Has she been neutered or not?!

Hi, I hope some one can help me.

I adopted a female rabbit about a year ago from the RSPCA. She is now bonded with my neutered male Pedro and they happily live in a shed/run combo together outside. When I got her I was told she had been neutered and had no reason to doubt this was true. However, her behaviour really makes me think otherwise now. She humps Pedros face constantly (poor chap finds it most intolerable!), is quite highly strung and I have realised that she seems to have the equivalent of a rabbit peroid every so often and during this time Pedro won't leave her alone!

I am really concerned that she hasn't been because of the long term health implications. Does it sound like she has been neutered as I am now convinced she hasn't.

Also, where would I stand legally on this as I still have her adoption certificate claiming she has and paid a fee to cover her medical expenses. If she hasn't been neutered than I haave paid 40 odd quid for a mixy vaccination that I could have had done for £20 at the vets! Should they foot the bill for her to be neutered if indeed she hasn't? As I specifically said I only wanted a neutered female and think I might have been duped.

Many thanks

xx

It's very hard to tell is a girl has been spayed. A vet can shave her and then look for a scar, or possibly feel for a scar.

It may be that she wants to be dominant with the boy. Rabbits don't have periods, they are induced ovulators, however, they can have times when they are more in season.

In terms of where you stand with the RSPCA, you should contact them and tell them your concerns. They should then follow this up, shave her, and then open her up/spay her. It may be they actually did it themselves, and therefore it will be on the records, but it may be they have been told she is, when she isn't. I volunteer with the RSPCA and have had this issue crop up a couple of times, and the centre should sort it out for you (but obviously that depends on how good they are).

If she has been spayed then it may be behavioural in which case you might have to look at the reasons around why she might be doing that at that particular time (such as insecurity if a particular animal/person is around).

I second the comment that it can be very difficult to tell whether a doe has been spayed or not. With male bucks it is so easy, but, unfortunately, things are not as clear cut (no pun intended) for females.

The easiest thing to do would be to shave her stomach to see whether she has a scar or not. You can try to feel for one, but I've found it a lot easier and fool proof to visually see it rather than question whether what you're feeling is indeed a scar. If you're not comfortable doing this, then I would suggest bringing her to the vet. The appointment should be quick, easy, and painless while also giving you the piece of mind you're looking for.

Both bucks and does will hump one another as a sign of dominance. She may be trying to vie for the coveted alpha position and, by all appearances, it seems as though she is doing well in that respect. I wouldn't necessarily be concerned unless your neutered buck is being nipped at or they are fighting constantly. Does she still allow him his place at the "dinner table?" Is he allowed to play with their toys and receive affection from you? If he can move around and properly take care of himself and be cared for, then I wouldn't be quick to separate them. Sometimes a man needs a little lady to put him (or keep him) in his place !

As far as seeing evidence of her "period" I am not sure whether or not that is possible. From what I understand, a doe doesn't ovulate in the same manner as their human counterparts. They will release an egg only following "relations" with an intact buck. However, some signs of being in "heat" would be swelling of the genitalia as well as the coloration turning anywhere from more pink to an almost purple color. You should never see blood and that is indicative of potentially serious health concerns -- if you have seen blood I would get her in to see a vet as soon as possible.

Since female rabbits have a high risk for developing uterine tumors (and sometimes cancer) I would have her checked to ensure that she is indeed spayed. And, if she is not, I would present the RSPCA with the paperwork from the vet and ask them if they would be willing to foot the bill for her surgery since you adopted her with the knowledge that she was already altered. I know that when I adopted a female rabbit from a rescue locally there was a clause in the adoption contract that discussed such instances. I would definitely take a good look at the information provided to you by the RSPCA and see what clauses there are -- if there are -- and then take it from there. If you adopted her with the knowledge that she was spayed and she's indeed not, then I would say you definitely would have grounds to ask the RSPCA to cover your expenses.

I'm from the US and things may be different here, but I do feel you have legal precedent if she is indeed unaltered and you have paperwork stating you adopted an altered animal. If you have any other concerns it may be wise to speak with a lawyer (I believe they are solicitors overseas). Many times they will waive the initial fee and usually that time is enough to get the information needed in order to move forward.

At any rate, good luck and I'm sorry you're having to question something that should have never occurred. I hope everything works out and that she is indeed already altered. In the meantime, however, try not to worry too much -- at least she's in the care of someone who is knowledgable and has her best interest at heart.

A good rabbit vet may be able to feel a scar without shaving if not an ultra sound scan would show whether or not she has been spayed. This would prevent her being opened up needlessly.

