Do unspayed females have periods?

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kirsterz09

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Hi all was just wondering about this as noticed blood stains in her fur around her rear and as there is no physical signs of bleeding or bloody faeces, I was wondering if periods could be the reason?
 
Ah, no. Rabbits are a species that is in season most of the time, but goes through stages of being unreceptive, they don't hae periods. There shouldn't be any bloody discharge unless there is something medically wrong.
 
How old is she? I don't want to scare you, but bleeding can be signs of uterine cancer if she isn't spayed. I think it would be best to get her into a vet and talk about getting her spayed as soon as possible.
 
Do you think I should take a picture of her will that be of any help? There definatly wasn't any visible sign of bleeding or blood in the faeces.
 
Erin and Amy are right, rabbits don't have periods and blood means there's something wrong.

Where does she pee? Can you put paper down or something so you can see it better? It's possible the blood is from her urine, meaning a bladder or kidney infection or stones. Uterine cancer is also a possibility. In any case, blood from the genital area requires vet attention.
 
Well took some pictures, post them in a sec, there is no signs of blood in her urine that I can see currently, she has been in the run all day and even though she had water didn't touch it till she was back in the hutch when she drank loads, so could it be a urine stain? Having looked at it under a better light it does look more dark orange/red. Going to try and clean her up a bit for now will post pics in a min, would it be best to monitor for now and if find definate signs of blood then take her to the vets?
 
Here's some pics of her
clover001.jpg


clover003.jpg
 
yes she drank a lot of water when she was back in the hutch, which is what made me wonder if it was a dark urine stain due to dehydration as she tends to drink quite alot, it's just that while she was in the run she didn't really bother but when she was back in the hutch she went straight to it. She's been drinking normally every other day, so again I wonder if it just a dehydration thing?
 
Hmm, does she eat anything unusual, cos I think I remember reading that if a rabbit eats alot of something like carrots or beetroot it can stain their pee, which would be nothing to worry about.

I think you should probably take her to the vets anyway, just to be sure. Are you going to breed from her, cos if not then you might as well get her neutered, especially since she is 4 now, it would be best. Uterine cancer is very very common in bunnies around 4-5, not trying to scare you, but it's something to think about. I hope she'll be ok
 
Thanks actually you having mentioned the carrots thing just might be true, as when we put her away we noticed a load of carrots in the run, which were put there without our knowledge by the fiancees parents, so it could be that, as she was fine when I checked her over before putting her in the run (I always regulary check her rear as she used to have problems with poop sticking to her butt) I will still check her urine/poop to make sure but as of yet it's fine, though I'll keep a close eye on her.
 
It actually looks like urine to me.


From the HRS website:

Red color of the urine is sometimes observed in rabbits. It is probably caused by a plant pigment and does not affect the health of the animal. For obscure reasons (my rabbits all eat the same food, drink the same water and get the same treats) some get red urine, some don't. Red urine (due to excessive urinary pigments) may occur due to any of the following:
  • While on antibiotics
  • At the first cold snap in the fall
  • After eating fir leaves
  • After eating carrots, spinach or other veggies containing beta carotene

 
thanks for your comment, I think so to, as I said she was fed a lot of carrots by my fiancees parents, so this might help explain it and why I can't find any evidence of blood any where else. I definatly keep an eye on her to make sure that she isn't having any other complications but so far she's been fine.
 
Quick update, It does look like carrots were the cause, she's been fine since, with no signs of blood anywhere, I'll still monitor her though and see how she goes.
 
It probably is the carrots, my female has quite red pee too.

I would still get her neutered though, unless she is used for breeding. It's best for all pet rabbits really :) I looked it up and it said 80% of all females get uterine cancer by 4-5 so people should neuter them. I wish I got my old rabbit neutered, I never knew this, but she died at 5. It's sad to think that maybe I could have had her a few more years. That probably wasn;t why she died, as she died suddenly, but still.
 
I've considered it on and off, it's such a hard decision to make, as I know she could contract cancer if I don't but I'm also aware that neutering her contains alot of risk too! She has been put under once before and it took her a while to come round which was scary, I also am aware that some members have lost their buns during this proccedure too and finally I have witnessed first hand a rabbit die during a routine operation and it was by no means plesant. Though I'll make a few enquires with my vet about price, risk etc.
 

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