Humping - Sexual Behaviour in Desexed Rabbits

First order of business ....

We are discussing humping between desexed rabbits here. We promote and encourage   desexed Male/Female pairings. Entire rabbits - especially same sex pairs, are much more likely to hump to excess leading to fighting and worse.... Bottom line is that for healthy, happy pairings your rabbits must be desexed.

You can read more about the issues with same sex pairs in The Perils of Same Sex Pairs file.

Hop on Board: Perspectives on Rabbit Mounting Behaviour

Mounting behaviour, also called “humping,” is an action you may see between two rabbits. One rabbit approaches another from the side or behind and then positions over the back or head of the other rabbit, perhaps making pelvic thrusting motions. A position used for mating, It’s also a form of communication. It might mean, “I want to play with you,” or “I’m in charge here!” or “I love you” —and probably has meanings we’ll never know.

The comments in this article refer to either same-sex rabbits or neutered or spayed rabbits. Obviously mounting has an important purpose when you put reproductively active males and females together, and that is to make more rabbits!

Linda Cook: Penelope and Willoughby, our bonded pair, have had their ups and downs. Willoughby is a senior bun of 11. He tried to mount Penelope—and still does, sometimes – when they first moved in together after years of being able to run free upstairs and grooming each other through their condos. Penelope simply gets up and hops away—she will not permit the mounting behaviour. That said, she is definitely the subordinate, grooming him and waiting for him to start eating before she dines.

We did not allow them together until the mounting behaviour decreased. We wanted her to be left in peace. As it turns out, Penelope is fully capable of taking care of herself.

Some personal experiences -

* Beth Woolbright: Sir Humps-a-lot. That’s what I called Jesse. When he was first introduced to Maddie, there was no aggression, just lots of mounting. For six weeks it was Jesse pursuing Maddie around their free-range room trying to climb on her—and sometimes succeeding. It turns out that it was ten days sharing a cage at the bunnysitter’s that calmed things down. As the sitter put it, they needed a honeymoon.

Jesse’s motivation—if I as a human can ascribe such a thing—seems entirely to involve wanting to have sex and Maddie’s movements, on the other hand, are evasive. And yet, she tolerates it, this bunny who suffers no guff from humans. And she’s been known to mount him—when food is served.

For weeks I agonized, do I interfere? Beyond brief separations, I couldn’t bring myself to intervene—although it was hard to stand by. And, it worked itself out. Jesse is now Sir Humps-a-bit.

* Marinell Harriman:  When I asked my late friend Amy Espie what to cover in my DVD “Introducing Rabbits” her comment was, “The second most common misconception I hear is people think things are going badly if one is chasing and the other is running away, or one is mounting and one is allowing him/herself to be mounted.”

Keeping that in mind, my daughter, Tania, and I videotaped several bunny introductions at the HRS Rabbit Centre. Each episode resulted in the inevitable mounting behaviour, and all the introductions we captured on tape that day were successful. So I have to assume that it’s the bunnies’ way of getting acquainted. At home, my sanctuary bunnies are long acquainted with each other, yet I frequently see exuberant mounting behaviour in anticipation of their bedtime treats. Some bounce around in binkies. Others bounce up and down on each other. All ends well with a slice of apple.

* Susan Brown, DVM: Most rabbits will handle mounting without our interference. Sometimes by giving attention by talking or coming closer or by always separating them, we could actually reinforce the behaviour and make it more frequent or intense. So the first thing to do is to observe if there really is a need to do anything. If it is just uncomfortable for you to watch then this is not a reason to make a change. Unfortunately humans don’t think of mounting as “polite” behaviour. Dogs, dolphins and tortoises, to name a few, have mounting behaviours when establishing social order or as part of play that causes no harm to either party.

