Neutering will increase his lifespan as well as help stop those behaviors. He probably won’t grow out of those behaves without the neuter. Some of the brattiness is probably due to not being neutered but it is hard to tell how much is due to hormones because it also depended on his personality. Personally, I would neuter him, I understand that it is costly but maybe you could find a place to do it for less, but is still experanced. If you don’t mind saying your general area, I might be able to find a not so costly vet. Neutering him is of course totally your option.

Chewing, pooping, and peeing are all natural behaviors in a rabbit that will never go away– however, neutering can drastically reduce chewing, pooping, and peeing that is being mediated by hormones, such as territorial marking urges and mating frustrations. There is no true way of knowing whether your rabbit’s change in behavior will all go away after a neuter, but the large majority of evidence from owners and rescues is that neutering will reduce the excessive marking. For chewing, it is best to consider what may be causing the chewing and how to best redirect it, as again, it is a necessary behavior rabbits will do and cannot be “reduced”.

For bed pooing/peeing specifically– that will likely stay. Rabbits very much tend to mark soft things. It is very common that rabbit owners must block access to their beds/sofas due to poo/pee tendencies, in addition to fabric chewing tendencies.

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Training_FAQ#How_do_I_encourage_a_rabbit_to_chew_on_toys_and_not_unacceptable_items.3F

https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Toys_and_games

He is definitely in the teenage years! So neutering in rabbits is typically done for behavioral reasons or because the owner wants to bond the bunny. (Female rabbits, on the other hand, are important to spay because they have very high rates of reproductive cancer).

If you are seeing lots of marking (peeing and pooping all over, spraying), excessive digging, circling, nipping feet, and mounting, I would say yes, those behaviors will definitely improve! It can take a few weeks post neuter for things to fully calm down though. I can tell ya after volunteering at a shelter, the unneutered boys are so gross! LOL there was one bun that was so sweet but would often spray us after we pet him. His cage looked like a Pollock painting. gross LOL

Things don’t seem to calm down with age. I’ve been around 9 year old unneutered buns that are still peeing everywhere and trying to mount your feet. But then some bunnies never really seem to show those behaviors.

There are other elements that are just due to normal rabbit behavior and adolescence in general. Young rabbits have a lot of energy and tend to need to chew more, so that aspect probably won’t change. My youngest bunny Cooper was a total love bug both before and after his neuter. The only changes I noticed were improvements in litter box habits, less inclination to mount, and much less smelly poops.

The prices for neutering can vary a bit, so you might get some other quotes. You do want to find a vet that is very rabbit savvy though, that’s the most important. If you need to save up for a few months that’s also fine! Sometimes when buns are neutered really late in life they can get sort of locked in to poor litter box habits, but waiting a few more months shouldn’t be a problem.

Having another rabbit (presumably also un-castrated) will definitely have an effect as well!  I’m sure he can smell her in the area, even if she’s not in the same room. I once had some un-neutered rescues in my bathroom overnight, and my bunnies (in the other room) were going NUTS. The furniture thing could be part of it, but probably just a coincidence.

Just in case you don’t already know, both buns need to be castrated for bonding, and females should be spayed anyway to prevent reproductive cancer.

They DO eventually calm down… eventually. Most people don’t wait that long to see if they actually do. LOL  The hormonal behaviors are still there once they calm down, they just aren’t as pronounced. Neutering definitely has its benefits… particularly the permanent reduction in hormonal behaviors. Plus, if you want to get your bunny a friend, both will need to be spayed/neutered in order for them to form a long-lasting bond.

Boys do not have the cancer risk like girls do. So if he is to forever remain a solo rabbit and his hormonal behaviors don’t bother you, then it isn’t absolutely necessary. Keep in mind though, if you think you may want to get him a friend in the future, it would be better to have him neutered while he’s still young.

That’s great! Yes sometimes the more experienced vets have lower prices, so it’s true that cheap is not always bad!

Sounds great! Sometimes I have a sneaky suspicion that vets that charge exorbitant fees for neuters/spays might not want to do those procedures. They don’t want to say that they can’t do them, but the price indicates that they’d rather not. In any case, high prices means they probably don’t neuter/spay very many buns, and it is of course always best to get a vet that has done many such procedures.

Many many safe castration-vibes for ((((Louie)))) and ((((Coconut))))!

Awesome on the better prices.

Walter’s neuter was just over $80 at the shelter that does a lot of rabbits.  The reg. rabbit vet was about about three, four times that.

I’m so surprised that the costs are so different at different vets… Happy that you have found another vet though, and that your buns can get the surgery that they need ^_^

Being so full of raging hormones probably isn’t fun for them either. Our rainbow bridge bunny Breintje used to get so frustrated, and his neuter really improved his general wellness. Best of luck in the surgeries, and I hope that they’ll recover soon!