Old bunny trying to mount new bunny.

Question
I have an older bunny that I rescued after she was abandoned. She is my first bunny and I have had her by herself for 7 months now. I got a new bunny (also a girl according to the pet store) today. She is a lot smaller than my original. The old bunny keeps mounting the new bunny. Is this normal behavior or do I need to worry that I have a boy and girl bunny?

Answer
Dear Britney,

Mounting is not necessarily sexual with rabbits. It is a sign of dominance, and as long as the little bunny doesn't object and fight the big one, this means that she's accepting the older bunny's dominance.  This is a good sign.  But be sure not to let anyone get so annoyed by the mounting that they scuffle and fight.  This could ruin the beginnings of a promising friendship.

If you are not absolutely sure of the sexes of your bunnies, it would be a good idea to take them both to a good rabbit vet (you can find one at www.rabbit.org/vets) for a full check up.  If neither one is spayed/neutered, then it's important to schedule this, even for the older one.  Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a very high incidence of uterine cancer, and the older they get the higher the risk.  At seven years of age she can still have this done, but a good vet will want to do bloodwork to check her out and make sure she's an appropriate surgical risk.

You can read more here:

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

and find all the information you need on bonding the bunnies and keeping them well and happy here:

www.rabbit.org/

Good luck!

Dana