spaying/outside

Question
hi
i asked another expert a question about my rabbits behavior and he said the best way to deal with this is to spay her.  i wanted to ask a follow up question but he is "maxed out"
she is very mean and territorial when she is alone in a cage and is a lil nicer wen she is living with another rabbit.  i know they tend to be meaner when the are pregnant so im not worried about that. he said it would be best to spay her and i am not willing to really do that, because i find she is truly very happy while she has her babies with her shes a completly different rabbit  and she is happy for months after that.   do u hav any suggestions to help make her happier   all of my other intact rabbits are perfect sweeties so im wondering if maybe shes jus a mean rabbit like there are mean ppl?  she also lives outside
thanx
Amanda

Answer
Hi Amanda

Well Amanda I think I would have to agree with the other expert.  The only way you are going to get her to be a sweety is to have her fixed.  She is obviously a very hormonal bunny.  Some intact doe's will demand to be bred.  This is their natural instinct.  Of course when she is in a cage with a buck she is happier because she is getting her way.  If you don't want to spay her then you are going to deal with her attitude.  

I won't sit and lecture about babies and over-population etc.  I just think you may be surprised at her change in attitude after she is fixed.

You ask if rabbits are sometimes just mean???  Put it this way I love house rabbits.  I am also an occasional breeder and I show rabbits so of course they have to be intact.  Every rabbit that lives in my house that is intact is a buck.  I do have one spayed doe indoors and 2 neutered bucks also.  The other females get permanent cozy quarters in the garage.  Why??  because un-spayed does are hormonal, occasionally vicious and very demanding.  Some of them have their good days but more often than not they are moody.  I give them toys and let them run around the yard (separately of course), I do everything I can to make them happy but if they want to be bred they are down right pains.

I just had a mini rex shipped to me from across the country.  She is only 4 months old but I had to have her because she is a very rare color.  I thought she was going to be my perfect rabbit and couldn't wait to get her.  She is also the most expensive rabbit I have ever owned.  We went to a show 2 weeks ago and she was horrible.  Just smelling the scent of the other rabbits she was demanding that I breed her.  She was sticking her butt in the air and being a complete brat.  She literally shrieked the whole car ride home.  After listening to her scream and grunt for the 4 hour car ride I was ready to ship her back to California and didn't care how much the plane ticket would cost.  Since I got home she has not stopped.  I can hear her making noise from upstairs.  I took her to be checked just to make sure there was nothing wrong with her.  I have never seen anything like it.  He said she was fine but obviously to young to be bred for her own safety.  I couldn't stand it anymore so I scheduled her to be spayed next week.  It is very disappointing to me that I spent a fortune on this rabbit and really wanted to breed her so that I could have her line in my stock.  I just realized that its not worth it.  I learned a huge lesson.

I guess the moral of my story is that sometimes what we want is not what is best for the rabbit.  I could breed her at 4 months and get her to stop screaming and attacking me but its not worth risking her life.  She will be the type of rabbit that wants to be bred constantly and I just don't believe in that.  The more litters they have the shorter their life span.  Not to mention the continuous babies that you need to find good homes for (I don't kill my non showable rabbits, they all go to homes or stay here with me for life).  I spent way to much money on her and care about her to much (even though she beats the living poop out of me when I go near her).  She is just going to be a pet.  I will most likely bond her with a buck that is non-showable and get him fixed and put them in the house.

It is really your decision but sadly YES sometimes rabbits can be down right mean.  If it were me she would be fixed.

Good luck with her and I hope things work out for you.

Sincerely

Pam