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Female rabbits weeing everywhere

Willow218

Willow218

New Kit
I've got two unneutered female Netherland Dwarf rabbits. They are 17 weeks old and usually friendly.

Over the last week one of them has bitten my daughter 3 times. They are also weeing all over their hutch, they are spraying (photo below) up the sides and its soaked daily. I've checked its not rain getting in, it's not as they've got a fab waterproof cover.

Is it time to get them neutered, is it territorial behaviour as they are always humping each other and nipping. They are happy together though as I've had them since they were 8 weeks old and they are sisters.

Will neutering help with litter training as they are hit and miss!
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If they are spraying I would check if one or both is/are males. Obviously, if you have one of each sex you will need to separate them. My guess is one is definitely a male and if both are boys there is a high chance they will start to fight and can hurt one another badly. Sorry to tell you this but it happens all the time with young Rabbits.
 
Hormones are hitting in. Vets ASAP to confirm sex's and to arrange neutering.

Neutering will help with litter training and behaviours but can take many weeks to show any benefits.
I'd recommend not picking the buns up until long after neutering as it will reinforce the biting.

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Hi, they are definitely girls, they've been seen by the vet twice for vaccinations, so I hope they've got it right!

Is it usual for girls to spray like that, the hutch is covered in urine.

I'll get them booked in for the op ASAP.

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Willow218 said:
Hi, they are definitely girls, they've been seen by the vet twice for vaccinations, so I hope they've got it right!

Is it usual for girls to spray like that, the hutch is covered in urine.

I'll get them booked in for the op ASAP.

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Click to expand...
Girls can spray like that. Daphne was a little madam for it but she's a highly hormonal girl even after being neutered.

Try to avoid separating if you can as it'll make keeping them together easier but if you're worried about fighting at all then consider splitting their housing with a wire divider so they can still interact and swap sides every 2 days to reduce any territorial disputes when reintroduced.

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My girl sprayed when I introduced a male so it's not unheard of. If you do get them spayed they will need to stay indoors for a few days to recover. Post spay litter training should be easier. Some rabbits never become fans of being held/cuddled, that's just who they are.
 
Oh dear, it appears two girls maybe a girl and boy! We were cuddling them tonight and I had a look and I'm convinced I saw testicles!

Loki kept humping Nova who was not happy and she was making a funny noise, so I thought I'd check, not that I really know what I'm looking for.

How likely is it a vet that's examined them twice would get it wrong. I've booked them in to be neutered now as we can't take the chance of a pregnancy. I just hope we're not too late!

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Unfortunatly, sexing rabbits can be a difficult task.

If one is indeed a male, and they are 17 weeks old - you're expecting baby bunnies. The doe being vocal (strange noises) around the buck is what I use to determine if a doe took or not.

So, read up, prepare a nestboix an d seperate them. The last thing you want is a buck around a doe giving birth - he would impregnate her right again, sometimes not even waiting til she's finished delivering. There isn#t anything that gets a buck more horny than a delivering doe. (one of the less cute aspects of rabbits)
 
Oh no, I don't know how to deal with baby bunnies. I've nowhere to separate them either, but if she's pregnant I'll have to.

We have a two story hutch, can I take the steps out avd put a board across the gap to block it off. The hutch is really big so enough room top and bottom for each of them.

I'm taking Loki to the vet today to get them to check for testicles then I'll know what to prepare for!


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Some boys look just like girls and even Vets and breeders can be mistaken. It was the spraying which made me suspicious. Please separate them now. I hope all turns out ok in the end. They are Rabbits- what do we expect? :D
 
You can divide the hutch into top and bottom. Put the girl in at the top so she has the bedroom. If you are too late and she has babies, we can advise you. It's not really your fault so don't feel too bad.
 
The hutch two bedrooms, one top one bottom. It's very big.

Do I need to bring her inside and put her in the spare room?

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If you do bring her indoors she will have to stay in until the weather warms up, maybe May. I have a feeling you might have 2 boys, have you had a look at the other one? If they are 2 boys they will still need to be separated now as the humping and spraying are signs of vying for dominance. This will no doubt lead to fighting. It happens frequently so don't be too upset. It obviously is not the bunnies' fault, bless 'em.
 
I've booked the rabbit in the vets to get them to check again for testicles!

I'm not sure if I've been duped to be honest. I specifically asked the breeder for two girls from the same litter so they were bonded. I drove for an hour and half to collect them and when I got there she told me they weren't sisters but had the same dad, and they'd been together 10 days and were fine with each other.

I've never had rabbits before, I had my daughter with me who was very excited and it was a birthday gift, and I didn't know what to say. So I paid and left. Now I'm thinking she's given me one of each or two boys.

Or it might just be an innocent mistake. I'll update later with the news! [emoji195]

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It is not always possible to define the sex of baby Rabbits until they are around 13w weeks. It is no-one's fault. I go on other Forums and the same thing happens regularly.
 
It's definitely a male, so we've separated them. Boy on the bottom and girl on the top both got bedroom areas.

Vet said we've got a few choices, she thinks it's unlikely she could be pregnant at 17 weeks, I don't agree with that. So we can take them both on Tuesday to be neutered, they can examine her to see if she's pregnant and then make a decision on neutering her, if she's early on they can proceed (I'm not sure I can live with that though).

Or we wait 30 days to see if she shows signs, if she's not get her done after the 30 days, or if she is deal with the babies.

I really don't know what to do? Can anyone advise the best action to take please.

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Personally I'd take both and if she does appear pregnant and is early in the cycle I'd seriously consider neutering.

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I would err on the side of caution myself and allow the pregnancy to proceed (if she is a girl)but she may not feed them or they could be born dead with her being so young. Did you have both of them sexed?
 
I've booked Nova in to be neutered on Tuesday, but I'm now having doubts.

She's spending all her time in her bedroom, she's done this below to the box and hay. So I now think she might be pregnant, how far along I don't know.

Will the vet find out she's pregnant before they operate, and if she is what will they do. I'm torn between just doing it but feel so so cruel to her and the kits. I have no clue how to look after baby rabbits and what to do with them when they are old enough to leave her.
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We are going to be a bit divided on this one but I am in the camp of allowing the pregnancy to proceed, mainly as we don't know when she got pregnant. Mums do all the work for the first 3 weeks, we just feed her as normal but they do like wild forage if possible.
 
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