In which the rabbit is horny and I am a bad pet owner

Our friends from church keep rabbits, and a month ago they had a litter of baby bunnies. Around that time, we got Pipkin and started reading more about rabbits. One thing I found out is that it's apparently much better to keep them in pairs: they are happier and longer-lived this way. So O. and I decided to adopt one of our friends' baby rabbits as a friend for Pipkin.

Yesterday at church we mentioned to our friends (J. and G.) that we'd decided to adopt one of their rabbits, and J. invited us to come see them. So we went to their house, walked out onto the roof, and came to the hutchful of rabbits--furry bundles in various shades of brown and grey, with huge adorable ears and very round eyes. We held them; they squirmed a little and consented to be cuddled. And then we brought one of them home in a cardboard box. She is a little young, but J. and G. said the kits haven't been drinking their mother's milk in a while, so it should be okay.

Here's the adorable baby, about to pee on our couch.

I thought we were prepared. We have an extra cage (actually a gigantic dog crate to be converted into a two-story rabbit home) and litter box, and I had duly read up on how to introduce rabbits so that they won't fight and have territorial issues. Introduce them in neutral territory; have a spray bottle on hand to break up any fights; some mounting is fine; etc.

At first everything seemed to be all right:

 But very quickly, Pipkin grew bold and brash. I was about to be confronted with the fact that his adorable and gentle looks are only incidental. In his essence, he is an animal. Worse, a male adolescent animal. He mounted the little girl rabbit and started humping her vigorously.

This was a little disturbing for us to watch--her so young and him so insistent. But she didn't try to get away or fight back, and mounting doesn't have to be sexual, it could just be establishing dominance, which is fine.

But it went on and on. Sometimes he humped her head or her side. Sometimes it looked like he was biting her, and we pulled him off, and his maleness--if it had ever been in doubt--was vividly established. "We definitely need to get him neutered," we said.

Eventually we felt it had gone far enough, and separated them. Now the little girl rabbit is in Pipkin's previous cage, and Pipkin has taken up residence in the dog crate. We shall keep them apart until he gets neutered. Re-reading all those articles about introducing rabbits, they all say both rabbits should be fixed, otherwise the hormones will drive them both crazy. I should have paid more attention on the first read!

I can't tell how the baby is feeling. She seems to be all right--curious, hopping awkwardly around (her feet sliding on the plastic floor), munching on hay. I hope she isn't traumatized. (And I really hope she isn't pregnant--but she shouldn't be able to get pregnant yet.) Pipkin, on the other hand, is definitely frustrated. We put the girl's cage on top of the crate, where he can't get to it, but now he is spending a lot of time staring into it from the back of the couch.

A few minutes ago, I took the baby rabbit out to hold and pet for a bit. She sat placidly in my lap. Pipkin stared at us from the floor, then ran up and got on the couch. When he moved to climb into my lap as well, I put her back in the cage. No repeats of yesterday's rape scene today, please! The hilarious and somewhat disturbing thing now, though, is that Pipkin is fascinated and obsessed with the smell of the girl rabbit on my hands and clothes. He has come into my lap of his own accord, which never happens. He sniffs my clothes, sniffs my hand all over, presses his chin glands on it. All the while he grunts softly. It's like a little song--a song of lust.

It's spring, it's sunny, the rabbits are young. Pipkin is in love/lust. He wants that little girl, and he wants her badly. I know I can't expect a rabbit to adhere to human morality, and I don't censure Pipkin for his obsession with an underage female. But it has to stop.

Snip snip! It's time to call the vet. This boy has got to be neutered. A month from now when he's not fertile any more, maybe they can be friends--or lovers. Whatever.