Neutering to help with poop????

Hi everybody!! My bunny is 2 years old and we’ve had him for appx. 6 months. He is not fixed and is pooping everywhere! I’ve researched this and research says that getting him neutered will help with this as it is territorial hormones. My question is this — Has anybody actually had their rabbit fixed at 2 years old and actually noticed a difference in the pooping afterwards. Please help!!! I really want to know your personal experience Thank you!!

Rabbit rescues regularly neuter rabbits at that age and years older. With an experienced vet, the procedure is pretty routine. I don't have personal experience of 'before & after' since the bulk of my rabbits were already fixed when I got them. However, none of my fixed rabbits had issues with excessive poo scattering...just the usual occasional droppings. I do know that at least one of my male rabbits was 5 years old when he was neutered (by the rescue). He had come from a hoarding situation and was not litter trained beforehand. When I got him, he trained readily and only left the normal occasional droppings about.

tracymason1972 said:

Hi everybody!! My bunny is 2 years old and we’ve had him for appx. 6 months. He is not fixed and is pooping everywhere! I’ve researched this and research says that getting him neutered will help with this as it is territorial hormones. My question is this — Has anybody actually had their rabbit fixed at 2 years old and actually noticed a difference in the pooping afterwards. Please help!!! I really want to know your personal experience Thank you!!

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Hi, I was wondering if you've since had your bunny fixed, and if it made any difference? I was just searching the site using keyword poop lol because our new boy bunny (10 wks old) is literally pooping everywhere in his enclosure so fast that I can't even keep up. He's just constantly walking on it, laying on it, etc. and it's so unsanitary!

Maverick Top Bun said:

Hi, I was wondering if you've since had your bunny fixed, and if it made any difference? I was just searching the site using keyword poop lol because our new boy bunny (10 wks old) is literally pooping everywhere in his enclosure so fast that I can't even keep up. He's just constantly walking on it, laying on it, etc. and it's so unsanitary!

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10 weeks olds is completely normal for them to poop everywhere. They don't really develop a "spot" to poop in (like a litterbox) until they really reach puberty at 4-6 months. And the poop itself isn't very unsanitary unless it gets wet - make sure his place stays dry. If his poop isn't 100% dry and hard to start off with then there might be some health issues to look in to.

None of my current rabbits are fixed and none of them have issues with scattering poop but also I don't have breeds that are very hormonal like Holland lops and some other small breeds are. I've seen some get better with pooping in one spot after the procedure and I've seen some get worse after it. Personally I wouldn't put an animal through surgery just to make cleaning up after them easier, any surgery has risks, unless this is something thats really affecting your ability to care for him.

SableSteel said:

10 weeks olds is completely normal for them to poop everywhere. They don't really develop a "spot" to poop in (like a litterbox) until they really reach puberty at 4-6 months. And the poop itself isn't very unsanitary unless it gets wet - make sure his place stays dry. If his poop isn't 100% dry and hard to start off with then there might be some health issues to look in to.

None of my current rabbits are fixed and none of them have issues with scattering poop but also I don't have breeds that are very hormonal like Holland lops and some other small breeds are. I've seen some get better with pooping in one spot after the procedure and I've seen some get worse after it. Personally I wouldn't put an animal through surgery just to make cleaning up after them easier, any surgery has risks, unless this is something thats really affecting your ability to care for him.

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Yes that's correct, his poops are very good condition. Not wet at all. I got a little hand broom and dust pan, which I've been using to sweep up all the poops he leaves outside his box. He doesn't seem to be bothered by his poop at all, so I'm learning in that way that rabbits are different! I had mistakenly approached that thought process from a dog-owner frame of mind, that he would be averse to his own poop.

My fixed lionhead is approx 5-6 years old and he STILL leaves territorial poops, every single night around his and his wife's litterbox as well as all around my coffee table and in the corner under it where they sleep.
I feel there is either another bunny nearby or he just isn't willing to stop marking their territory.

