Spaying & Neutering

If you are wanting an indoor rabbit than spaying/neutering can help make them better indoor companions! Here we will discuss the benefits of it.

Makes Them Better Companions

When you bring your baby bunny home they are cute and snuggly but shortly after you may experience hormonal behavior such as nipping or biting, aggressively digging and scratching, no longer using the litter box, circling around your feet, or constant pacing and always on the go. Rabbits can go through this as early as 8 weeks. Every rabbit is different and your rabbit may not experience these behaviors on an extreme level. You may not have to worry about hormonal behaviors or fixing them but this is a rare instance in rabbits! Baby bunnies aren't set in their ways yet so be prepared for changes after they come home. This blog is to educate you for the best or worse case scenario!

If your rabbit is showing any of the hormonal signs above, you will want to contact your rabbit savvy vet to see what age they spay/neuter rabbits. Some are comfortable with doing it as early as three months, where others wait until 6 months. It will just depend on each individual vet. ​

Marking Their Territory

Rabbits are territorial animals. They mark their territory by leaving poops, urine, and chinning everything. Once their hormone levels start rising, they will spray their urine to mark their area and let anyone and anything know that it belongs to them. They will also leave little poop pellets around. After they are fixed they will stop spraying urine and poop should be mostly in the litter pan. It is mostly males that spray their urine. Very rarely do females actually spray urine.

Not every rabbit will poop 100% of their poos in the litter box but there are a few different options to help try to control this.

1. ​If a rabbit feels stressed or not in control of their environment, it can cause them to leave extra poos outside the litter box. Try to help them feel comfortable in their area by eliminating things that could be causing stress. Depending on where you got your rabbit from, they may or may not have been exposed to children, other animals, or loud noises. If your rabbits hasn't been exposed to very many people or animals than it may be stressful for them to move into a home with loud children or dogs. It may make them feel more comfortable to have their own room or maybe even the laundry room. Just somewhere it is quieter. You can also just work on socializing them into their new environment. Try moving them into a quieter area and slowly socializing them with the kids or dogs.
2. Try a different litter pan. Every rabbit prefers different litter pans. We have three different litter boxes we use for our buns because each of them have a different preference. If you have one of those corner litter pans that is shaped like a triangle, try a square or oval box that is bigger. Some rabbits also prefer having privacy so you can try to find a cat litter box that has a tall lid to it or even build a box enclosure around the litter box with a small door for them to get in and out from.
3. Get them fixed as soon as possible! Baby bunnies can be potty trained at a young age. We've had babies that have been potty trained as early as 4 weeks old. Sometimes you get your baby bunny home and they are pooping and peeing everywhere even though they were "potty trained" at their previous home. This is mostly because they are in a new environment and their scent isn't anywhere. This should only last a few days to a week and then they should pick it back up and go in the litter box. If they do pee outside the litter box than take a paper towel, wipe it up, and place the soiled paper towel inside their litter box so their scent is in the box. If they keep peeing in one corner no matter what you have tried, then don't fight it and put the litter box in that corner! If they keep peeing outside the litter box no matter what, then chances are they are going through their hormonal stage at a young age and once they get fixed they will start peeing in the litter box again. Lets just hope your vet is comfortable fixing them at a younger age otherwise you may be cleaning pee for a few months. You can also try putting more than one litter box in their area until they are able to get fixed. Sometimes the more the better!

Rabbits also have a scent gland under their chin and by their genitals. If you have ever seen your rabbit rubbing his or her chin on something, they are marking their territory. When they chin things it doesn't leave any visible residue and humans can't smell it thankfully! So all in all chinning is harmless. Let them chin away!

The scent gland by their genitals usually does not need to be maintained but if your rabbits living area is cleaned and you smell a musky smell, it may be these scent glands. They produce a dark yellow or brown wax substance and can easily be removed by a wet Q-tip. You will want to gently hold them back and move the fur away around their genitals until you see the waxy substance. Sometimes it's kind of packed down in their so twist the wet Q-tip to loosen the wax and it will make it easier to come out. The smell is horrendous but once it's out, your rabbits area will smell so much better!

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These litter pans work great and come in different sizes. Large should be sufficient enough but if you have a bigger type rabbit such as a continental giant or new zealand than you may want to try the jumbo size.

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I highly recommend this litter pan as it has higher sides. In the event that your rabbit likes to stick his or her tooshie up a little higher when they urinate, it will stay in the box and not run down the sides. It also has a non stick coating which makes cleaning easier and also keeps the litter pan in better condition. 

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This is the number one bedding we use here at Blue Clover. It makes the least amount of a mess and even though it's a few dollars more than other types, it actually lasts quite a bit longer and has fresh 10 day odor control. It actually saves money to use this instead of wood pellets or pine shavings.

Helps With Bonding To A New Rabbit

If you are thinking about adding another rabbit to your home, fixing your current rabbit is a must. It will reduce their urge to want to mate or aggressive behaviors. Usually your rabbits hormone level will drop within the first few days but I have seen some rare instances where it takes several months. Always just slowly introduce your rabbits in a neutral area and monitor them closely to see how they react to each other.