Is My Bunny Fixed?

[thezippy]

This is, I'm sure, a really dumb question. But I'm a new rabbit owner, so bear with me...

When I got the rabbit a week and 1/2 ago, I was told he's been neutered.

In the time since, he's been pretty consistent in marking his territory anytime I let him out of his pen to "run free" in the house.Heads for the corners and lets go with a spot of reddish-colored stuff with a very strong smell.

He's also been acting fairly aggressive (as a new owner, I have no real point of comparison, but he'll thump at me, strike me with his paws,etc)... and has been getting more aggressive. Last night he bit me, drawing blood. This morning when I went to pet him before leaving for work, he growled at me and hit at me with his paws.

In reading on the boards about territory marking and aggression, many of the threads indicate that having the animal neutered will help to diminish these behaviors.

In my case, I'm beginning to doubt that he's really been neutered,given his actions. I have no proof, beyond being told that he's been fixed, that he was. I'm not even sure how to check,short of taking him to a vet.

Any advice, comments, suggestions, etc from you veteran bunny-folk?

Appreciate the help... this board's been a great resource for me in learning how to handle my new buddy. But I'm struggling with his aggressive behavior...

Charlie

 

[JimD]

Hi Charlie!
Welcome to the forum!

How old is your bunnie?
Where did you get him?

If he was spayed it could take several weeks for his hormones to calm.

The aggressive behavior could be caused by a lot of things. It could be a fear reaction or territorial.

Sometimes a bun will figure out that it gets a submissive reaction from their owner. He might be be trying to impress on you that he's the alpha bun.

`jim

 

[thezippy]

Thanks for the reply.

Got him at a pet shop. We're told he's roughly 6 months old.

I'm trying to figure out how to manage his behavior if its territorial or fear based and not being neutered is the issue...

For example... marking his territory is seemingly a territorial behavior. I get that...

And he gets most aggressive when I either try to get him out of his cage (or clean it or feed him or what have you)... or when I try to catch him after letting him run loose, since he won't just come to me and let me calmly pick him up.

Reality is, though... I can't have him marking every square inch of my house. It stains the carpet, it smells bad, and its unhygienic for the rest of us.

And I can't have him running loose with impunity endlessly.At some point he has to go back in his pen. Nor do I want to leave him endlessly penned up - he needs "free" time to run around and play.

Guess I posted this on the Infirmary board is because I'm wondering if there's any way for a layperson to ascertain if a bunny's been neutered, so I have some sense of if this may potentially be resolved by him having that procedure... or if he's been fixed, and this is purely a personality/instinct thing that we'll have to manage differently.

I don't intend to bleed from the hand every time he comes out of his cage, though!!

Charlie

 

[pamnock]

You can check for testicles - they are kidney shaped structures on either side of the genitals.

Do keep in mind thatbuck's have the ability to retract their testicles, allowing an intact rabbit to actually appear neutered.

In rare cases, the buck's testicles are retained and the rabbit may appear to be neutered, even to an expert.

Pam

 

[missyscove]

Since he's fairly new, he may just be marking his territory to mark his territory, and once it's officially his, he may calm down. Does he have run over the whole house? I would limit him to just a room until he has good litter habits there. You can put a litter box in every corner if that helps, I also read somewhere about putting a carpet remnant square in every corner so it has their scent, and they don't have to mark it, but it's not actually your carpet.

I'm really impressed by that pet store that they'd neuter a bun before selling it, really impressed. I'm not exactly sure how to tell you how to check, but someone else may know. I mean,either his testicles are there, or they aren't, right.

It's a bit harder with a female bunny to see if she's been fixed, it usually involves feeling for the scar, not just something you can do by sight.

 

[pamnock]

missyscove wrote:

It's a bit harder with a female bunny to see if she's been fixed, it usually involves feeling for the scar, not just something you can do by sight.

A scar may not be evident, however an expert can palpate for the presence of a uterus.



Pam

 

[thezippy]

Cool... appreciate the advice. I'll check him again tonight, but I'm faily sure he has testicles (checked em shortly after getting him, but am apparently not bright enough to equate no testicles = neutered).

As for the pet store either having him neutered or getting him that way... the pen where they had the rabbits clearly said they were neutered. In the last few days, though, when I was thinking about this and whether him being neutered might be the issue, I started thinking maybe I'd dreamed it... so I pulled out the receipt and it clearly says "Rabbit - neutered" on it. So, good on PetCo for selling neutered bunnies!!



Charlie

 

[Haley]

Hi Charlie and welcome to RO! Whats your bunny's name?

Honestly, I would really be surprised if a pet store bunny was neutered. That is pretty uncommon. They usually cant even be trusted to get the sex of the rabbit right, so it wouldnt surprise meat all to hear that they are wrong on this one.

When I first got Max, the pet store told me he was a she. I took him to a local vet and they were more than happy to check real quick for me.They didnt even charge me. You might want to call around to your local vets and see if you could bring him in just to check.

Another thing to consider is the possibility that if he was neutered,it was fairly recent. A male rabbit's hormones usually take a few monthsto die down. That, combined with being in a new place and feeling the need to mark his territory, could be causing these problems.