Hello everyone. I have two bunnies (male and female, about 1 year old), and I'm currently in the process of bonding them. My boy's fixed, and he used to be perfectly trained, but now he keeps pooping (and, worse, peeing) everywhere! I've tried to spray vinegar in certain areas to deter him, but then he manages to go right next to the vinegar instead! Is this possibly because of the bonding process? I have him and my girl living right near each other at the moment to facilitate the bonding, so is he just trying to show off? Funny that he thinks she would find his excess poop so attractive, ha. These sexy little creatures.

LolaE said:

Hello everyone. I have two bunnies (male and female, about 1 year old), and I'm currently in the process of bonding them. My boy's fixed, and he used to be perfectly trained, but now he keeps pooping (and, worse, peeing) everywhere! I've tried to spray vinegar in certain areas to deter him, but then he manages to go right next to the vinegar instead! Is this possibly because of the bonding process? I have him and my girl living right near each other at the moment to facilitate the bonding, so is he just trying to show off? Funny that he thinks she would find his excess poop so attractive, ha. These sexy little creatures.

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Yes, bonding can cause territorial marking behavior. If the girl bun is pretty new, having a new rabbit around can also cause this. If he's picking a particular spot, or doing it near the barrier between them, you could try putting an extra litter box there for now.

JBun said:

Yes, bonding can cause territorial marking behavior. If the girl bun is pretty new, having a new rabbit around can also cause this. If he's picking a particular spot, or doing it near the barrier between them, you could try putting an extra litter box there for now.

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Thanks, JBun--that probably is what it is. They're not new to each other at all by now, but he does seem quite smitten with her! Bonding is going well otherwise, so I'll see if he gets a little neater when they actually start living together.

Our newest intake got neutered a month ago. He shares a bunny bedroom with an 10 yo spayed harlequin and 7 yo neutered dutch.

Prior to neuter and during his pre-neuter playshift time, poops and pee went everywhere. On hubby and myself of course with the urine jets. The spraying hose with stinky urine was a challenge.

His hormonal spraying is dissipating - and subsided greatly - since post-op recovery time, and less and less marking marbles are deposited. A heckuva lot less wrt dry marking marbles.

He also readily hops into the bedroom community litter boxes with the hay stash to munch hay and do his business in the appropriate spot.

@LolaE , we had two sp/eutered buns in bonding mode in 2003. They acclimated once permanently bonded, yet there may be a stray marble emitted now and then. I went thru a time when our female didn't like the litter box we had and had to change the restroom location and accessibility.

I am pleased to hear bonding is going smoothly so far. Helps the marking if both buns are altered.

TreasuredFriend said:

@LolaE , we had two sp/eutered buns in bonding mode in 2003. They acclimated once permanently bonded, yet there may be a stray marble emitted now and then. I went thru a time when our female didn't like the litter box we had and had to change the restroom location and accessibility.

I am pleased to hear bonding is going smoothly so far. Helps the marking if both buns are altered.

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Thanks! I actually haven't spayed my female yet (health reasons), but I plan to eventually--I have a question about that with the bonding process, but I'll make a separate post to keep this one litter-related...

tracymason1972 said:

Hi everybody!! My bunny is 2 years old and we’ve had him for appx. 6 months. He is not fixed and is pooping everywhere! I’ve researched this and research says that getting him neutered will help with this as it is territorial hormones. My question is this — Has anybody actually had their rabbit fixed at 2 years old and actually noticed a difference in the pooping afterwards. Please help!!! I really want to know your personal experience Thank you!!

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We just had our boy neutered on 5/2 at 1yr7mos. Before, in the mos leading up to it his poop & peeing marking habits (and humping) began to increase dramatically. It’s only been 4w now and he has completely stopped marking our 2nd floor and now he only poops (less though) on the mat in our entryway and he hasn’t peed on it in a week (where it was daily). So now 100% of pee is in litter box and poops are like 85-90% in the litter box and 10-15% on the mat.

Of all places right in our entryway, “WELCOME” LOL