A question about spaying

[Smitty52]

Hi all,

Our 7 month old Gracie is getting into the awful habit of pooping all over the place when she's out of her pen.(and peeing on the couch) She has a 4 X 4 pen that she shares with her daughter Blue, where they are very good to use their litter box. But when I let them out to run around the living room they go everywhere. I posted a question before about this and the answer was that it seemed like she was marking, as she also rubs her chin on everything she can. When we first got her (she was pregnant) she was very good to only go in the litter box, but once her babies got older she started this. And now I think Blue is starting to pick up her mom's bad habits. We also have a large dog which I'm wondering if she is trying to mark her territory from him. She has also started to mount her daughter which is something I'd like to stop asap.


Gracie and Blue are the first rabbits I've had and after following the posts on here and what I've read on the internet it seems like rabbits are very interesting and enjoyable pets to have. So far my experience has not been that positive due to these behaviours. But they are so darn cute so I'd really like to get to a point where we can all live in harmony together.

The going rate around here for a rabbit spay seems to be $150-180. I guess my question is do you guys really think the spay will put a stop to these behaviours? Because I would hate to spend the money and have nothing change.

 

[agnesthelion]

I have no personal experience but the experts on here seem to say there's a great chance unwanted marking will stop with a spay. I plan to spay Agnes within the next month or so. She isn't peeing or pooping but I am mainly doing it for health reasons but also to stop hormones too.

I'm sure you will get some more input on this. But just wanted to say that I've done a lot of research on spaying and I'm supportive of it.

Good luck!

 

[LakeCondo]

Because you didn't have her before she got pregnant you don't know if she used a litter box then or not. Do you don't know if she only seemed trained during pregnancy & reverted to her usual behavior or if now using a litter box is new.

If it's just a few poops it's probably territorial, but if it's a whole load, then probably not. If the 2 are ok in the xpen, why not just keep them in there, or attach another one to give them more room. If there's not room to spread it all the way out, you can fold part of it out of the way. I use an xpen for Honey with an attached grate & visit her in it.

About spaying, that sounds quite a high price. The only prices that high that I remember mentioning are in the New York area. Maybe you could check with your local shelter & see who they use. Or you might have to travel from PEI. Maybe you could get a reduced rate for having both done.

Nothing is guaranteed, but besides behavioral changes, getting a rabbit spayed usually lets her live longer by eliminating the chance of reproductive cancers. By age 5 or so, the rate of these cancers becomes very high for female rabbits.

 

[MiniLopHop]

LOL That sounded cheap to me. I payed $300 for mine, but I live in a pricy area.

I can tell you from having an unspayed female for about two weeks before she got in to see the vet, Sophie went EVERYWHERE before her spay. Now she is SO much better! I did have to put a corner box in the living room because Sophie and Becky were having a territorial disput in the one corner, but they use the box now it is there. I was able to cut down from 4 huge boxes in her room (which she still managed not to hit all the time) to one large one after the hormones were gone (she sometimes misses over the side, but it is because she has a big butt).

The humping should also stop after getting spayed. It sounds like the mom is reacting to her daughter starting to mature. Honestly, I would not be able to tollerate an unaltered bun in my house. They stink and don't behave themselves. Once the hormones are gone they are so much better behaved warren citizens.

 

[agnesthelion]

FYI....as far as spay prices, in my area I was quoted $110 all the way to $265. Ironically, the rabbit savvy vet was the $110 price. How convenient

But I was blown away at the differences. The next "cheapest" was $180, and from there everything else was above $200. I talked to about 6-8 vets before finding a true rabbit vet in my area.

Good luck!

 

[Nancy McClelland]

Spaying does mitigate their behavior and cuts down on the marking or territorial actions, but, each one is an individual. Since they are all four legged poop machines, we own a large shop vac--also picks up hay easily.

 

[LionheadLando]

where I'm from I was quoted at $110. Everywhere else wanted min. $250

 

[SweetPeasMom]

I have not spayed my bun as of yet cost my price is $475.

Rabbits poop/pee everywhere; Its very similar to dogs...when you walk a dog they will pee everywhere to mark their territory. Bun will do the same, But if the rabbit is at the same place for a long time they will not do it as much. The more the the place smells like them, the less they will poo. But if there is other pets in the house then it may do it for a very long time. Its very natural and healthy for a rabbit to do this.....some rabbits will spray their urine everywhere to mark its territory...if your rabbit only poo rabbit buttons, then you are lucky.

I would say take your rabbit out of his/her cage more to explore and get used to the place and it will not happen so much.... **but just so you know, they will always do it...... they cant really control it
:bunnysuit:

 

[MagPie]

After I had Harvey neutered the spraying and mounting went away. In my case it was the cats that made him spray everything, including the cats haha. Good luck.

 

[Ape337]

It was like night and day after I had Faith spayed. She was spayed this past January, we estimate she was about 6 months old and she had just hit puberty. She pooed and peed everywhere! Then she was spayed and now she's totally the opposite! She pees only in her box now with the occasional poo pellet outside the box (I think it's from her launching herself out of the box).

Best $175.00 I have ever spent :biggrin2: