Rabbit humping !!

[those2fluffs]

what should I do
I have 2 male and female buns (both 11 months) who aren't spayed or neutered. I did not want to spay or neuter them as I wanted baby buns. When I got them they were about 5 months well until now they were all completely fine . They would sleep together and eat and drink together. A few days ago I saw them fight and I ran out ti stop them . No blood or any swelling on any of them I saw. I had a accidentally litter of baby buns ( 4 buns ) who are 13 days old . And then the problem is the female rabbit keeps on humping the male one and with out a doubt they kept on breaking out in a fight . The male would run away from the female who would be confused and try again.

Any advice?

 

[EBM]

Hi, There's not a lot of advise I can give I'm afraid. Most people on this forum don't really agree with breeding rabbits and most advocate for neutering your rabbits and adopting from rescue centers.
Rabbits who are not neutered will show hormonal behaviors such as fighting and humping as you have described. I'm confused why you said the litter of kits was accidental when you say you wanted them to have babies? You need to separate the male and female to avoid more litters as she may already be pregnant again, and to avoid serious injury. The babies may be able to breed from as young as 3/4 months old so will need sexing and separating as appropriate to avoid things getting out of control before they are neutered.

 

[Preitler]

If all those rabbits live together you are in for a big, numerous surprise soon. You are rather lucky that the bucks get along, well,.. unless,...
Is that the doe that has kits? (my guess would be No)
Are you absolutly sure of their genders? The Sex Change Fairy might have payed a visit although it should be pretty clear at 5 months.

Although does do hump, for dominance, when exited or want to be first (like, at feeding, out the door etc.), this sounds a tiny bit unusual, unless the poor buck has no way to get away and out of sight, or if he started it by trying to hump the doe that is either not in the mood or pregnant already, or if she wants but he is one of those who have no clue, or if he gets too close to her nest - some does can be rather protective. So many possible scenarios. Is the doe kind of "vocal" when the buck is close?

Anyway, such a colony setup needs quite a lot of space, some places to hide etc, since rabbit personalities differ a lot there is no absolut truth about how to make this work, sometimes it's easier, sometimes not. I would be rather worried about 2 bucks together, if that doe turns out to actually be a buck the behaviour would make perfect sense to me, but it's not out of the question for a dominat doe either.

I hope you have a solid plan about what to do with the offspring, other than selling them as pets (doesn't necessarily work as well as some think) or making them other peoples problem. There could be a lot more pretty soon - I'm surprised there isn't already, one of the reasons I would check genders again. Does can get pregnant right after they are done kindling, and there isn't much that makes a buck more horny than a kindling doe. If the doe turns out to be pregnant again you'll need to seperate the first litter shortly before she kindles.

You didn't give a lot of info to go with, more details about setting etc. might give better answers.

 

[those2fluffs]

My rabbits have a wide enclosure with has toys (chewable) and 2 hiding box. Though they are outdoor rabbits , I have loads of toys that they are really confused about. The buck does not seem to be horny or sassy other than treats or fruit . Anyhow, they dont really use any of the toys or hiding places I give them . Also the doe is not vocal at all .

 

[Preitler]

Rabbits usually don't care about toys, imho most are just marketing gags, A few that are made from really tasty wood might actually see some chewing. Some rabbits like to throw stuff around or redecorate, but they don't play like cats or dogs, mine definitly couldn't care less and they are picky what they chew on. I give them fresh tree branches and let them forage and dig to keep them entertained.

Mine use hiding boxes only when something is really out of whack, for social purposes I prefer some division of thei living space - in my case it's seperate hutches with connecting tunnels. Hiding houses should also be big enough and have at least 2 entrances.

If a doe gets vocal when a buck is around that would be a sign that she might be pregnant.

I would also sex the kits now, just to be prepared. If you have the luck that your 2 bucks get along, bucklings hitting puberty can throw that off, also I don't think you want bucks around when the doelings get old enough to breed at appr. 12-16 weeks (depending somewhat on breed size, smaller breeds mature faster).

There's always the possibility that 2 characters just don't match, or they might figure it out at some point, tweaking their environment might help with that. I would check that all actually have the gender you think they have anyway.

 

[those2fluffs]

Thank you