart without separating. It is really hard to watch, but rabbits are rabbits so I just kept trying to see it from their point of view, not a female human who would have felt thoroughly violated!!

There does seem to be more Spring fever about than usual this year. If that's what it is, it should settle. It doesn't sound like there is any fighting, so I would make sure she has space to get away from him if she wants (otherwise she may get fed up and turn on him), and leave them to it. Tunnels and small boxes are quite useful as there's only room for 1.

If they are the same no matter where they are, I would consider it a good bond in its early days. Chasing and mounting are normal, and a little fur pulling. More than that means they need supervising.

Are they in territory which was your female's?

No, it’s neutral.

She does have places to go and hide but he finds a way of getting in and chasing her out.

What were they like at your friend's house? Females can be very territorial and this is probably why he is insistent on chasing her as she has to submit before the chasing will end. She needs lots more time to accept him so I would persevere. You will have to separate them if you feel she needs a rest - how old is she? I think they will be ok eventually and the good thing is they aren't fighting.

Update on Joseph. He was checked at the vet on 7th March. Physically he is A1 and bloods were taken. He came back here. Straight out of the carrier he was very quiet for a while, not even bothering Misty then within about 10 minutes it was business as usual. Following lots of discussion from various bunny people I have decided to keep them near but separated, they are now having outdoor access through the day and back in the conservatory at night (as too cold to leave outdoors 24/7) and he loves having use of Runaround tubes and hides etc.

Results from bloods show his hormones levels are detectable which indicates there is a possibility of testicular tissue left over. She says she can open him up and try and find it but it depends on the size of what's left behind and whether she can find it. The rescue have asked whether I would liked him booked in but he's not my bunny and that is not up to me. Yes, if that is his problem then it may mean he can never happily be bonded with a female but then there are also the risks of the op as he is aged 6/7.