Does she just show dominant behaviour or does she also have phantom pregnancies ie make nests every few months by collecting hay and pulling fur out?
Most unneutered females would display this kind of behaviour.

Ok, I have seen blood from time to time so that is concerning. A possible explaination is that Pedro has nipped her during a face humping session as he will tolerate it to a point but if she is too enthusiastic he nips to see her off. I will keep an eye on her and the next time she appears to be bleeding will take her to the vets quick smart to check up on her. She is in good health generally though, eats well, nice coat, good teeth etc so no other indicators that she might be sick.

Pedro is definatley dominant out of the 2. He will let Snowy get away with most things but will not tolerate any rubbish from her. They play together though, cuddle up and groom each other and both eat and come for cuddles no problem so I don't think there are any behaviour problems as such. I know they had problems rehoming Snowy as no other male would put up with trying to be humped by her and a fight would ensue. So maybe it is just something she has always done. I know she was in rescue for a while and the centre didn't have any history on her as she was a transfer from another centre that had no luck homing her. Maybe she is just a bit of an odd bun, lol.

As for phantom pregnancies, I have found large clumps of hair in the nest box from time to time but never in a nest of any sort and I can't tell which rabbit it is from as there are no bald tummies etc.

Luckily my boyfriends brothers girlfriend is a vet so I will ask her to help me shave her tummy and have a look when she is next around. That should help clear a few things up.

As far as being insecure goes, she is quite a nervy animal, far more worried by things than Pedro but there doesn't seem to be any reason for this other than she is not really used to human contact (I never pick her up except to go to the vets but she will clamber on my lap if I sit in the run etc). We have cats and a dog but she seems completely unfazed my them and touches noses through the mesh etc. It is more unexpected noises etc that set her off on a mad dash.

Thanks for everyones help, I will get my friend to help me shave her and check her and keep an eye on the bleeding. Meanwhile he is a pic of the happy couple

Do un-neutered rabbits always make nests at certain times of year? My Crunchie shows no signs of doing this (which is a teeny shame, because Abigail's annual nests were so cute!) and she is not agressive or territorial, but we were told she is un-neutered. Could they behave differently with a boy rabbit around?

If you have seen blood coming from "that" area I would take her to the vets as soon as you get the chance, it isn't normal and could be something wrong with her.

I agee that blood needs to be checked out ASAP, but are you sure its blood? Sometimes rabbits urine can be red which can obviously look like blood but isnt.

When you next see it (if you see it again) maybe have a really close look if you are not sure if it's blood or not.

Good luck with the shaving

(and heleni, all rabbits are different with hormones, some act and show it, some you don't even know they are still intact. Rabbits have a breeding season, but normally only make a nest if something triggers their hormones to do so -such as a male around, or something like that.)

Rabbits don't have periods or seasons so there should be no blood and no regularly moody period.

It's normal for neutered rabbits of both sexes to hump each other

I just wanted to clarify that I was talking about the breeding season in general (as in the time frame in the year), not a specific rabbit going into season.

(although in my first post I said season, and didn't mean that, I was talking about times when a doe is more ready to breed, such as the times lexiecon was talking about in terms of swollen and pink genatalia).

Just wanted to clear that up I have a tendency to not communicate exactly what I'm thinking, sorry.

Sporen said:

Hi, I hope some one can help me.

I adopted a female rabbit about a year ago from the RSPCA. She is now bonded with my neutered male Pedro and they happily live in a shed/run combo together outside. When I got her I was told she had been neutered and had no reason to doubt this was true. However, her behaviour really makes me think otherwise now. She humps Pedros face constantly (poor chap finds it most intolerable!), is quite highly strung and I have realised that she seems to have the equivalent of a rabbit peroid every so often and during this time Pedro won't leave her alone!

I am really concerned that she hasn't been because of the long term health implications. Does it sound like she has been neutered as I am now convinced she hasn't.

Also, where would I stand legally on this as I still have her adoption certificate claiming she has and paid a fee to cover her medical expenses. If she hasn't been neutered than I haave paid 40 odd quid for a mixy vaccination that I could have had done for £20 at the vets! Should they foot the bill for her to be neutered if indeed she hasn't? As I specifically said I only wanted a neutered female and think I might have been duped.

Many thanks

xx

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Most of your questions have already been answered, but I suspect that the £40.00 would be the adoption fee, which would include a thorough medical check and myxi vacc.I think that amount of set fee helps subsidise the cost of neutering the rabbits that come into the rspca centres as it certainly wouldn't cover the cost of spaying.