My boy bun is a relentless humper...

[Thumperina]

ldoerr wrote:

Rabbits do not go through heat. They are induced ovulators (I think that is the term at least). They can become pregnant at any time. The act of mating releases the eggs. So I guess you could say that they are in heat at all times.

Interesting. What I observed when I had 2 rabbits together (at age 4-6 month):
She had her false pregnancies in equal periods of time (I finally marked my calendar and it was every 24 days if I remember right). When she had it (lasted for couple of days) the buck was interested in her much harder than rest of the time which made me think that her scent at this days was more significant . I may be wrong of course, this is just my observation.
Well, what about female sexual desire? Is there such a thing?

 

[Thumperina]

agnesthelion wrote:

Lauren is right. There is no cycle to female rabbits. She is simply going through false pregnancies. A very common act among unspayed females. The fact she is around another bun (fixed or not) brings on even more as her body/mind/hormones are only reacting. The only natural reason she would be around another bun naturally would be to mate. No other reason. They don't "make friends" otherwise. Hormones drive everything they do.

As far as her putting her paws on him, yes it's a dominance thing. She is proabaly a bit confused as to why he isn't mating with her. Again, since hormones drive everything they do, she's basically saying "hey dude, I'm here" but since he won't reciprocate, dominance emerges.

It really isn't fair to either bun to try and put them together when they arent both fixed. She is crying out (figuratively) to be impregnated and he doesn't understand what she is doing. It is a recipe for a fight and your female having false pregnancies stirs up grumpiness in her every time. Get her spayed. It's the best thing. Pregnancy is not the only worry when it comes to stuff like this. Fighting and attitude plays a huge part too.

God damn, I hate the day when my friend told me that "taking care of rabbits is so easy - get two from me". And who said that rabbits are highly sociable (to me it means that having several rabbits is much better than having one) if all the interest is driven by hormones (you just said that this is the only interest they may have in another rabbit) and people take even this away from them. So what is left after? Sounds like rabbits would do better alone.
I just kept two children particularly because older bunnies were kind of lonely. How stupid I feel!

 

[agnesthelion]

What you were observing is simply the fact that rabbits can only have a litter after they've birthed the last one. So if there were any "rythym" to it at all it revolved around the time it takes to birth kits, not ovulation....
The fact Lauren was bringing up is that rabbits don't ovulate at a set time each month or year like other mammals. They ovulate when needed. Theynare at the bottom of the food chain so they need to be able to "procreate" at any time.

 

[doublebunnylove]

Thank you all for your wonderful input for my predicament. I have separated them but they long to take naps with each other ( which i do allow but only under supervision of course) But I havent called the vet yet, since i had class for most of the day.

BUT! I have also just found out that my boy bun isnt the one making any noises but my little girl bun is. Its an odd sort of grunt and she only does it when she is running away from him and continues to do it even after he has stopped persueing.

 

[agnesthelion]

God darn, I hate the day when my friend told me that "taking care of rabbits is so easy - get two from me". And who said that rabbits are highly sociable (to me it means that having several rabbits is much better than having one) if all the interest is driven by hormones (you just said that this is the only interest they may have in another rabbit) and people take even this away from them. So what is left after? Sounds like rabbits would do better alone.
I just kept two children particularly because older bunnies were kind of lonely.  How stupid I feel!

^^^^first off, don't feel stupid. There is alot of truth to what your friend told you and what you are saying. It's just the reality lies somewhere between.

Rabbits ARE very social. Most do enjoy being with another of their kind. But rabbits just don't "get along" with any rabbit, siblings included. Hormones happen, as we've talked about, and it throws a wrench in it all.

When i commented about rabbits only having interest in another rabbit to mate, I mean it in the sense that if we were talking about rabbits in their natural state, they don't bond like humans want them to bond if kept as pets. They "get together" because of the need to continue their kind. I think you are missing my point here. And I may be explaining it not very clear but my main point is that rabbits won't "bond" socially if they aren't fixed. They get together because of their need to do so. But if you take away their hormones, they learn to bond because of different reasons. Does that make sense?

 

[JBun]

I'm just going to throw my opinion in here, and take what you will from it. I've had several bonded pairs of rabbits, and known people with bonded rabbits, and not all were spayed/neutered. I've had unspayed female rabbits that got along and liked each other. I never had any problems with them. They liked each other and got along really well. I had a neighbor that had two unneutered male rabbits that lived together and never fought, and were very happy together. I also have a bonded male and female. They are both fixed now but for quite a while only my male was fixed. They got along, napped together, groomed each other, and yes, there was the occasional humping on her part. It didn't bug my boy for the most part, and if he didn't want her bugging him, he would just hop away. I considered them bonded. They sure acted like any bonded pair I've ever seen or had, and it's not like she chased him around constantly, wanting to hunp him. I decided in the end to get her spayed for health reasons, and nothing, except the humping, changed about their relationship. Exactly the same. They still act the same towards each other. Not more affectionate or less. Same grooming, same napping together. And she's still the big grump that she's always been. All that changed was no more humping, no more nesting, and her litterbox habits are better.

I know alot of people on this forum believe rabbits can't really bond unless fixed, but that just hasn't been my experience. Sure hormones can play a part in it all, but I've found the individual personalities of each rabbit, play the biggest part in a bond. I will say that getting a female spayed is a good idea, just because of the possibility of uterine cancer, and with unneutered males, it is possible for them to become overly exited and have a heart attack because of it. So for those reasons spaying and neutering should definitely be a consideration. But just because one or the other isn't fixed, doesn't mean they can't like each other or really be bonded. Even with trying to bond rabbits that are both fixed, is no guarantee. They may fight and not get along, because of their individual personalities.