In some species it might occur multiple times a day, in others just at certain times of the year. In rabbits it should not always be assumed to be a dominance strategy, although that can be one of the meanings, though there may be others. We see it when rabbits are getting to know each other during successful bondings, and it may be quite pleasurable for both parties. What we have to remember is that how we think the rabbit underneath should respond based on our own feelings about how we would respond if we were the rabbit, has nothing to do with what is actually going on. We need to take our cultural and personal labels out of the mix and be good observers of the actual behaviour to determine if there is a need for intervention. If all the discomfort lies with the humans, then I say let the rabbits communicate in the way that works for them.

With that said, some situations may warrant reducing the mounting behaviour:

*The rabbit underneath has a medical condition where pressure on the back would cause pain (hip, shoulder or spinal arthritis, for example)

*The rabbit underneath has a serious respiratory or heart condition (with the weight of a rabbit on their back it could make it difficult to breathe)

*The rabbit underneath panics or gets very anxious when mounted and constantly seeks hiding areas away from the mounting rabbit

*If mounting is frequently a precursor to serious fighting.

To determine if a change is needed, start with observations of what signals the behaviour in the rabbits. Does it occur just during certain times of the day, or certain areas of the house, or is it related to food or people being present? Next observe how the underneath rabbit responds during and after the event. Is there any sign of conflict before or after the event (actual fighting) or do they just go about their business when it is over? Does the rabbit underneath struggle hard to get out or stay quiet? Does the rabbit underneath seem to panic when s/he sees the “mounter” coming towards him/her? Does the rabbit underneath hide for long periods after the event? Is the rabbit underneath having difficulties breathing or limping?

If you decide that you need to decrease the frequency of mounting, first look at modifying the environment in which it occurs. Looking at cues you may have noted, make changes that will decrease the possibility of mounting behaviour. If it occurs at certain times of the day, then don’t have the rabbits together during those times, separate them or alternately move them to a different location or change up their routine during those times. The idea is to maximise their time together when they don’t feel the need to mount and minimise their time together when they do want to mount. Another option is to give the rabbit that is usually the of the mounting lots of places to hide that are small, so only one bunny can fit in. If they like to be out in the “open” use a very low table (cut off the legs) where “underbunny” can stretch out but there is not enough room for “overbunny” to get in any mounting behaviour.

Make sure as you are working on decreasing opportunities for mounting that you do not use any aversives, meaning anything the rabbit wouldn’t like. Spraying water, shouting or making loud noises, or throwing things at the rabbits will likely not stop the problem, but unfortunately will work to break the bond of trust you may have with your rabbits. Aversive methods of decreasing a behaviour (also known as punishment) may also frustrate the rabbit and actually increase the potential for aggression against not only you but the other rabbit, so please stay away from these methods.

Once you have arranged the environment and play time together for successful reduction of the mounting behaviour you can then concentrate on reinforcing the rabbits for the behaviour you do want and ignore what you don’t want. Toss or hand treats repeatedly when they are in each other’s presence and are not mounting—which should be a lot. If you do this 20 times a day, they will be more interested in what you have to offer than in mounting each other. Teach each one on their own at first (away from the other rabbit) to touch a target stick with their nose and reward with a treat each time they do it. This is called “targeting.” Then when they are together they will both want to do it at the same time and you will reinforce (give a treat) to both. This is a great way for them to interact with each other in the same space and have something good happen without mounting each other.

The good news is that the vast majority of the time there is no need to do anything about mounting behaviour in rabbits. Just try to sit back, relax, and marvel at how rich and varied their communications methods can be and feel honoured that they trust you enough to display them in your presence!
By Beth Woolbright 
HRJ Vol. 5, No. 7, Winter/Spring 2011 - Hop on Board: Perspectives on Rabbit Mounting Behavior

Further Thoughts...

So, as we can see from the above article, humping in desexed rabbits is in part a dominance behaviour and is a normal part of rabbit relationships. In a Male/Female pair, it is nothing to worry about as long as it is not excessive, escalating or leading to fighting. BUT if it is happening between a same sex pair - especially a Male/Male pair - even if desexed, then you have trouble on your hands and will need to seperate the rabbits before it escalates and fighting ensues.

