hormonal behavior?

Question
I have a female dwarf bunny who is around 7-9 months old.  She has always been friendly, fairly neat, and was litter trained at a young age.  For the past month or so, she has been acting strangely and I thought maybe it could be hormones?  She knocks her food bowls around, digs in her bedding, and at times she won't use her litter box.  Also, when I reach in her cage she will sometimes lunge like she is going to nip me.  How do I know when to spay her?  Also, I would like to get her a companion, will she get along with a baby rabbit once she is spayed?  Do they need separate cages?  Would it be best to get a male or a female?  Thank you in advance!

Answer
Dear Jen,

Yes, this sounds like the onset of hormonal grouchiness and even false pregnancies (which will make her grumpy and aggressive).  It's time for her to be spayed ASAP to resolve these behaviors, before they become learned, and to prevent her from getting uterine adenocarcinoma (which is very common in unspayed, unbred female rabbits).

Don't buy her a companion.  If you think she's aggressive now, you haven't seen anything like what she'll do if a strange rabbit comes into her house!  Once she's spayed and has had a chance to heal and calm down, contact your local rabbit rescuer and arrange some "blind dates" with their eligible, neutered bachelors (opposite sex pairs are easier to bond, though I have heard of same sex pairs doing fine; it depends on the personalities of the rabbits involved.).

You can find your local chapter of the House Rabbit Society here:

www.rabbit.org/chapters

and the fosterer will help you determine who's the best potential "husband" for your girl.  Bonding has specific tips and tricks, and the HRS people can help with that, too.

Hope this helps. Please write back if you have any other questions.

Dana