Bonded Pair sexual behavior. What is normal.

[john01374]

We have a pair of Mini's. The male is a Rex while the female is a Lionhead/Lop mix. Both around 4 lbs.

I have two questions / concerns. First is the male is missing a fair bit of his fur in the middle of his back. I've seen the female very aggressive and mount him. She grabs his fur and he trys to get away and she pulls it out.. Is this something to worry about.

Second question. When the male is in heat he mounts the female. Sometimes she is perfectly fine with this and other times she fights and runs around the cage and they fight. I'm not sure if they are really fighting or if it's a game. She'll try to jump out of the pen, bite him, hide in the boxes etc. When I saw this happen it looked to me like they where fighting so I separating them in the pen. When I did this they sat in separate corner and both did a bunny flop which to me means they're content and happy. The male was breathing heavy but the female was squeaking when she breathed.

Should I be concerned with this behavior or is this normal. We all have heard the old saying about bunnies but this is the first time I've seen it at this level.

The following morning they where the same as they always are. Flopped over laying on each other so I figured they were ok.

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

Are they both (or even one) neutered? If not then it is not a good idea to have them together. If both are intact, they will breed. Since they are together all the time, this will lead to back to back litters which is not good for the doe or the kits. You should keep them separated until one or both of them are neutered. If you get the male done first, it should be 6 weeks before you try to introduce them again as he can still be fertile until then.

Rabbits are induced ovulations, this means that a doe (female) can get pregnant at just about any time. They don't go into heat like other mammals. While there can be times when a female is more receptive to mating, but it is not the same as when a dog goes into heat.

Humping can be a sign of dominance. One rabbit will hump the other to say that they are the boss. It can be an "I want to breed" thing as well, but that is not common once they are neutered.

It really sounds like your rabbits need to be separated until they are neutered. My bonded pairs have never done that, the worst it gets is if one wants to hump and the other is not wanting it and will get away. There can be some chasing when they first meet, but that should not continue once they are bonded.

 

[john01374]

The female was fixed when she was about 10 months and they have been bonded for about a year maybe a little longer. I've seen active humping by both of them since they where put together.

Just wondering if this is normal or something I need to worry About.

I'm more concerned about the female afterward. Was the flop and squeaking normal "happy" post mating behavior ?

 

[john01374]

The female was fixed when she was about 10 months and they have been bonded for about a year maybe a little longer. I've seen active humping by both of them since they where put together.

Just wondering if this is normal or something I need to worry About.

I'm more concerned about the female afterward. Was the flop and squeaking normal "happy" post mating behavior ?

 

[elrohwen]

It sounds like the male is not neutered, which means he's trying to mate with her. Rabbits don't go into "heat" - he probably wants to mate constantly and I'm sure it's very stressful for her. I think you need to get the male neutered for the happiness of both bunnies.