Well for starters, you could tell them that a female unspayed rabbit has an 85% chance risk of developing uterine cancer and dying at an early age. They also can develop mammory or ovarian cancer, but spaying eliminates this risk. Males who are not neutered will spray all over. Altered bunnies make happier, healthier, and more well behaved companions. Also no risk of having babies, which will cost a lot more in the long run than a spay or neuter, and much less stress.  Edit: Also rabbits who are altered have less chances of being aggressive and having bad behavior.

As for living indoors, rabbits who are living outdoors, even an a secure hutch can suffer from being stressed, affected by the weather, and can even die from fright from a predator even if the predator cannot actually physically harm or get to the rabbit. Rabbits who are left outside can get lonely and can become aggressive and start having bad behaviors.

Yup, I’m in high school, I live with my mom. With my mom there was no question whether or not we were keeping them inside. Domesticated rabbits are really meant to be indoor pets, they are much much different than the wild rabbits you see outside, in fact they are considered a different species. Rabbits as indoor companions are a relatively knew idea and so many people have the misconception that they are like farm animals and that they are rodents (they actually aren’t rodents, they are lagomorphs) and are more like cats. The humane society I adopted my bunnies from actually require you to sign a contract that you will not use your rabbit for other purposes than having them as a pet or keep them outdoors, otherwise they actually have the right to take the rabbits back. Rabbits are clean animals and very easily 100% litter trained. My bunnies actually don’t have cages at the moment, they have free roam of different parts of the house until my girl is recovered from her spay (she was spayed last week) and they can be introduced. Whew. Sorry that was long.

Hmmm do you know their reasoning behind that?

rabbits won’t stink if htey are spayed and neutered, and their litter boxes cleaned regularly

Are your rabbits litter boxed trained? (it is usually to difficult to litter train them if they are outside)

rabbits are easily litter trained and do not smell at all if spayed or neutered. the only thing that my friends can smell is the faint smell of hay lingering in the apartment.

I can tell you firsthand that within 3 or so days of being brought home from the shelter Wilbur was 100% litter trained, and I really do mean 100% she never even poops outside her of litter box. Of course it really depends on the rabbit but under the “Bunny Info” section here on BinkyBunny there is a page that tells you how to litter train. Rabbits do not smell though and they a very clean. The litter box will of course smell if not cleaned regularly as other people have said.

I also forgot to mention earlier that spaying was successful for me. I scheduled Wilbur’s spay for when she was about 6 months old and literally a week or so before the spay her hormones started kicking in, she became grumpy, skittish, and started biting me. Oh and she peed three times outside her litter box when she normally had perfect habits. Boy was I glad it was only going to be another week. Well her spay went fine (I had to syringe feed her though because she was feeling good enough to eat) and afterwards she became more aggressive; grunting, lunging, and biting because she was scared, confused, and in pain. Now it’s only been 11 days since the spay and I finally have my normal bunny back! No more biting, lunging, grunting, skittishness or peeing outside of the box. The point of my story is that spays/neuters kind of stink to go through, and trust me I felt so bad so her in pain, but it’s 150% worth it knowing she doesn’t have that big risk of cancer and that I have my normal happy friendly bunny back

 I too am having a hard time convincing my parents about helping me get my bunnies fixed… Part of it is because their elderly rabbits, and because I owned them for years with out being fixed. My mom also has the mentality she knows everything and she once had a rabbit that was never fixed and didn’t have an issue with her… but now she is complaining about the smell, go figure.  

bunnyfriend, your explanations were not long, they were excellent!

I would suggest approaching your mothers in reasonable and calm ways, offering the site for information. The best point I can think of to make regarding having an outdoor rabbit in the past that lived for 15 years, is to start by agreeing that it was wonderful and definitely proves that it is possible. But fortunately great strides have been made in the study of rabbits as pets in just the past decade, and like many other types of medical breakthroughs, we now know so much more about them than we did before. We are now sure that they are cleaner, have better products on the market for their health and for keeping them inside, and most importantly, we have made strides regarding their behavior. They do remain wary and frightened continually under threat of predators. But once inside, the relate to their human families in fun and happy ways, obeying simple commands, learning routines, adapting to your schedules, communicating and showing genuine happiness by being safe and cared for by you. They binky with happiness! It is a way to have a clean, adorable pet that is quiet and obeys you, and gives you hours of pleasure. A habitat inside that’s no bigger than the footprint of a closet space makes for years and years of wonderful companionship.

Thanks RabbitPam

It varies, usually 6 months is the age given, but they can get pregnant earlier and the younger they are, the riskier it is for the female. It’s best to keep them separate until they are fixed if you have a pair of opposite gender, since there isn’t really a “set age” especially since females don’t have a “season” like dogs and cats, they can get pregnant whenever they are mated by a virile male. And remember, the male can still impregnate the female up to a month after his neuter.

How many rabbits do you have? And what are their ages? It can be hard to tell a male from female until the males testicles drop.

Have you noticed any humping between them? It’s possible that at nearly 6 months, if they are a split trio as far as gender goes, that any female may already be pregnant. Also, remember if you separate them for any period of time you will have to rebond them when they are housed together again.