Changes in male rabbit behaviour

Question
Hi Randy,

I have a bonded pair of neutered rabbits, one male and one female. The male, Gilbert, is about 2 1/2 and the female, Grace, is a few months younger. Both were rescue rabbits and we don't know much about their history. Gilbert was neutered before we adopted him and Grace was spayed shortly after. Gilbert was in our house about a year before we introduced Grace. They have always been the best of friends.

In the past week Gilbert has started to become quite sexually aggressive towards Grace. He tries to mount her frequently, grunting as he sniffs round her. He gets bitten on occasion which is a bit worrying, so far with no injury.

Do you know why this is happening, whether it will get worse, and if there's anything we can do to stop it? My only real concern is that this could turn nasty with injuries.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks and happy new year.

Susan

Answer
Hi Susan,

That is one of those things that show even perfect couples have issues every now and then.  We do have that to happen with some of our bonded couples every now and then.  Look around their environment.  Has anything changed?  Maybe some rearranging for Christmas?  Look for anything that is different that has been in the past.  If nothing has changed, it might be wise to allow them together only when supervised.  If possible, place them in separate housing....but directly next to each other so they can still "talk".  If you have a carrier large enough for both of them, do some "rebonding".  A nice leisurely car drive usually works wonders for doing this.  Another option is to place them on the washing machine or clothes dryer while it is running (of course, be there to prevent the carrier from falling off from vibrations).  The idea is to add just a little stress into their lives....just something they are not accustomed to....in order to force them to seek comfort in each other.  Another option, not particularly my favorite, it to have a spray bottle of water.  When Gilbert misbehaves, give him a spritz in the face....not a dousing, but a light spray.  This will simulate dominance since in the wild, male rabbits will spray other male rabbits with urine to display dominance.  This is your indication to him that you are in charge.  We do use that method sometimes, but I prefer not to do it that way.

As far as neutering, that doesn't always calm all the male dominating issues.  They still pop up every now and then.  Fortunately, in most cases, this will subside as he ages.  There is also another possibility, rare but we have seen it...is that for some unknonwn reason the testosterone level starts to elevate even though the males has been neutered.  There have been some instances where using a drug called Lupron has been used successfully.  I would not suggest using this method as it is still in the "looking at" stage.  Lupron is used in human males to fight certain prostate issues, in young girls to slow early puberty and in adult human females to treat endometriosis.  It is a nasty drug with nasty side effects.  But a rise in the male hormone level even after neutering is a possibility.

My suggestion is to ride it out and monitor their together time so you can intervene when necessary.  And do the rebonding tips too.  We have experienced that here....it was just a temporary issue here....hopefully the same for your buns.

Randy