Help, my house rabbit has just hit sexual maturity!!!

Hi guys,

oh please oh please somebody give me some advice!

My 'female' rabbit which I am now starting to question is actually a 'male rabbit' has become how should i put it...rather horny and I am really struggling. She is really needy and puts her scent on everything at the mo!

On monday she started humming and circling me whilst pooing. She is pooing loads! Yesterday she was out for 2 hours and I cant stand up because she runs around me pooing. I picked up 50 poos! She is litter trained!

Also, she likes to follow things in fast circles so I played with her a little bit by putting my foot in the air and circling it but she started humping my slippers.

So i got her a toy rabbit which she has been humping but tonight she seemed to release a fluid after she did it?

Firstly, is she defo a female rabbit?

Secondly, what do i do and long could this behaviour last for?

She is even off her food, she just seems to have one thing on her mind :shock:

My poor baby is a woman! ... or a man?

Any replies would be amazing,

vicplum

Regardless of whether she is a male or female this is a pretty good sign he/she is ready to be neutered. This does tend to solve nearly all of these behaviours if not all of them. How old is your bun? Are there any testicles visible?

she is 1 and does not like being handled or put on her back so i cant tell but she has been to the vets and she was classed a female. Is neutering safe?

I had no idea a female rabbit could act this intense i thought it was only males?

thanks for the reply!

Lola who is definately a girl humped everything in sight when she hit sexual maturity. She would circle my daughters boyfriend and was besotted with him. She humped absolutely everything including the sweeping brush.

is the humming a female characteristic aswell?im worried incase she gets really sick or dies from being neutered

vickyplum said:

she is 1 and does not like being handled or put on her back so i cant tell but she has been to the vets and she was classed a female. Is neutering safe?

I had no idea a female rabbit could act this intense i thought it was only males?

thanks for the reply!

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Then even if she is a girl she is old enough now to be spayed (generally 4-6 months is the lower limit). Males can be done as soon as the testicles drop 3 months+ normally.

Yes female hormonal behaviour is just as bad as males, if not worse sometimes. Unspayed does can be very territorial - hence not allowing you to handle her much, although no bun likes to be held that much anyway being a prey species.

I would give a few vet clinics a call and get some quotes for a spay or castration (depending on whether she is male/female) and book her in with the vet you feel most comfortable with (this may not be the cheapest). Spay op's are safe and straightforward if done in the right hands - an experienced rabbit-savy vet with a good success rate and familiar with rabbit medicine. Ask on the phone about things like post-op pain relief, should bun be starved before hand? (answer to this one is no as buns can not vomit and witholding food can lead to GI stasis) and what their spaying success rate is.
These articles might be helpful:
http://www.vet2pet.co.uk/pethealth/rabbithealth/neutering_rabbit.asp
http://www.vet2pet.co.uk/pethealth/rabbithealth/uterinecancer_rabbit.asp
http://www.vet2pet.co.uk/pethealth/rabbithealth/choosingavet_rabbit.asp

As you will see from the 2nd link - spaying a female is essential for long-term health as around 80% of unspayed females go on to get uterine cancer which is terminal. It will also make her much calmer and should reduce or remove these hormonal behaviours. It also means she can be bonded with a neutered male for rabbit companionship which is very important to a bunny. :wave:

I see from your avator you are in York? Anywhere near Harrogate? If you can get to Harrogate to see Francis Harcourt Brown then your bunny will be in the best hands ever for her spay - she is one of our top rabbit vets!
http://www.any-uk-vet.co.uk/harcourt-brown/

My two buns recovered so quickly from speying. GA can be risky for rabbits so it is a nerve wracking time but its well worth getting done. x

that vets you recommend is about 30 mins away frm me but i dont like the vet she sees now hes a bit odd and nearly sent an injection into my boyfriends arm! I want a real good vet because if anything happened to her i would be devastated but because she is a house rabbit the neutering needs to be done, plus it prevents cancer!

Thankyou for the advice x

Sounds very much like male behaviour to me I have to say! Have a look at this thread here: http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=46514 then turn your little one over and have a peep. Either way, the behaviour you describe is hormone related and will continue without neutering.