I think your best bet would be to get him checked out to be sure. If he hasnt been altered, it would be good to get it done asap.

Best wishes!

Haley

 

[naturestee]

missyscove wrote:

I'm really impressed by that pet store that they'd neuter a bun before selling it, really impressed.

Petco's rabbits (for the stores that don't foster shelter rabbits) are supposed to be neutered. They're all from the same mass/commercial breeder. Of course, they'll still go through their naughty teenage stage. And I don't trust pet stores one bit.

One suggestion- put your cage on the floor, and make sure the bun can freely move in and out of it during play time. This has been the single most important thing in reducing aggression and gaining trust with my four buns. If you need to, you can build/buy steps or a ramp. Those steps meant to help dogs get onto couches are good.

 

[thezippy]

"Hi Charlie and welcome to RO! Whats your bunny's name?"

Thanks!

His name's Pasquale...

Wierd name, I suppose, but... my wife's Italian.

Pasqua = Easter.

So, its a name that's a play on "easter..."

Yeah, we're goofy.



Charlie

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

Just yesterday I emailed PETCO about the rabbits being spayed and neutered because I got a rabbit last week from them and she is so young and small I don't see how it's possible she's been fixed yet. I haven't heard back from them yet but I'm not so sure these rabbits are fixed.

 

[naturestee]

The mill breeder that supplies Petco with rabbits does spay/neuters at an uncomfortably young age in order to get baby-looking neutered rabbits into stores. They do the same thing with ferrets.

 

[pamnock]

I can't see these mills going through the expense of an invasive surgical procedure to spay/neuter 3-4 week old bunnies - it's not financially feasible.

I know a mill breeder who supplied the east coast, and those bunnies weren't neutered. Many died from the stress of being offered for sale so young - far many more would have been lost had they been neutered.

Can you picture a mill breeder taking 500 bunnies to the vet for neutering?



Pam

 

[pamnock]

Here's info on the early neutering of other pets (although I don't agree that it should be done).

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1364&articleid=902]http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1364&;articleid=902[/url]



Naturestee - do you have a Marshall link that documents their early neutering of rabbits? I found the ferret link, but can't find the rabbit link.



Pam

 

[naturestee]

This has been discussed on Etherbun quite a bit. I thought Marshall had it on their website but I think they took it down due to rescues and such questioning them on the safety of their practices, etc.

One person called Marshall Farms and they confirmed that they breed and sell rabbits that they have speutered at 6-8 weeks old. When this person asked to contact their vet, she was given no answer and no return call.

There are people out there trying to find out if this might cause health problems in the rabbits later in life. It is also suspected that the surgeries have a high mortality rate due to the early age and inexperienced techs doing the operations, although this is speculation. I could definately see them using vet techs instead of full veterinarians to decrease the cost.

Here's one link I was able to find on it.
http://www.rabbit.org/hrs-info/petco2007.html

Marshall Farms supplies rabbits to all Petco stores except those that have shelter rabbits instead.

Although I do support early spay/neuter of cats and dogs, those are larger animals and the long-term effects have been studied. I'd be much more concerned about a tiny, mass-bred rabbit surviving such a surgery, especially since even cats have to wait till they're 8 weeks old and 2 lbs.

 

[TinysMom]

Oh my......I'm sitting here looking at my 8 and 9 week old lionheads with tears running down my face when I think of THEM getting neutered and they're not as young as the rabbits you're talking about.

OH MY!

Those poor rabbits.....

I'd like to see someone go in and neuter some of those petco managers or the mill folks.....just to show them how painful it can be.

Peg
who knows now why she stays out of the infirmary!

 

[naturestee]

I know Peg, I can't even imagine. Mocha was so tiny at 8 weeks, I'd never think of doing a major surgery on her unless it was medically necessary. Not to mention who knows what the conditions are like as it is a commercial mill breeder. Make lots of babies fast, forget watching for genetic problems or health problems.:rollseyes

There's getting to be quite a bit of outcry about this, which is good. Maybe if enough of a fuss is raised Petco will stop buying these rabbits. There's a big push in San Diego because the Petcos there used to have HRS rabbits and now they have switched to buying rabbits from Marshall and aren't working with rescues any more.

 

[BEAUKEZRA]

I just got a bunny from Petco last week and she is so tiny. They told me she was fixed but I couldn't believe it. I e-mailed Petco on Friday to ask them if these rabbits were actually fixed and how they could do it at such a young age but I haven't heard back yet. I can only imagine how many must die because of this. It breaks my heart. I won't be getting any more bunnies from Petco that's for sure.

 

[pamnock]

Early neutering would not lead to problems later in life, but is a risk at such a young age.

If the mills are indeed doing it, the only way I could see a vet being able to do it in a cost effective way is to do it without anesthesia. The breeder simply could not make a profit on those bunnies unless these are $5 "budget" neuters.

Pam

 

[JadeIcing]

I am actually working on the calls and letters about this.

By the way the surgeries aren't done by vets. They are done by vet techs. Also the buns are very young.



Marshals also supplies the rabbits to be tested on. That is where they make most of their money.