desexing

[Victoria]

Hi there is one more question I have - I already posted two topics this week. I have two bunnies who are not desexed. They are male dwarf mix and weigh around 1.9 - 2.1 kg each. They are 2.5 year olds and possibly brothers. We did not desex them for several reasons - where we are exotic and general vet and meds are extremely expensive and although we do take them tothe vet'swhen it is necessary (like head tilt that Black had this year) we avoid going to the vets it can lead to be thousands. Another reason we were not sure if it will be safe as they are quite small and I heard that small animals are not good with anesthetics.

I wanted to find out if anyone also has rabbits that havent been neutered? How does this affect the rabbit's -specifically male rabbit's health and behaviour.

I read about the problems that can happengenerally and would liketo know re personal experiences with this.

My rabbit Black does not do anything apart from getting really badly territorial with Red - so that we had to separate them and they never go out together for fear of death of the Red, last time he tried to kill him -bit him on the cheek prob tried to blind him and would not let goor he would go for his throat.

Red was always more "amourous" and he used to hump Black when they lived in one cage against his will and then after Black got territorial he started to attack Red as well may be humping was also dominance technique.

Also both of them smell around spring time (I think may be autumn as well I cant remember well).

They both live at home (unit) with us.

Red circles legs or sometimes objects, makes buzzing noises, thumps and sometimes tries to hump our hands, arms if we put something into his cage or mount our legs. Black does not circle or hump etc. I usually just leaveRed in the cage when he starts doing this and after the season passes he is back to his usual self within aboutone week.

All of this (apart from aggression in Black to Red) is not a big problem so we think of letting them be but sometimes I still think may be we should desex them.

 

[Maureen Las]

Many of thebehaviors that you are describing with both rabbits are hormonal in nature and would be eliminated after a neuter.

Even after a neuter 2 male rabbit often are aggressive with each other, however, they are usually much more ferocious pre neuter.
Rabbits do well with neuters/spays but only in the hands of a veterinarian that is skilled , knowledgable and experienced. A vet that shows indecision or balks at the idea of a neuter "suggesting it is dangerous" probably has done few and should be avoided


Male rabbits often spray and their urine has a very strong scent.

Generally a male rabbit makes a clean and tamer pet if neutered .

In your case if you can find an experienced vet best to do it but if not best to cope as you have been.
here are some vets from Australia

http://www.rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=13623&forum_id=9

You have already seen what happens if 2 intact males are permitted to be together.

 

[Victoria]

Their urine is very strong!! and it has worse smell around spring like now...
Thank you for the info about the vets. We go to an exotics vet and they can do it. Also the pet shop from where we got the rabbits (I don’t like getting small animals from shops any more they were not always reliable or knew about the pets, some were bred for food (rats) right in the shop) gave us information but we have not followed it at the time.
and still thinking.
They are not too bad yeah really smelly thats the main problem especially in a unit and can get aggressive as well (Black). I think may be we will keep them as they are.

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Getting them neutered should definitely improve those behaviours you listed. In the meantime, try adding some vanilla extract to their water. It eliminates the stinky pee smell (and makes their fur smell good!). There are other products you canadd to their waterand some pellet brandsinclude yucca extract,but I don't know if they're available or not in Australia.

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Victoria]

The vanilla extract - what is it? I only have vanilla for cooking is it the one and how much do you add?

 

[funnybunnymummy]

Yep, the vanilla you use for cooking/baking. You add a few drops. Just enough to colour the water. Too much and it might be too strong tasting and your bun won't drink it. (What happened to me the first time I used it!)

Hope that helps!

Rue

 

[Sweetie]

When male rabbits are 10weeks and older a vet will neuter them. They can survive the surgery, as long as it is done by a rabbit knowledgeable vet. I would get your rabbits neutered to prevent them from being aggressive towards each other.

 

[Victoria]

Ok will try. One of the rabbits does not drink anything that looks /taste "off" even a little - he even refuses to drink from the bowl if it does not belong to him (once he did not drink for about 30 hours and I tried to give him juice and other things to keep his moisture up until I realised that I gave him wrong bowl that belongs to Black!).
The after neutering care can be so expensive so we wont be doing it this year, but if we decide to neuter I know should do it sooner rather than later, they re going to be 3 years old.

 

[ra7751]

Couple of things here. First, the only thing you get by putting something in the water is contaminated water. I doubt that adding vanilla or much of anything elsewill do much to alter a urine smell....that is directly related to the fermentation in the gut. Most upper end pellets have supplements that do help with urine smell. Excessive proteins, such as too many pellets or treats, can stress the kidneys and cause a concentrated odor. It is usually stronger in unalteredmales....we call theodor "boy bunny". Male rabbits can be safely neutered as soon as the testicles descend....and that is usually somewhere around three months. We have seen some issues with males that are actually neutered too early.

Randy

 

[tonyshuman]

Vanilla in the urine is used by breeders to keep flies away, by some to reduce smell, and by others to increase water consumption because it's tasty. I can only personally vouch for the last one working, but have heard from some good sources about the other ones. I know MikeScone is having some difficulty keeping his bunny Scone hydrated lately due to some kidney issues, and adding vanilla and/or artificial sweetener to the water has really increased Scone's water intake.

 

[Victoria]

i have not added yet. may upset their stomach? we dont have it at home any way. and doesnt vanilla extract have some additives/preservatives in it?

 

[Maureen Las]

I hope Randy sees this and comments on it

I just tried to find a product on-line and ran across this one ; I have no idea if it is safe or not
I have never used vanilla extract only because I tasted it once myself and it is very strong and tastes like pure alcohol..if it was diluted a lot I am quite sure would not harm the rabbit but just the thought of that taste grosses me out...

here is the Marshall product for what it is worth ??



http://www.rabbitstop.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=FS221

 

[Victoria]

I had a look at the Marshall BiOdor product online and will check if we may have something like that in the pet shop. (It has so many chemicals too dont know what they are.)

 

[tonyshuman]

I'm not sure why they say the Marshall product will reduce scent. Most of the chemicals in it are simple amino acids, which are the things that proteins are made of. Randy isn't a fan of adding anything to the water, and it's true that vanilla extract is at least 70% alcohol, but I think in tiny amounts it's not going to hurt. The recipe I've heard is i teaspoon to a gallon of water--that comes to just a few drops for a bowl.

 

[Victoria]