# Anyone have a relatively well behaved unspayed rabbit?



## i_m_mimi (Aug 4, 2013)

I just got my first rabbit and it's a doe, and it's quite intelligent. It likes digging and chewing up wires and escaping cages and biting owners if it's annoyed. But it's really a well behaved rabbit and it loves to come give me kisses and snuggle. I'm not sure how old it is but I'm guessing about 3 or 4 months old? Maybe older, so it is going through its adolescent stage. 

I really didn't know much about rabbits before and there aren't that many well experienced vets in my area. 

I've already read a lot of posts about agitated unspayed rabbits, but has anyone ever had a relatively "well-behaved" unspayed rabbit? Is it possible? What will happen if I keep it unspayed?


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## rebeccad (Aug 4, 2013)

I have an unaltered pair of lionheads. They are 8 months old and I have had them since they were babies. Neither of them bite. They are very curious and the male can be a bit wild when I try to clip his nails and hold him. For me, they are much happier and tamer the more exercise they get. I have a fairly large section of the yard fenced for them. And their cage/s are quite large. Perhaps your bunny needs some time out of her cage to get some exercise. And try to let her come to you, instead of reaching into her space to pick her up. They don't like that. Mine will get altered eventually and I look forward to even calmer bunnies, but they are certainly enjoyable already


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## Zeroshero (Aug 4, 2013)

Some spay neuter clinics and shelter veterinarians have experience altering rabbits you might have to do a little homework to find one. Based on what I have read female rabbits health and well being benefits from a spay. That being said, my sister has a super sweet unspayed 4 year old mini-Rex doe she doesn't get regular handling but has never been aggressive or territorial. I thought about having her spayed myself and bonding her with my bun once he is old enough to be neutered. Where are you located? Perhaps if you search the forum in your region someone may have posted about a rabbit savvy vet in your area.


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## Watermelons (Aug 4, 2013)

i_m_mimi said:


> It likes digging and chewing up wires and escaping cages and biting owners if it's annoyed.


 
That is not well behaved. Bad behaviours will develop further and continue as the rabbit gets older.


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## i_m_mimi (Aug 4, 2013)

Zeroshero said:


> Some spay neuter clinics and shelter veterinarians have experience altering rabbits you might have to do a little homework to find one. Based on what I have read female rabbits health and well being benefits from a spay. That being said, my sister has a super sweet unspayed 4 year old mini-Rex doe she doesn't get regular handling but has never been aggressive or territorial. I thought about having her spayed myself and bonding her with my bun once he is old enough to be neutered. Where are you located? Perhaps if you search the forum in your region someone may have posted about a rabbit savvy vet in your area.



Can you ask your sister how her bunny was when it was going through its adolescence or did it go through a rowdy period?

I still find that my bunny is a good bunny :3 Not moody or aggressive, but it has quite the assertive personality.

I'm located in a more rural area, and the cost of getting my bunny neutered may be a lot plus travel.


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## Zeroshero (Aug 4, 2013)

As I mentioned she's never been handled much so I don't know, I do know that she is very sweet now. Even if she happened to get aggressive during that time there wasn't anyone to take it out on.


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Aug 4, 2013)

All of our rabbits are unaltered. We have breeding/show rabbits, as well as two that are strictly pets.

Things like chewing and digging are natural behaviors of any rabbit, altered or not. However, things like biting or aggression can be hormonal. I find that the worst of the hormonal behavior is typically between 4 months to 1 year old. This is when the breeds I work with transition from babies to adults. The new surge of hormones seems to affect some more than others. During this period of time, I try to handle them as often as possible and make sure to interact in some way daily, even if it's just reaching in to pet their heads for a few minutes. Overall, I don't notice a significant behavioral change, but there is a doe here or there who gets a little moody.

As they get closer to two years old and older, that initial surge of hormones seems to wear off. All of my previous comments were mostly related to does. The only trouble I see in bucks is occasionally spraying, but not all bucks spray.

In my opinion, there is no absolute need to have rabbits altered if they're in a single bunny home. There are claims of high cancer rates in unspayed females, but I haven't found that to be as common/frequent as said. The benefit to altering your pets is usually behavioral, or simply to prevent unwanted breeding. In a multiple rabbit home, it is definitely best to have at least one altered to prevent breeding.


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## Ashley B (Aug 4, 2013)

My male rex hasn't been altered.. I first got him when he was a few months old, and he is now 3. He has never bit, or done anything of that kind.


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## PaGal (Aug 4, 2013)

I have an unaltered male bun. He is a Flemish giant and I have had him since ten weeks old. He is almost a year and a half now. He has never been aggressive and has never sprayed. 

I planned on only having the one bun and had heard from several sources that males tended to be more laid back and would not spray if an only bun so I got a male.

I recently took in two bonded buns from my neighbor whom I believe are females. My male did pee on the carpet for the first time yesterday. The day before I did have the other 2 buns out of a cage for the first time. However, I believe he peed because they had kicked some litter out of their cage and I believe he smelled their pee on it.


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## Watermelons (Aug 4, 2013)

i_m_mimi said:


> I still find that my bunny is a good bunny :3 Not moody or aggressive, but it has quite the assertive personality.



All these other unaltered bunnys are well behaved. Nipping and biting are not good behavious and should not be allowed. If this is happening all ready poor behaviour will continue.


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## i_m_mimi (Aug 4, 2013)

Watermelons said:


> All these other unaltered bunnys are well behaved. Nipping and biting are not good behavious and should not be allowed. If this is happening all ready poor behaviour will continue.



What should I do about this poor behaviour?


