female humping

Question
hi i just got my male bunny fixed about a 2 weeks ago and i have a female who is not fixed yet (getting fixed next week) well i put them together to play and she started humping the crap out of her then they danced in circles for a while then he did it to her and let off the strong odor i was wondering if this was going to stop and is everything ok?

thank you
brittany

Answer
Hi Brittany,

First I must applaud you for being a responsible rabbit slave.  Having your rabbits fixed not only prevents unwanted pregnancies (there are thousands of rabbits in shelters looking for homes) but it prevents future health concerns especially with unspayed females.

Now the bad news.  Neutering will not immediately reduce or eliminate the male hormones.  They will still have their hormones for a while.  We try to get out boys neutered as soon as the tesicles drop....that leaves less residual hormones that have to purge from his body.  The older the male is when neutered...the longer it takes to purge the hormones.  And some males will never stop humping....the neutering just reduces it.  We do see the males that exhibit this behavior tend to calm down over time...but it will eventually slow down and stop.  There will still be a "pecking order" and humping is one of the ways dominance is displayed....and that happens between nearly all rabbits....same or opposite sex.

And now for the "rest of the story".  If your male actually mounted your female....she might be impregnated.  That's right....she could be pregnant.  Male rabbits can store sperm for quite some time.  Many "non-breeding" shelters and rescues have been quite suprised when a girl has become pregnant and the only contact she had was with a recently neutered male.

I would highly suggest not putting them together until a couple of weeks after your girl is spayed.  Rabbits identify each other by scent.  Many times when a pair of rabbits that have been together for quite some time are put together again after spaying/neutering....their scent has changed and since the scent is the identifying marker...you know have rabbits that have to be "re-bonded"....they don't know each other.  So the bonding process must be repeated.  In very rare situations...it is very difficult to re-bond once the original bond has been broken.

Spaying is a much more invasive surgery than neutering.  I suggest having an in-depth discussion with your vet prior to the procedure.  I prefer laser surgery.  There is debate among vets if the added cost of laser vs. conventional surgery is worth it.  IMO....absolutely.  There is much less blood loss and the cleaner incision heals quicker.  We also don't have external sutures.  There are internal self dissolving sutures...but the final close is with tissue glue.  Also discuss pain meds.  Most vets will send home something like Metacam.  While that is better than nothing, a couple of days of narcotics such as Buprenex or Tramadol makes for a much faster recovery.

But your male is displaying normal behavior and will be until the male hormones are purged from his system.....and that will take some time.