female dwarf lop

Question
My husband and I have just bought 2 dwarf lop rabbits, a brother and sister now 11weeks old. They have been to the vet for their injections and a check and we were told they were both healthy. For the past few days, I've noticed that the doe (Lucy)is producing orange coloured urine. She is bright and seems happy, running and jumping and eating well. When checking bottom, I noticed the hair is stained with this orange colour also. I am wondering if we are feeding her something we shouldn't (she gets hay, a variety of vegetables and baby rabbit food pellets just the same as Pete, but he is fine.) or I wondered if rabbits come into heat as other female animals do? I very much appreciate any help you can give us regrading this.Thanks.

Answer
Dear Allison,

Rabbit urine can vary in color from pale yellow to dark orange, red, or even brown. This can change depending on what the rabbit has been eating, due to certain types of medications, and sometimes it seems to be due just to a change in emotional state.  In short, no one really knows why. But as long as the color isn't due to blood, it's not a matter for concern.

Once your bunnies are a bit older, they will need to be spayed/neutered so they can safely stay together.  The male can be neutered as soon as his testicles descend (and this will be soon), which I strongly recommend so there will be no danger of surprise/inbred litters. Please read:

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

and

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

For the female, spaying is even more important once she's about 8 months old (and her estrogen has played its role in skeletal formation).  Unspayed, unbred female rabbits have a *very* high risk of uterine cancer, so all female buns should be spayed to remove this risk.  Rabbits don't menstruate or come into "heat" cycles.  If you see blood coming from the vulva, the cause is never something benign, and is most often uterine hyperplasia or cancer.

You can find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

to give both bunnies a good wellness check, and to find out when the safest time for neutering and spaying will be.  

Hope this helps.

Dana