male or female,de-sexing,rabbits

Question
Hi,

I have just got 2 lop-eared rabbits from different places, who were both supposed to be boys. Only the 14 week old male continually mounts the smaller 9 week old one,who I suspect is a girl, but I am not completely sure.

I was wondering if this means that the smaller one is more likely to be a girl, in which case I would get the male de-sexed asap.

I was also wondering whether de-sexing the male would stop him from trying to mate with the smaller one? I am worried that it might stress the smaller rabbit out to have the male continually mounting him/her.

Any information on this subject would be greatly appreciated,

regards

kiralee

Answer
Dear Kiralee,

It's important to have them *both* spayed/neutered, as this will calm them and stop the mounting, which is not only stressful, but will foment ferocious fights, eventually, if both are males.  Mounting is a dominance behavior, and most rabbits will get fed up and stressed from it.

Female rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer, so must also be spayed.  But for now, get the male neutered if his testicles have descended.  Please read:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

and find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

Hope this helps.

Dana