Is there a way to tell?

[The Frenzied Fox]

Hi everyone I don't have a ton of time now so I'll have to introduce myself later but last Saturday I found a wonderful female lionhead rabbit running up the side of a busy street out here. (closest things were fields and a tractor supply store) I brought her home and since she has bonded (already!) with my 7 1/2 year old neatherland dwarf bun, Pipkin. He's already neutered as I adopted him when he was 6mos at a shelter. Is there a way to find out by looking if (we are calling her Tribble) is spayed? She gets along with Pipkin but I know they recommend spaying females to avoid risk of ovarian cancer. It's SO expensive here though--$225 0_o I doubt she is already fixed but.... is there a way to know for sure? Thanks!

 

[Korr_and_Sophie]

You can sometimes go on behaviour, but not all will act the same if they are intact. With some is is very obvious they are not done, but with others it is harder to tell.
You can try to look for a scar. This would mean shaving the belly. Most scars are very faint and hard to find, especially if they were spayed at a young age.
A vet might be able to do an ultra sound, but this could be expensive on it's own.

 

[The Frenzied Fox]

Do you have any tips on being able to tell with behavior? My male has tried to hump her a little (but it may have been for figuring out pecking order, not sure) but he's not excessive about it. She's overall a really calm bun.

 

[pamnock]

An expert palpater may be able to feel. The uterine horns have a putty-like feel and horseshoe-type shape.

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Don't know of any simple, sure fire methods, but we've only gotten one out of 37 rescues that had been neutered. Thought she had a retained kit from a pregnancy as it could be felt, but when the vet opened her they found that she was neutered but had a gigantic bladder stone, so it was just as well. Talk to a vet and see what they think.

 

[The Frenzied Fox]

Ok thanks everyone! My guess is she is probably not fixed since most people probably don't do that for their buns in that case.

 

[Watermelons]

Honestly, easiest thing to do would be to get her little belly shaved and look. Short of being a little embarrassed, its not going to hurt her

Where are you located? Maybe another member knows of a cheaper vet in the area? Even within a 30min drive prices can vary from $20-400. I think I paid $20 or 40 each for my guys to be done?

 

[Azerane]

That's so nice that they're bonding well already, very lucky As for whether she's spayed, I know that here if your animal is de-sexed they put a tattoo in one of their ears, but I'm not sure if that's common practice anywhere else.

It could be a little tricky to tell with behaviour, she may just be a really relaxed rabbit either way. Some whole females can be defensive of their cage spaces, but some aren't.

 

[The Frenzied Fox]

Watermelons, think I'll give the shave a try if I can get my husband to help! Thanks for the advice. I live in the Ithaca NY area. I checked the NYS HRS chapter website and their only vet recommendation listed for the area was Cornell vet school. That was $295! My vet does it for $225 but when I contacted the Tompkins County SPCA about lower cost spays they said they do cats and dogs only, not rabbits. :-/ If anyone does know some place more affordable I WOULD appreciate it! $20 or $40 would be nice. Otherwise I may need to see if I can try to fundraise by drawing or painting people's buns if they are interested.

Azerane, out here they only tattoo them sometimes. My bun Pipkin is neutered but doesn't get the tattoo. I think it depends on the vet perhaps?

Thanks for all your help everybun! It's so much appreciated!