need some advice from a pro!!!

Question
hi
my 1yr old female rabbit (not spayed,could this be a problem?) lives in a hutch outside and in winter has a thick cover over it. my friend who lives right next door to me has a male, neutured rabbit and a female guinea pig. often my rabbit comes next door with me and she is really well tempered, (she is a english spot x and she has a dewlap, what is this for ,will she have it forever?)so she gets on well with both rabbit and guinea pig and they are always on a harness including mine. most days she runs free in the garden for about 2 hours and she loves it sometimes she even comes when called! other days she comes outside on the harness with me. sometimes when she is outside she does this funny hop like a kind of "jitter" its quite cute and funny but why does she do it? and when she goes back in her hutch from next door or outside she kind of 'flops' over, why does she do this? she lives on her own but seems really happy, she gets a lot of tlc and i spend most of my pocket money on her by buying toys or 'boredom breakers' for her while i go to school and my parents let her out, they love her too (my garden is really secure). i love her to pieces. my other friend has a neutered buck and an aggressive doe. the doe scratches the buck and is also aggressive towards people especially strangers and the buck never seems relaxed, kind of scared in fact so i really dont want a buck just incase. cant i just stick to next door?

Answer
Dear Claudia,

I'll take your questions one at a time:

1.  (not spayed,could this be a problem?)
Yes, potentially.  Unspayed, unbred rabbits have a very high risk of uterine cancer.  We recommend that all females be spayed and males neutered so that they can live together in harmony without the fear of unwanted pregnancies and the stress of constant sexual tension.  Please read:

www.rabbit.org/health/spay.html

2.  she has a dewlap, what is this for ,will she have it forever?)

Yes, she will have it forever.  :)  Many females have this little flap of skin, which doesn't seem to have a specific purpose.  It does make a fetching chin pillow, however.  

3. she does this funny hop like a kind of "jitter" its quite cute and funny but why does she do it?

We call this "binkying," and she does it because she's full of happiness and high spirits.

4.  when she goes back in her hutch from next door or outside she kind of 'flops' over, why does she do this?

The "flop" is a sign of great contentment.  :)

5.  cant i just stick to next door?

Well, yes.  But be *extremely* careful about the bunnies being together if the male next door is not neutered.  One mating episode will get your bunny pregnant because rabbits are stimulated to ovulate when they mate.  There are so many homeless bunnies out there, that I would really discourage you from breeding her even once.  Plus, pregnancy and nursing do have significant health risks.

You don't say where you are located, but there are rabbit rescue groups all over the world who can help you find your rabbit a bonded mate so that she won't be lonely while you're at school.  But it's important to allow her to pick the rabbit of her dreams, since bunnies are highly territorial and will fight ferociously if they don't like each other.  The rabbit rescuer will help you through the bonding process, but your bunny should first be spayed, as you already have read.

You can find a local rescue group in the U.S. here:

www.rabbit.org/chapters

If you are in the UK or Europe, let me know and I can put you in touch with some of the wonderful rabbit rescue folks there.  It's a whole new group of great bunny people, and you might just find some special friends among them who love rabbits as much as you do.  :)

I hope this helps!

Dana