Is my Rabbit ready to be fixed?

Question
I bought my rabbit from a pet store back at the beginning of July (about 4 months ago).  She is a Holland lop and was just a bunny when we brought her home.  

Over the past couple of weeks she has begun to act a little funny, for lack of a better term.  She has been a bit more aggressive around her cage.  She also can't stand to be picked up, although she never liked it, she used to at least tolerate being handled.  I have also noticed that her poop has had a bit of an odor to it lately, whereas it didn't used to.

Finally, the last hint that I got that she may be reaching sexual maturity, was that last night while relaxing on the couch with me she started paying particular attention to my arm and attempted to mount it (this seems particularly odd since the pet store told us she was a female, could they have been wrong?)

My question is, since we bought her from a pet store and have no real way of knowing how old she is, does this sound like normal behavior for a Holland Lop reaching sexual maturity, and if so when is the appropriate time to get her spayed.

Answer
Dear Ken,

Yes, it sounds as if your bunny is on the brink of puberty.  Because s/he is a small breed, it's probably wiser to wait a couple more months to spay her, if you can.  Estrogen plays a very important role in skeleton formation, and though the incidence of osteoporosis in early-spayed rabbits is not known, I prefer to err on the side of caution.

If the bunny is male, however, and his testicles are descended, then he can be neutered by a rabbit-experienced veterinarian.  Both males and females may mount and exhibit sexual behavior when they reach puberty, though it's more common for males to mount things besides other rabbits.  If you find a good rabbit vet here:

www.rabbit.org/vets

then s/he will be able to sex the bunny and advise you on the best next step.

If the bunny has mushy poop that's causing the strong smell (rabbit fecal pellets should be mostly odorless), then please also read:

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

Hope this helps.

Dana