Male Rabit, 15 w.o., smells like onions

[Janiene Quigley]

Please tell me this will pass after he is neutered. We were told rabbits are very clean and do not smell but Tucker smells horrible. As expressed in a previous thread, he is definitely hormonal and we are anxiously awaiting the preferred/recommended age to do so. Meanwhile, he smells horrible. Its basically when he is hopping around, honking, that I smell it. Will this go away?

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Have you checked his scent glands? They probably need to be cleaned. When my buck starts smelling I know its time to clean them.

 

[Janiene Quigley]

I was not aware we had to clean his scent glands???? Tucker does not like to be handled so this will be virtually impossible to do. How often does this need to be done?

 

[Augustus&HazelGrace]

Only some buns need it done. Usually, they stay clean, they should stay clean after the neuter surgery. My buck is unneutered and he sprays which can make for dirty scent glands. Most buns clean them themselves but he doesn't. They should only be cleaned when you start to smell him. I take a wet q-tip and open them up and wipe out all the crusties. Beware this is a stinky job. I do weekly health checks, I have 12 rabbits, but I just look them over like I am looking them over for judging and I check for split penis on my two bucks, and I check everyone's scent glands which this particular buck is usually the only one that needs scent glands cleaned. But what you could also be smelling his him spraying, a sexual behavior, which can also stink. But it can't hurt to check his scent glands just in case.

 

[zuppa]

Yeah my Leo is about 4,5 months and he also has a very strong smell in his cage and around. I wouldn't call it onion but really strong like a perfume. He was also very nervous rattling his cage chewing bars etc but now he's much more relaxed I don't know why he's still not neutered, maybe next month. I will check his glands this evening.
My other rabbit Fred (don't know his age he was rescued) I thought he's very old and I actually checked his glands last week but they're so clean absolutely clean he's a very tidy rabbit maybe not that old as I thought. He's quite active but not jumpy nor trying to get out his cage or something. I think he can't jump I put a hide box in his cage last week and it was difficult for him to get on the roof, my other rabbits love their hide boxes even my fat girl Bernie loves laying there (and it's a good exercise for her too). He keeps his head on the right side I think he probably had ear infection previously and he can't hear well I need to call him twice sometimes, I don't think there's pain or something with his ear now I've checked it is clean and no pain when I am touching his ears, maybe he has arthritis or something so he can't jump I don't know his age. But he's active not fat he exercise a lot in his cage maybe I have to make him a step so he can use it. I really expected his glands to be very bad I was wearing a mask after i read all about the stink on this forum

 

[JBun]

He's scent marking. Bucks can be very smelly. And yes, it usually does diminish significantly once they are neutered and given about a month for the hormones to dissipate. Even if the scent glands need cleaning, he will still emit this smell because he is a hormonal buck scent marking his territory. If you have a neuter scheduled soon, I would just have the vet check and clean out the scent glands if needed.
http://brighteyessanctuary.org/educ/rabbit-info-scent-glands.html
https://rabbit.org/how-to-clean-a-rabbits-scent-glands/

 

[Janiene Quigley]

He's scent marking. Bucks can be very smelly. And yes, it usually does diminish significantly once they are neutered and given about a month for the hormones to dissipate. Even if the scent glands need cleaning, he will still emit this smell because he is a hormonal buck scent marking his territory. If you have a neuter scheduled soon, I would just have the vet check and clean out the scent glands if needed.
http://brighteyessanctuary.org/educ/rabbit-info-scent-glands.html
https://rabbit.org/how-to-clean-a-rabbits-scent-glands/

This is our first bunny, so we are learning as we go along. When you say, "spray" do they actually emit liquid? I am not seeing any stains on carpet when he is out roaming and I get a whiff of the stench. I seem to be the only one that smells it in our house but boy oh boy, does it stink! Fortunately, it is not a consistent smell, I only smell it sporadically and he is typically honking and circling my feet or trying to get at our Yorkie, Ollie when it is strongest. Tucker really doesn't like to be handled so I think it would be best to wait for the vet to check/clean when he gets neutered next month (we are counting the days!). He'll be 16 weeks old on Monday and our vet told us we can schedule at 20 weeks. Thanks, JBun.