In my own experience, humping can start or intensify if something upsets the buns:

- a change in seasons can do it with Spring time being a prime time for us to see an increase in humping and chasing between rabbit pairs in the group

- a new rabbit in the house, on the property or even out of sight in the neighbourhood

- wild rabbits in the vicinity

- any environmental change such as changes in household routine or set up; either yours or theirs

-  a new addition to the household; a baby, flatmate kitten, puppy etc

I have found that as long as your rabbits have plenty of space so the humpee - if the 'attention' is unwanted, can get away and remove themselves from the humper it should be ok to leave it. Humping may settle down between your rabbits or it may not - each pair is different, and for the most part we need to let them do their thing and sort it out BUT we do also need to observe and watch for signs of stress/resentment from the humpee which could lead to fighting and gently intervene if needed.  Make some changes if it is escalating. Observe your rabbits and look for triggers that an be removed, managed or altered to hopefully reduce the urge to hump.

If your M/F pair of rabbits situation becomes too perilous then you may need to seperate them and house keep them side-by-side for a while to let things decompress and then see how you go re-bonding them with perhaps some changes to how their time together is managed if necessary. Don’t lose hope!

My own personal experiences -

Roux has always been a hump machine which usually does not bother Lola one bit... in fact at times she seems to invite him to hump her by ‘assuming the position’. However, recently Lola started humping Roux’s head when a bonded pair of boarders arrived and he was not impressed AT ALL. This led to an increase in chasing - usually Roux chasing Lola off after she’d tried to hump him. Because they have plenty of room  the chases ran out of steam pretty quickly. Lola also increased her territorial marking at this time by peeing out of the litter box and pellet time has also triggered chasing - due to excitement and a bit of food aggression.  After 6 weeks - once my buns became more accustomed to having other rabbits on the property, the excessive humping and chasing eased off but the food aggression has persisted so I simply very quietly and with no fuss either seperate them before feeding or scatter feed. This has all been entirely normal and not unusual due to the 'threat' of other rabbits in close proximity being perceived as a threat.

Some Suggestions to help calm things down -

• Catnip spray can be used in their setup as this is calming for rabbits. The Kong brand is the most effective.  

• Lavender (oil in water spray) used around their housing/set up can also be calming.

• Feed calming herbs such as Lemon Balm and Chamomile. You can also offer cooled Chamomile tea.

Sexual/Hormonal Behaviour in Desexed Rabbits
'Many owners are surprised that their neutered rabbits may still show hormonal behaviours, especially during the spring and early summer months.'
Hormonal Behaviour in Desexed Rabbits - RWAF

Behavioural changes in rabbits can arise from a variety of medical and psychological causes. It is important to robustly investigate these cases in order to provide specific treatment. In neutered animals a return to sexual behaviour may arise from inadequate surgical neutering, or production of sexual hormones from another source such as ectopic or accessory gonadal tissue or the adrenal gland. It is suggested that adrenal hyperplasia or neoplasia be considered a potential cause of sexual behaviour in neutered male rabbits.
Hypersexuality in a castrated rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) - Molly Varga BVetMed DZooMed MRCVS. Your vet will be able to access this paper.

Adrenal neoplasia and hyperplasia have been recognized as possible sources of excessive endogenous sex hormones in ferrets, humans, and other mammals. In ferrets, excessive levels of testosterone can produce alopecia, increased musky odor, aggression, and sexual behavior. 1-3 Adrenal neoplasia producing excess testosterone has not been documented in rabbits in clinical practice. These case reports discuss adrenal neoplasia in two older neutered rabbits that presented as increased sexual and aggressive behavior.
Adrenal Neoplasia and Hyperplasia as a Cause of Hypertestosteronism in Two Rabbits - Angela M. Lennox DVM, Dip.ABVP (Avian) a, John Chitty BVetMed, CertZooMed, CBiol MIBio, MRCVS. Your vet will be able to access this paper.

Copyright - Jen Herd/Westley’s World 2020