is she or isnt she?

Question
i just adopted a female dwarf rabbit from a lady on craigslist. though she is a dwarf she is huge! the lady told me she isn't spayed but someone told me that spayed animals blow up. also she dosent seem interested in my male rabbit thumper. she keeps running away from him. is there a way to tell if a rabbit is neutered and is there a method to breeding them.

Answer
Dear Lynda,

Spayed rabbits don't "blow up" unless they are overfed.  :)  That shes' not interested in your male suggests she *might* be spayed, but the only way to know for sure would be to get her to a good, experienced rabbit vet:

www.rabbit.org/vets

who can palpate her and see if s/he can feel a uterus or uterine stump, if she's spayed.  This will be more challenging if she has a lot of fat in the abdomen.  In this case, an ultrasound might reveal a uterus, or lack thereof.

As far as breeding, you can find the *best* information about that here:

www.bio.miami.edu/hare/breeding.html

I hope that helps.


Dana