mouting/fixed rabbit

Question
How long should I let the fixed male rabbit mount the female? I just got to the point where I put them in a room they have never been in..they did find untill I tryed to stop him from mounting her..he was suffacating her almost it seemed, I pulled them apart and he seemed agressive...How long do I let him mount..Thanks

Answer
Hi Christian,

There are many factors here, now old was your male when he was neutered?  Had he been bred before?  Is the doe spayed?  Many bondings just wont work unless both rabbits are altered (fixed) but it seems as though the female is not the problem here.  Even after rabbits are altered they will exhibit mounting behavior.  This is there way of showing who the dominant bunny is.  Even 2 fixed females will mount.  I suspect that unless your female is much smaller if she was annoyed she would kick him off.  If she is not spayed she might actually think she is being bred and will endure whatever she has to for the survival of her species.  

If your female is not spayed I strongly recommend that you have this done.  I know it is expensive but if she young it is well worth it.  Doe's who aren't spayed and aren't used for breeding have a higher incidence of reproductive cancer (at least studies have said this, since mine are all show rabbits I am not really sure of the validity)

After the surgery she will need about 2 weeks away from him to fully recover before you re-bond them.  If you absolutely can't afford to have her fixed or she is just way to old another thing you can do is to spray the buck in the face with a small spray bottle.  I know it sounds cruel but he will stop long enough to give himself a face washing session and give the poor doe a break.. You have to learn the difference between the "I am the dominant bun bun around here, and you are just a mere pitiful presence" and an actual attempt at reproduction.  His aggressiveness towards you makes me wonder if he still hasn't realized that he just doesn't have his parts anymore.  

I would give it time and see what happens.  Work with them, watch their language.  Do they groom each other at other times or is it a 24/7 mounting session?  There is so much about rabbit language that is difficult to understand.

I hope I have helped a little and if you need anymore help please feel free to ask.

I noticed that your question was in the in queue section rather than asked to a specific breeder.  In the future if you would like faster answers the best thing to do is go to the all experts main page -- Go to Animals/Pets -- Go to Veterinary medicine-- and go to rabbits.  Then ask an actual expert.  Scroll through their profiles and see who you think might best be able to answer your question.  The experts who are asked questions only have 3 days to answer, where as questions that are asked to anyone or what we call pooled questions may never be answered.

I hope I have helped you and please let me know how your rabbits are doing.  They can be bonded without either of them ending up missing parts etc, it just may take time.

Thank you

Sincerely,

Pam Enve
Vet Tech