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 4, 2013)

*YES!* All of my rabbits are unspayed and un neutered as they are used as breeding rabbits. They are very personable and I have no problems with spaying or nipping or any abnormal behavior. people say there is a higher chance for cancer in doe's however I have many old doe's ready to retire and none of my rabbits have ever had cancer and they are very healthy. If you spay or neuter your rabbit it guarantees that your rabbit could never have babies(kits). However spayed and neutered rabbits tend to be overweight because they aren't as active and don't have the hormones. ( An overweight rabbit is just as bad as an underweight rabbit< statement coming from a vet) altering you rabbit is a personal opinion and can give a peace of mind. It is highly recommended by rescues to cut down on overpopulation. However it is not something that need to be done. I personally prefer unaltered rabbits as they seem to have more personality and they seem more active when in the run, but when I take them out for a good snuggle they calm right down. 

If you keep your rabbit unspayed, your rabbit..will be a rabbit. It will act like it would any wheres else. When they are younger they are a little more active but calm down once they get older. Its rumored that unaltered rabbits are hard to litter train, I can tell you thats a false statement, all my rabbits are litter trained and are very faithful to using their litter box.

An unaltered rabbit will not be more "wild", with plenty of interaction they are very friendly and sociable and just as cute as altered rabbits, I hope you have a wonderful time with your first bun. Welcome to the rabbit world!


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## Tauntz (Aug 4, 2013)

I have two unspayed doe sisters from the same litter. So far both have been very good behaviorwise. I've only had one time in which one of my buns bit me while getting a treat from my fingers, I think it was a misjudgment on her part. No other biting incidents. They seem to have a good bond with no problems. They enjoy chasing each other & grooming each other. So far their litter box habits are good, its gotten better with time. Still get poops outside of the litter box but that seems to be a normal bunny thing with buns. They are just a little over a year old. I couldn't be happier with my two girls, well, I do wish Hope was a bit more accepting of petting but I think she may get used to it yet. She is my little mischievous explorer bun to my Faith's just a sweet little accepting of most everything bun! lol

I'm quite proud of my little girls! When I returned from the hospital they both were glad to see me, let me love on them more than usual & didn't even mind my picking them up for a much needed grooming! I think they still recognize I'm not quite well & are being very good girls! :inlove:


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 4, 2013)

i_m_mimi said:


> What should I do about this poor behaviour?



It depends on the rabbits age, A young rabbit will nip or "try" things at a younger age this is normal, they think everything is good to taste. If I'm holding my rabbit I usual pick the rabbit up and tell them that their being a bad bun in a light way. My rabbits know when I tell them they are being bad because they get all upset and stop acting up. I wouldn't call this "bad" behavior either, this is really an opinionated matter on whether they are being bad or not. I have a Lionhead doe Eevee and she is a little sticker, and she is spoiled rotten by my sister. She's very expectant and when she wants something you better give it to her. When ever she want hay she begin to dig and jump away from us. When she wants food she nibbles on our clothing, when shes thirsty she licks us (shes also licks us because she likes the salt on our skin) So before your rabbit is classified as a naughty rabbit, I would examine her behavior maybe thats just her personality like Eevee here (Eevee also like to dig all the litter our of her box and get her cage all dirty)


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## RabbitGirl101 (Aug 4, 2013)

OakRidgeRabbits said:


> All of our rabbits are unaltered. We have breeding/show rabbits, as well as two that are strictly pets.
> 
> Things like chewing and digging are natural behaviors of any rabbit, altered or not. However, things like biting or aggression can be hormonal. I find that the worst of the hormonal behavior is typically between 4 months to 1 year old. This is when the breeds I work with transition from babies to adults. The new surge of hormones seems to affect some more than others. During this period of time, I try to handle them as often as possible and make sure to interact in some way daily, even if it's just reaching in to pet their heads for a few minutes. Overall, I don't notice a significant behavioral change, but there is a doe here or there who gets a little moody.
> 
> ...



OakRidge Rabbits has given you some great information here.


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## i_m_mimi (Aug 6, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the advice! My bunny is so mischievous, loves going into every corner of my house. It will rub its nose against mine when it wants a treat and loves to go out for walks with me haha. I think I will see if my bunny's behaviour becomes harmful to itself or too hard to handle, then decide to spay it or not. 

I've heard you can correct bad behaviour by yelping when she bites you, spraying with water or giving her a treat and loving her even more. 

I still think my bunny is a good bunny :3.


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## Titorules (Mar 21, 2022)

We have a buck (Tito) who was about 10 months old. We had him fixed but we thought he definitely needed a friend of his own. So we got a female (Nola) who is a year older and not spayed. It took a few days but they bonded. She is a timid bunny (until she lived with us she was with a very humane breeding establishment) whereas Tito grew up free roaming with no other bunnies. We thought Tito was dominate but it's kinda unclear at this point. We plan on getting her fixed. My answer is there can be an unspayed female who is sweet. My question- bunnies do the oddest/cutest things. What is going through their head!?


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## Hoppybunn (Mar 21, 2022)

Titorules said:


> We have a buck (Tito) who was about 10 months old. We had him fixed but we thought he definitely needed a friend of his own. So we got a female (Nola) who is a year older and not spayed. It took a few days but they bonded. She is a timid bunny (until she lived with us she was with a very humane breeding establishment) whereas Tito grew up free roaming with no other bunnies. We thought Tito was dominate but it's kinda unclear at this point. We plan on getting her fixed. My answer is there can be an unspayed female who is sweet. My question- bunnies do the oddest/cutest things. What is going through their head!?


Hi I have unspayed females that are sweet as can be even when they have babies. I also have a free roaming male unfixed that is perfect litter trained and almost 2 yrs old, maybe I'm lucky.


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## Blue eyes (Mar 21, 2022)

This is an almost 10 year old thread. Please post new question/topics on a new thread.


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