Quick Question (... and hopefully quick answer)

[Tessa83]

I took the rabbit cage outside to spray it out and clean it a little bit, so I put the boys outside in the little rabbit fence I have. While I was waiting for the cage to dry, I sat in the fence with them. Mylo would start humping Max and Max would be trying to get away, but Mylo is bigger than Max. Max would jump up in the air and make Mylo jump.. When I put them back in the cage, Max was chasing Mylo around.

I'm starting to think they are just playing with each other, but I just want to make sure.


Edit: I am pretty sure they are just playing.. I think the little humping Mylo does is his way of saying "Play with me!". I was watching them run around in the cage and it looked like play and Max was playing around with the ball.. So, I think they're just playing. I just have not seen them do it before. Now that it is warmer, I will start taking them outside to their bunny fence more often..

[oreyo]

there probably playing like u said cuz my rabbits do that too but sometimes their playing gets a little ruff so u gota watch out for that.

[Tessa83]

Will do.. Thanks!

[Dragonrain]

I've never heard of rabbits playing by humping each other, honestly. Especially if it gets rough - it's not normal for rabbits to play roughly with each other the way for example, that puppies do.

Humping is due to hormones, or a display of dominance. If they're doing it to display dominance, and the other rabbit doesn't submit to it, they could start fighting. They both want to be the dominate one. Watch them to make sure they don't start getting more aggressive towards each other, because rabbit fights can be pretty brutal and lead to serous injuries.

[oreyo]

i agree with dragonrain but some rabbits can play like that especially when their really happy like when my rabbits play like that their usually in the backyard playing they chase each other around and they even chase me sometimes and caramela loves it when im chasing her aound she'll run infront of me and then look at me waiting for me to chase her. but if it gets ruff like f they start pulling each other fur out or bite each other u should seperate them.... how old are ur rabbits if their still like 3 - 6 monthes then its probably their hormons kicking in and want to show whos the dominate one. it also depends on the rabbits not all rabbits play like that it can be fighting to show whos the dominate one

[Tessa83]

They are 2 years old

[andreaS15]

Are they both neutered?

My two neutered non related boys like to pick on one another once and a while, usually when they are in a new area. One thing they don't do is hump, though I have an un-spayed female who humps her neutered partner, and her old un-spayed sister (who recently passed away).

I have once witnessed my neutered Rex, Bo doing binkies while outside in the pen, he overshot and bumped into his partner Ani (spayed) who then humped him! LOL... So as much as I think it's a dominance thing, I sort of see it as something playful as well. As that is the first time I have seen one of my spayed/neutered bunnies hump their partner.

[Tessa83]

Neither of them are neutered. I don't have the money for that.

When I thought they were fighting, they were outside in their bunny fence, up on the patio.. I usually have the fence in the grass... maybe having it in a different place is the reason. They seem fine in the cage... just playing.

[andreaS15]

Un-neutered males will fight to the death
I would be very wary to have two in tact males in one area, I am very surprised to hear they have not hurt one another yet, specially at their age.

As for neutering and it's cost, it's really not much ($100 a rabbit or less) and it's benefits outweigh the costs in the end for the rabbits health.

[Tessa83]

I've had rabbits for a long time and had two boys together and they never killed each other... only once I neutered atleast one or two of them, but only cause there were females around too.