Do male rabbits HAVE to be neutered?!

[GypsyBunny]

Hey!

So ive had my male rabbit for well over a year and he is lovely, so nice!
He isnt neutered and when he was around 4 months old i let him out for a run around the garden, and as i was sorting his hutch he was sitting next to me and when i got up he chased me and was biting me and clawing at me!
I had to run into the house and close the door (he chased me all the way to my door)
He never broke the skin

However! ever since then i have found it very hard to trust him when i have him out, i always where shoes (boots if possible), jeans, jumper and try and sit where he cant get to me while he is running around the house!

I assumed he did it because of territorial reasons? i read that at 4 months they get hormonal? i read that it could be playing (nipping)!?

What is the likely hood of him doing this again? does your rabbits bite you now and again? should i trust him with my bare feet?

Is it because he isnt neutered?

Thankyou reading!

[Roberta]

Your bun will be much happier if neutered. The behavior of unneutered males varies from innapropriate litter habits, humping everything including your feet and any other house hold pets, aggression and destructive behavior. You may or may not get a combination of these or you could get the lot. Before my Angora bun Piglet was done he could spray pee 4 feet up the sun room wall. I am still trying to get the marks out of the paint and I had to discard the day bed/lounge.
Take him to the vet for a precheck and see about getting him booked in a few weeks from now if he is fit for surgery.

[tanlover14]

I agree with Roberta.

Although some people choose not to neuter their bunnies, I also believe he will be much happier. Not to mention, you won’t have to worry about these bad habits developing or something similar happening again.

Do you have a regular rabbit savvy vet you can take him to yet?

[GypsyBunny]

I would be scared for him to be sedated and have surgery on him :/
How do you know they are happier that way?
If he is so used to the way he is then suddenly not feeling that way anymore?

Thanks for the helpful replies though!

[tanlover14]

Personally, I believe it’s like this ….. How would you feel if you had the constant drive and urge to mate but couldn’t? It would be a horrible feeling to have to be constantly fighting off. When they are neutered, it doesn’t feel any different. It only eliminates those feelings and urges and allows them to lead more healthy and happy lives as they are not forever trying to satisfy a feeling that they can’t possibly satisfy.

As long as you turn to a rabbit savvy vet with experience, your bunny should be perfectly fine. I have five rabbits – all altered. Two females and three males. I’ve never had a problem with any of them during the surgery (they all came through fantastically). And I can personally tell you (I’ve had them from babies) and you can quite vividly notice the calmness and peace that comes over them when altered. They are much more content and a lot less aggressive and territorial. They aren’t hormonal. And it allows them to have a better relationship with you (and other rabbits if you ever decide to have multiples!). Rabbit.org and the vet list on BinkyBunny list options of experienced vets in most areas. I would check it out.

If you’re not completely sure – I would get a medical opinion from a rabbit savvy vet. They can guide you through the procedure and with males it is not invasive. My boy was back to normal and wanting dinner within a few hours of his procedure. We can only give you our own personal experiences and beliefs but an experienced rabbit vet may be able to help you understand the actual PHYSICAL and EMOTIONAL things that happen after an altering. The positives of having the procedure done. And then you can make an informed decision!

[FooFoosMommy2]

As the others have stated, he will be much happier as will you if he calms down. While males don’t have the same healh risk as females if not fixed, his behavior and urges will chill out and life and your relationship will be much easier.

[Roberta]

I have been through neutering with 2 buns now and will soon be taking a third one in to be done (My foster fail Pascal) My big bunny Piglet and my current foster, Starsky are happier, visibly, they aren’t stressed they play more, they enjoy there food more (especially Starsky) honestly, he is still loving and cuddly he is just sooo much less stressed out an able to just enjoy being a spoiled rotten house rabbit.

[Roberta]

If your bun continues to get aggressive it will eventually destroy your relationship with him. If you can’t trust him now, how are you going to be if his behavior escalates and trust me it can and will. I know people who decided not to neuter and ended up having to get rid of the rabbits as they were so aggressive the children could no longer play in the yard and their other pets were being bitten and scratched in attacks.

[GypsyBunny]

Thank you all so much for all your advice!

I think i will get him neutered

Thank you!!

[tanlover14]

I’m glad you are taking everything we said into serious consideration!

Let us know if you need help with anything else!

[GypsyBunny]

oh well actually i forgot you didnt answer that question perhaps i didnt make it clear, but do your rabbits bite you? like even though they are tame and friendly do they still bite you from time to time?

thanks again

[LBJ10]

Leopold bites me all the time. He does it for attention. Yes, it does hurt, but that is because he never learned to control how hard he bites (he’s deaf). Wooly, on the other hand, will put his teeth on me to get my attention or tell me he doesn’t like something. He doesn’t bite down hard though.

So to answer your question regarding that, rabbits even rabbits that are very used to people can and do “bite”. What kind of bite it is and why they are doing it is going to depend. I think your bun biting you is probably linked to hormones though.

[GypsyBunny]

thank you

[hannaroo]

Neutering is a routine thing for any rabbit savvy vet. Buttons was always skittish and crazy about humping and his marking STANK. He was neutered a month ago, he came home the same day and was hopping around just fine straight away. Within a week I saw a huge improvement in his behaviour. He is alot more laid back, he loves human attention (before he wasn’t too keen) and has since been bonded.
I think you will both be happier post neuter
Tanlover has described a great way of how he is feeling!
I’ve been on BB a few months now and everyone who had their bunnies neutered has had them done successfully

[Roberta]

Starsky my foster was only neutered last Friday and already he is calmer and more relaxed and his odour has improved to the point of being non existent. I even got greeted with a giant binky this afternoon. The ultimate bunny expression of “happy”

[Snowytoshi]

If it helps shelters all over the world neuter their rabbits, a shelter would not do this if there was a large risk involved. It’s routine for rabbit-savvy vets and I’m sure your rabbit will be perfectly fine

My rabbits bite if they don’t like what I am doing, Toshi tends to chomp, Paige bites very rarely, and Joshua slowly presses his teeth down until I stop. Once your rabbit is neutered he will probably only bite if he’s aggravated by what you’re doing. Right now he’s just biting becuase everything aggravates him and everything is a threat to his space.

[GypsyBunny]

Wow thank you all again

I am definitely neutering him

Thanks!

[tanlover14]

I completely missed the biting question! Sorry about that.

Two of mine will nip if A) I am in their way and they want me to move (LOL!) and B) when they want to be put down and we are holding them. It’s never hard though, always a light nip. Like they are trying to get my attention that they are unhappy with something.

I also have three Tans who are very hyper and like to play rough. They will nip and dig but it’s almost always out of playful-ness and they do this same behavior to the others so I know it’s just them interacting with their “herd”.

My girl got very nippy before her spay though and was a total tyrant. She actually hasn’t nipped SINCE her spay so I think it may have been part hormones and aggression from not being altered. I just went back and reread your post about the nipping. There’s a very good chance he got territorial from all of his hormones. If he does this again after he is altered, don’t run. If he nips or bites – screech very loudly so he knows he hurt you (if he’s playing he just may not realize it hurts). I also did a thing with my Tans who are a little nippy, I push their heads down to the floor. It’s a sign of dominance to them. It helped with one of my boys quite a bit when he was younger. I would try the screeching thing first. Unless hormonal, rabbits really don’t display aggression unless they feel they have a reason to be (danger, ect).

[GypsyBunny]

okay thank you tanlover14 i will try the screeching thing if it happens again (it hasnt happened since but he hasnt really had the opportunity since)

Thanks

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