In the hands of an experienced vet, neutering bunnies is a safe op and the anaesthetics they use these days are no riskier than for a cat or dog - there's usually only a problem if there was a pre-existing problem anyway but even then it's rare for there to be serious complications. The male castration is literally a few minutes, it's very straightforward. The spay is a bit more tricky as they have to go inside, so recovery takes a bit longer.

I would definitely find a vet who you are happy with and who is confident and has a very high success rate with neutering male and female bunnies.

Good luck

vickyplum said:

that vets you recommend is about 30 mins away frm me but i dont like the vet she sees now hes a bit odd and nearly sent an injection into my boyfriends arm! I want a real good vet because if anything happened to her i would be devastated but because she is a house rabbit the neutering needs to be done, plus it prevents cancer!

Thankyou for the advice x

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You are SO LUCKY that one of the best rabbit vets in the world is ONLY 30 mins away from you!! Some of us would think of moving house just to be that near to a really good rabbit vet - they are like gold dust!

Your rabbit (whatever sex) will be in excellent hands =with Harcourt Brown.

vickyplum said:

Hi guys,

oh please oh please somebody give me some advice!

My 'female' rabbit which I am now starting to question is actually a 'male rabbit' has become how should i put it...rather horny and I am really struggling. She is really needy and puts her scent on everything at the mo!

On monday she started humming and circling me whilst pooing. She is pooing loads! Yesterday she was out for 2 hours and I cant stand up because she runs around me pooing. I picked up 50 poos! She is litter trained!

Also, she likes to follow things in fast circles so I played with her a little bit by putting my foot in the air and circling it but she started humping my slippers.

So i got her a toy rabbit which she has been humping but tonight she seemed to release a fluid after she did it?

Firstly, is she defo a female rabbit?

Secondly, what do i do and long could this behaviour last for?

She is even off her food, she just seems to have one thing on her mind :shock:

My poor baby is a woman! ... or a man?

Any replies would be amazing,

vicplum

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Jemima my FEMALE bunny has started doing exactly the same as you are describing!!!!!! see my post about it http://forums.rabbitrehome.org.uk/showthread.php?t=203837

Thank Goodness my bunny isn't the only one :lol: she also does a lot of grunting/honking too

instead of humping a toy she circles my feet and sprays urine and poos and grunts and gets very worked up!!!!!

She is booked in to be spayed next friday!!

I have read it is best to get spayed as soon as so that they dont get bad habbits??? dont know how true this is, but I dont want her to make a habbit of spraying urine!

She has also become ALOT more destructive, digging and chewing

Hope that helps keep us updated :wave: xxx

Well I agree with everyone about neutering, & Francis Harcourt-Brown is both a top rabbit vet, & very well thought of by the bunny mummys who have seen her.

I'm not convinced that she is a doe. Does can show more florid sexual & territorial behaviour than bucks. But it's the fluid after humping. This sounds like the "mark" of a little boy bun. Is it colourless, clear, & smells a bit like caecotrophs? = bunny semen?

Bucks can retract their testicles into their abdominal cavity at will, but usually "drop 'em" when humping or hot. I think you are going to have to have a look Sorry.

wow this vets really sounds like something else! I take it i would be a fool not to take ruby/ruben to see her! Im pleased my bun is not the only one with these lil problems and to b honest i think maybe it was semen after the humping therefore she is a boy! And she has been giving me a lot more of the loving attention but biting my boyfriend. Maybe its a jealous male!

I will keep u all updated as to wether shes a he or hes a she lol and also how the vets goes.

What a going on but you know what... I wouldnt change it for the world, ruby is my lil best friend

Thanks to everyone who has helped x

Hi everyone, Ruby had her spay and im pleased to say is home recovering well and has eaten i am soooo happy!! Thanks for all the advice and especially for recommending the vets Harcourt-Brown. She was amazing, i would recommend her to anyone!

Vicky x

vickyplum said:

Hi everyone, Ruby had her spay and im pleased to say is home recovering well and has eaten i am soooo happy!! Thanks for all the advice and especially for recommending the vets Harcourt-Brown. She was amazing, i would recommend her to anyone!

Vicky x

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glad all went well. :wave:

,nm,n

I'm delighted that all has gone well.
I'm also really pleased you've got one of the top bunny vets.

Thats brilliant news:wave::wave: