To neuter or not to neuter.....??

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Riggsy78

Riggsy78

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Hello All

So I have a year old Dutch neutered girl (Ethel AKA stroppy knickers but thats a whole different problem - which I'm addressing and hopefully conquering) and now a 5mth English boy and my question is whether or not to bother having him 'done' (they have quite obviously dropped, in fact for some time now).

His character is beautiful, inquisitive, brave, friendly, cheeky. There's obviously no worry of unwanted pregnancies. The only very mild annoyance is that he sprays when he pees which at the moment is a little comical as he invariable manages to spray one of us when we're chatting to him. I believe I read somewhere that they spray a lot less once they've been done but I could be completely making that up.

Any advice peeps? :bunny5
 
Well if you plan to bond them I would have him neutered. The thing is if you bond them while he isn't neutered he will be constantly humping her. She may get angry and nip him which could lead to fights. If she doesn't really mind him humping her I would think it would be fine. Just my personal opinion.

Good luck!
 
Oh I forgot to say (since I can't seem to find the edit button!) my Ash who isn't fixed has never sprayed once in his life. And now he's a year old. Maybe only sum bunnies do it.
 
Oh they've been together for a while now, she dotes on him and is completely submissive to him lol she runs up to him and shoves her head underneath his all the time. Occasionally, well quite a lot actually, he chases her round in circles, mainly i think he's just interested in her and sniffing her bits but she just keeps running away, never actually gets angry at him although I'm sure she's fed up with him.

My last boy had problems, only one of his testicles had dropped, the other they had to open his stomach to find. He recovered ok at first but 2 days later took a turn for the worse and died in my arms :'( This made me initially a little scared of unnecessary surgery but I know history won't repeat itself as his both visible dropped very early.

I wonder if some bunnies just spray regardless of whether theyve been done or not?
 
Bless him, it's quite funny really (although disgusting too), he's just like an excited puppy lol I feel sorry for Ethel the most, she's covered in pee and jizz most of the time and it stains her colours lol
 
If he is spraying now it will either continue or get worse as he gets older. Female rabbits being around (whether spayed or not) can trigger spraying. I will warn you make sure to treat where he sprays because male rabbit urine is very potent and can stain walls and carpet. I did it mostly for the smell and also my boy started humping me.

Neutering can stop this behavior but if he gets old enough the behavior will become learned and neutering wont help. Getting him fixed asap would be the best choice if you wanted him to stop but even then it isnt guarenteed.
 
the best thing ever was getting the boys neutered!! they used to spray at least 10 feet!! hahaha!! they were sweet before surgery, but even sweeter now!! they also don't smell like stinky old man b.o. anymore!! and they are 100% litter trained too. It is such an easy surgery for the boys!! they were fine 2 days later!! go for it!!!
 
Sounds like I should really be getting him castrated then. Thanks everyone for your help. Until my next dilemma / crisis.....love me and my eccentric bunnies xx
 
I agree, getting a male bun fixed is a very good idea. My guy was just done 2 weeks ago and already he is way better at pooing in his litterbox and doesn't hump or nip me anymore.
 
Well I've definitely decided to have him done! Might stop him chasing Ethel round and round in circles too (even if she doesnt get short tempered with him). Just need to save up enough pennies now especially as now my car is broken :'(......it never rains but pours!
 
If they're being kept together I'd suggest neutering to avoid any possible conflicts. If you want to breed them then by all means keep them unneutered for the time being, but be warned that rabbits can have pretty big litters and they can get pregnant whilst still pregnant so you could be overrun with baby bunnies. At some point you will want them neutered since the female will get exhausted if she's constantly giving birth and it could result in her dying, and also the older they get the more higher the risk of developing cancer in their reproductive parts. Neutering may also help reduce any aggressive and destructive behaviour.
 
There's no 'current' conflicts but I'm aware this could change as he gets older. There's no risk of pregnancy as I mentioned that she's already neutered. Either way, I've decided to have him done in an attempt to control the spraying.
 
i wouldn't get him done unless you really need to.

Spraying normally stops in bucks when they are a year or so old. Sometimes hormones are such delightful things.

surgery always carries risks.
 
Oh interesting! Well it won't be happening immeadiately as I'm short of funds so we'll see.

I understand the risks of surgery. I lost my male Dutch (Ethel's original companion) as one testicle hadn't dropped, they had to open him up and remove it from his stomach to prevent any cancer risk. This is essentially the same operation as spaying a girl. They were done the same day. The next day she didn't want to eat but he was back to normal. I was hand feeding her with a syringe. The next day, she was fine and he had taken a serious turn for the worse. I rushed him to the vets but he died in my arms whilst they assessed him :'(

However, I knwo this won't be a problem for Spotty, as you can quite clearly see both his testicles have dropped already.
 
Winnie isn't neutered and Thumper is. Thumper's temperament is so much better than Winnie's. I got them to finally rebond and they share a cage together now... Thumper is very much Winnie's little boyfriend at the moment XD Win is more of a nipper because he's not fixed, and super territorial of the cage while Thumper just likes to veg when I'm giving them food and stuff. I'd say neuter, definitely. Soon as I have the extra cash I'm gonna set an appointment up for Winnie. He's only about a year old while Thumper is two.
 
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