rabbits mating

Question
Hi sorry its ME again! i am very curious about my rabbits, anyway, as you may know from my other questions one of my males has been neutered, but when i tried putting them back together my other male ran straight to him and started mating his head! i kept pushing him off but he always runs back to do it again, so now they are both separated, but I'm worried they will get lonely, but my other male is getting neutered in a couple of weeks, but what can i do know to let each other know they are there without them mating each other?

Answer
Dear Eleanor,

Mounting is a normal part of establishing social dominance, and as long as it doesn't elicit fighting (which it might, when it's two males involved), it's not a problem.  A good sign is if the "mountee" doesn't object, and just gently releases himself to get away from the mounter.  A BAD sign is if the mountee shows aggression and tries to bite.  If the mounter is on his head, this could have disastrous consequences, so keep a very close eye on them, and separate them at the first sign of trouble.

This will likely continue until both rabbits are neutered and have a chance to calm down.  Even then, the introductions must be done with care and patience.  You can find excellent articles on how to do this here:

http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=00062824-sp00000000&sp-q=bonding&user=enter...

For now, allow them to see/smell/interact with each other without coming into physical contact unless you are there to closely supervise and break up any fights before they start.  One good fight can ruin a promising bond for a long time, if not forever.

For all the best information on rabbit care, visit:

www.rabbit.org/

and if you would like to ask questions in a HUGE community of rabbit lovers (5000+!), then consider joining EtherBun, a free listserve all about rabbit health, care, and behavior:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/etherbun.html

I hope this helps.

Dana