# Bunny Spraying Pee . . .



## Kevin G. (Jul 7, 2011)

Hello folks,

Newbie here . . .

I have a question or two about our Bunny "Spraying Pee".

Bunny has done this more than a few times and has managed to spray my wife mostly, myself once (I think).

We are not going after or chasing Bunny when this happens. 

I just happened a few minutes ago: We have made the side yard into a Bunny Run and Bunny gets out every day. My wife was out there weeding and rearranging stepping stones when Bunny came over to her and ran around her in circles (she likes doing that with the both of us . . . I think she is 'playing') and then gave a shake or two of her tail while peeing, spraying it around and on my wife.

Bunny has done this numerous times. Even when we are not 'working' on the Bunny Run area, just hanging out with Bunny in the afternoon.

My wife was not talking to, reaching for or even coming close to Bunny . . . and got sprayed.

WAZZUPWITDAT?!?!? Wifo doesn't like this at all (duh).

Help!

Kevin


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## KrisD (May 26, 2011)

Are you sure Bunny is a girl? Males are the most likely to spray.


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

Your "Bunny" is exhibiting male behavior. "Circling" (or figure 8's) around your wife's feet is a mating behavior, while the spraying is "marking" your wife as his territory. Does will also do this, but will usually target the male human while the bucks will target the female human. Yes, rabbits can differentiate between human males and females.

Pat Lamar


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## Kevin G. (Jul 7, 2011)

Well . . . yes, I think.

We had asked for a girl bunny. There isn't any Scrotum or external genitalia at all.

So . . . yeah, she is a girl (feeling kinda dumb here . . . )

Kevin


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## Kevin G. (Jul 7, 2011)

Hello again folks,

OK, we checked out Bunny closely.

There isn't a scrotum, there is a 'hairless' patch of skin which is rather swollen and red'ish. I will go online later and see if I can surf up rabbit reproduction diagrams. Perhaps she is in heat now . . . dunno. 

I am not a breeder, just a pet owner and my wife DOES NOT like to be sprayed. Heh, no kidding (duh)? I wasn't so thrilled being sprayed either, but she has sprayed my wife in a 10:1 ratio over me.

Bunny is just a tick or three over a year old . . . would it help if we get her fixed?

Any insight you can provide will be MOST helpful.

Thanks folks, :shocked:

Kevin


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

As another pet bunny owner, I can tell you that she is _really_ in love with your wife.

And she's probably lonely, too. _Most_ (not all) bunnies want to be around another of thier kind, at least within eye-sight; unless she's a natural loner or has a cat, dog, guinea pig or other four-footed friend to love, there's a very good chance she would like a friend.

Also, weather she's a she or a he, getting her fixed at a vet who knows rabbits might be a good idea; she'll be a lot happier after she's fixed. Most wouldn't think to suggest it because they have _breeding_ animals, so spaying her would defeat the purpose.

And yeah, you might have been visited by the Sex Change Fairy. How old is she? Usually the SCF won't visit after they turn five months, but sometimes she visits later. (The oldest I've seen is seven months, when a buck turned into a doe!)


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Rabbits don't have a scrotum exactly. They have testes, one on each side of their urinary and bowel openings. Kind of like this: 0I0 

As for spraying the Mrs.more than you, bunny really likes her.

Getting the rabbit neutered might help. And I'm pretty sure bunny is really a he.


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## Kevin G. (Jul 7, 2011)

Awwww crap . . .


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## Kevin G. (Jul 7, 2011)

Narshalla said:


> As another pet bunny owner, I can tell you that she is _really_ in love with your wife.
> 
> And she's probably lonely, too. _Most_ (not all) bunnies want to be around another of thier kind, at least within eye-sight; unless she's a natural loner or has a cat, dog, guinea pig or other four-footed friend to love, there's a very good chance she would like a friend.
> 
> ...


Hmmmmm . . . Interesting . . .

We have a cat (Cookie) that comes into Bunny's area when Bunny is there and says hello to Bunny. Bunny tries to mount her. Kitty lounges around and playfully 'swats' at her (NO claws, just paws). Bunny is VERY interested in Cookie's tail.

We have two Ausie Sheps that Bunny uses as 'play structures', climbing over them and getting nosed and sniffed by the dogs and she noses and bonks them as well. Scooter and Panama enjoy Bunny and there is no conflict between them at all.

"Sex change fairy" . . . SAY WHAT?!?!?!?!? HUH?????

Sigh . . . I gotta talk to my Vet . . . crap.

Kevin


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

Ah, I can see that you have never heard of the infamous Sex change fairy, LOL!

When a competent, experienced person who has spent years working with rabbits determines that a rabbit is a girl, there is a chance that the Sex change fairy will visit and turn the bunny into a boy!

This is especially true if the rabbit was retained as a replacement doe and the rest either sold or culled, or if two girls are placed together to keep each other company until they are old enough to breed.

Ask anyone in the Rabbits forum -- they'll tell you it's true!


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

It sounds like to me you have a very lonely rabbit. Pee spray IMO, is a dominance issue. I've seen it mostly when two mature bucks are side by side, or have a doe between them. They start peeing on each other. You move them and they stop. 

As far as your situation, you either have a doe who is angry because wife is in her territory, or you have a buck who is marking his territory, ie, your wife.

