Rabbit Gender

Question
Hi, I have a 14 week old female dutch rabbit. She recently has started spraying the cage, and becoming more aggressive. Today, I put my stuffed beanie baby rabbit next to her on the floor to check how big she was getting, and she mounted it. Isn't this male behavior? Could the pet store have gotten her gender wrong? I checked myself with pictures on the internet, and she looks like a girl, but I'm no expert. What do you think?

Answer
Dear Julianne,

Both male and female rabbits can exhibit mounting behavior, which is not only sexual, but also an expression of dominance.  So your bunny could be a girl and still be mounting.

Eventually spaying your bunny (if she's a she) or neutering (if male) will curb this aggression, but it's wise to wait until a female is *at least* 6 months old so that her estrogen can do its important work at forming the skeleton.  

Please see:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

Hope that helps.

Dana