Mating behaviour

Question
Hi,

I have had my buck and doe for nearly three years and they have been a bonded pair since neutering. This year they have been showing the characteristics of having the urge to mate. This has been a continuous problem for 2weeks ever since spring began. I have just allowed them to continue but its starting to become aggressive now with both rabbits biting each other.I have been separating them when I can but I wondered if it's normal behavior, whether it will stop or will I have to permanently keep them apart?

Please help, xxx

Kind regards,
M. Lynch

Answer
Dear Michelle,

It's possible that the male may have some unremoved testicular tissue left after the neuter (which happens sometimes) or a cryptorchid (undescended testicle) that wasn't removed.  And this can cause the behaviors you see.

I'd get them to a good rabbit vet for evaluation, and keep them physically separate but able to see/smell/nuzzle each other so they don't become completely unbonded.

A blood test may reveal whether the male has unusually high testosterone levels for a neutered male. If so, some vets are now treating this with lupron with some success, especially when it's spring and love is in the air.  You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope this helps.

Dana