Long story short, I doubt it will stop. I only have a couple pee launchers. I usually don't keep them. You might solve the problem by getting a second rabbit, but if its a buck, they will fight with each other, and you don't want babies obviously, so you need two does. If this rabbit is older than six months old, generally, his balls will be obvious if he is 'hung normally'. 

Does will be periodically tempermental, because thats the way girls are. 

You might stop it by getting a second doe. There will be fighting and dominance behavior, but if there are plenty of places to hide, they will work it out. 

As far as the neutering thing goes, that probably will stop the problem, but not immediately. It takes time for the hormones in the body to dissipate. 

IMO, and this sounds harsh, rabbits don't live long, they are easy to replace, and somewhat disposable. My recommendation would be, unless there is some reason you are super emotionally attached to this one, get a different one and try again. 
Neutering a rabbit is costly, and they are fragile creatures. Not worth the money to me anyway.


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## PD-Riverman (May 24, 2007)

Hey Kevin-----here is a page that will help you alot-----sounds like you got a male there----to me. Sexing Rabbits - How to tell the boys from the girls.


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## Macybaby (Jun 16, 2006)

I had one buck that loved to spray. He was in a big colony pen with two does, and he loved to mark both of them and me. I had no other rabbits on the property. The walls about 2' up all around the pen were urine sprayed. 

None of the other bucks I kept for breeding were like that, even when they were housed near each other, and whether they were living with does or in seperate pens. 

Also, depending on age,, if your bunny is a girl she should develope a dewlap, sort of like a fatty double chin. Bucks don't develop this, so it's another visible clue. Like others have said, looking for testes isn't a good way to tell with rabbits (until they are older). You have to manipulate them so the penis will extend, and as they are older, that is really easy to tell. But with younger rabbits, it's a best guess thing.

I butcher between 10-16 weeks, and I've yet to have a young male with visible testes like the link showed. I've not examined any of the breeding bucks I've had.


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## a7736100 (Jun 4, 2009)

I used to have 2 bonded males. They would circle each other and spray. At times it looked like a lawn sprinkler.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

At 3 years old the 'nads will be plainly visible. With some of the dwarf breeds they are smaller (even taking proportion into account) than they would be on the larger meaty breeds. And sometimes getting the rabbit snipped doesn't stop the spraying (since it is already a habit) according to the House Rabbit Society site. 

Boinking the cat! LOL Got any videos? 

Narshalla, you forgot about the other time the sex change fairy visits on older rabbits. When a newbie (no offense intended) buys a certain sex it can happen. It can also happen to breeders who fall in love with a rabbit of a desired color or fur type.


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## KrisD (May 26, 2011)

Neutered males look like females. It is always possible the previous owner had him neutered especially if it was a rescue person.


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## Kevin G. (Jul 7, 2011)

Macybaby said:


> I had one buck that loved to spray. He was in a big colony pen with two does, and he loved to mark both of them and me. I had no other rabbits on the property. The walls about 2' up all around the pen were urine sprayed.
> 
> None of the other bucks I kept for breeding were like that, even when they were housed near each other, and whether they were living with does or in seperate pens.
> 
> ...


Bunny does have a double chin.

We got the Bunny when she was about 8 weeks from a breeder as a reward for capturing his breeding buck that had escaped.

Bunny is ehhhhhhh about a year old now. She is very sweet and likes to come up and bonk you with her nose to get patted and rubbed.

It is the spary thing that is no-joy.

I had no clue as to the SCF at all. Sheesh.

Wifo is outside working on Bunnys run now, perhaps I will take Bunny out and let one of the dogs into the run at the same time. Bunny likes the dogs, perhaps that will help.

Lonelyfarmgirl . . . Debbi really loves Bunny, I don't think she will be open to replacing Bunny . . . I have grown attached to her as well. She lives a rather spoiled life with lots of affection, rubs, pats, treats and she does get out every day to romp and play in her bunny run. Thank you very much for the reply.

Just how long do Bunnies live?

Kevin


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## Narshalla (Sep 11, 2008)

In this case, I think you probably have a girl who sprays, because a bun wouldn't be fixed that young, and you'd be able to see that it's a boy by now.

Since this is a beloved pet, I'd recommend getting her fixed, then getting a friend for her, another bun who is very young, because it will be easier to bond them to each other if they are young. When the second is old enough, get if fixed, too.

Bunny will be happier with a friend.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Bucks can develop a dewlap if they get too fat or are genetically disposed to dewlaps. But if it is a buck you should be able to see the 'nads.

We had one rabbit that lived to the really old age of 12 years. Average is around 7 for pets.


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## Pat Lamar (Jun 19, 2002)

Sex Change Fairy.... this basically boils down to the fact that when rabbits are young, it is VERY often extremely difficult to positively and accurately sex them. And yes, even experienced rabbit breeders can fall into the SCF trap. I once had a Flemish Giant whom I had sexed as a female. She won two leg certificates as a doe... where even the judges check the sex of each rabbit they are judging. However, when I attempted to show her at 6 months and hoping for that final Leg for grand champion status, I discovered that "she" was a HE! The moral of this story is: if the rabbit is young, it WILL be difficult to sex, even if it is a large breed!

Pat Lamar


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## lonelyfarmgirl (Feb 6, 2005)

If you can't bear to part with Bunny, which is fine, then I recommend what narshalla said. Keep in mind, once this is done, it will take a couple or three months for the hormones to dissapate from the body and her behavior to change. (typically)


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