 

[Janiene Quigley]

Only some buns need it done. Usually, they stay clean, they should stay clean after the neuter surgery. My buck is unneutered and he sprays which can make for dirty scent glands. Most buns clean them themselves but he doesn't. They should only be cleaned when you start to smell him. I take a wet q-tip and open them up and wipe out all the crusties. Beware this is a stinky job. I do weekly health checks, I have 12 rabbits, but I just look them over like I am looking them over for judging and I check for split penis on my two bucks, and I check everyone's scent glands which this particular buck is usually the only one that needs scent glands cleaned. But what you could also be smelling his him spraying, a sexual behavior, which can also stink. But it can't hurt to check his scent glands just in case.

Thank you! Tucker will be neutered next month so I think I may just wait for the vet to take care of this. We have picked him up but he prefers that we don't. He loves to be pet and nuzzled but that's about it. We were going to wait until after he is neutered to introduce more handling. We did pick him up recently to check for his testicles so perhaps we'll attempt again and see how far he lets us go. Appreciate your reply, thanks again!

 

[JBun]

I didn't mention spraying, just scent marking. And they can scent mark by just emitting the scent from their scent glands(like a fine mist), though this often also accompanies leaving little poop balls along with the scent(but not always). It will be strongest when he is showing hormonal behavior like circling and honking. This is one very good and compelling reason why people want their male rabbits neutered. Sure they can be very affectionate, but boy can they smell and be messy if they have strong hormonal instincts.

 

[Sharda Hartley]

I was not aware we had to clean his scent glands???? Tucker does not like to be handled so this will be virtually impossible to do. How often does this need to be done?

No rabbit REALLY likes being held. Its not something you need to do too often even when you have a rabbit that needs it. Come up behind your bunny, put your hands under his front legs and firmly press his sternum to your chest. You can do this a few times before you clean him to get him a little more used to it. Be very careful not to let him kick out with his back legs. Rabbit spines are surprisingly delicate. It doesn't take much to hurt it. The glands look like little pockets on either side of the genital area. Trust me you will know when you find them. If they need cleaning, being up close and personal can be harsh. Clean them out as gently as you can with q-tips dipped in 2arm water.

My rabbit started cleaning himself properly after I did it a few times, so you might not be in for the long haul.

 

[Janiene Quigley]

I didn't mention spraying, just scent marking. And they can scent mark by just emitting the scent from their scent glands(like a fine mist), though this often also accompanies leaving little poop balls along with the scent(but not always). It will be strongest when he is showing hormonal behavior like circling and honking. This is one very good and compelling reason why people want their male rabbits neutered. Sure they can be very affectionate, but boy can they smell and be messy if they have strong hormonal instincts.

That is exactly when I smell it most. Thanks for the info and advice, JBun!

 

[Janiene Quigley]

No rabbit REALLY likes being held. Its not something you need to do too often even when you have a rabbit that needs it. Come up behind your bunny, put your hands under his front legs and firmly press his sternum to your chest. You can do this a few times before you clean him to get him a little more used to it. Be very careful not to let him kick out with his back legs. Rabbit spines are surprisingly delicate. It doesn't take much to hurt it. The glands look like little pockets on either side of the genital area. Trust me you will know when you find them. If they need cleaning, being up close and personal can be harsh. Clean them out as gently as you can with q-tips dipped in 2arm water.

My rabbit started cleaning himself properly after I did it a few times, so you might not be in for the long haul.

Thank you, Sharda - I think we are going to leave the first cleaning to the vet when Tucker gets neutered. From there, we will certainly follow your suggestions when getting him used to being picked up. Thank you!