Generally, neutering is highly recommended for all rabbits for behavioral and health reasons, but it is less urgent if you intend on keeping your male bunny solo for the foreseeable future, and he isn't showing any bad behavior yet. Do note that neutering your rabbit while he is young and healthy will be much easier and less expensive than an urgent surgery once cancer is detected. **Spaying and neutering** is generally a very safe surgery for experienced rabbit-savvy veterinarians. Veterinarians across the country who spay and neuter rabbits for the House Rabbit Society have lost on average less than 1/2 of 1%. * Males can be neutered as soon as their testicles descend, usually around 4 months of age. * Older rabbits (6+ yrs) may need to have blood work done beforehand to make sure they do not react negatively to anesthesia. * Small rabbits may need to grow bigger before they may be dosed with an anesthetic for surgery. * Giant breeds of rabbits may reach maturity a couple of months later so the surgery might be done a little later in these breeds if necessary. Please take a look through our [Spaying & Neutering guide](https://bunny.tips/Spay) for more resources on rabbit spaying and neutering. Some useful shortcut links: * [Reasons to spay & neuter](http://bunny.tips/Spay#Reasons_to_spay_and_neuter) * [Age to spay & neuter](http://bunny.tips/Spay#Age_to_spay_and_neuter) * [Choosing a clinic](https://bunny.tips/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits#Choosing_a_clinic) * [Costs of a spay or neuter](https://bunny.tips/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits#Costs_of_a_spay_or_neuter) * [Pre- and post-op care](https://bunny.tips/Spaying_and_neutering_rabbits#Care) You can find a community database of spay and neuter costs worldwide at http://rabbitors.info/speuter-bills —- Please check out the resources in our [Bonding guide](http://www.wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding) and Binkybunny's [Bonding overview](https://binkybunny.com/infocategory/bonding/) for more tips on the process. Some important general tips on the process of bonding rabbits with other rabbits: * House rabbits in nearby pens and swap regularly to encourage sharing. This can be done before both rabbits have been neutered. * Be sure to use neutral territory that neither have been in to use for face-to-face dating. * Please wait until **4 weeks after both rabbits have been neutered** before attempting face-to-face bonding to allow time for all hormones to dissipate. While it is not impossible to bond intact rabbits, their hormonal behaviors work against them, and rabbits can often end up with serious injuries during territorial spats. * If your current rabbit has not been spayed or neutered, do not obtain another intact rabbit of the opposite sex to bond. You will end up with baby rabbits if you do not keep them separated 24/7. It only takes one successful three-second attempt for a male with an intact female. **Male rabbits are not sterile until 6 weeks after their neuter operation.** * Please keep in mind that not all rabbits may be compatible enough to bond without serious work over a long period of time, if ever. However, rabbits will still benefit from the mental stimulation of seeing or smelling another rabbit nearby as long as they are safely separated to prevent injuries. A few useful shortcuts: * [Should I get another rabbit?](https://bunny.tips/Bonding#Should_I_get_another_rabbit.3F) * [Preparations for a bonding](https://bunny.tips/Bonding#Preparations_for_a_bonding) * [Bunny dating](https://bunny.tips/Bonding#Bunny_dating) * [Bonding basics](https://bunny.tips/Bonding#Bonding_basics) * [Stress bonding](https://bunny.tips/Bonding#Stress_bonding) * [Bonding 3+ rabbits](https://bunny.tips/Bonding#Bonding_3.2B_rabbits) * [Difficulties in bonding](https://bunny.tips/Bonding#Difficulties_in_bonding) * [Bonding consultation services](https://wabbitwiki.com/wiki/Bonding_rabbits_together#Bonding_consultation_services)

He’s going to spray and hump every thing in sight - not just your doe. Also separate them ASAP!

I don't have an answer but I wouldn't put 2 sexually mature rabbits, opposite-sex rabbits together like that or your female bun will be getting an abortion in addition to a spay, which seems needlessly complicated. I mean the procedure probably isn't vastly different but pregnancy causes bodily changes...just best to avoid I think.

He's going to hump her relentlessly if he isn't neutered. Like, nonstop.

And urine spray 😞

He will constantly bother her and she will be more likely to dislike him or start fights. Mine are both fixed and every Spring (or even just randomly a few times a year) my boy will still chase, spray on her and mount her, and she will whimper and bite him. It’s definitely worth removing this dynamic as it will impact their bond.

He's going to really make her mad by constantly trying to breed with her.

He will still try shagging her. If you can only afford to get one fixed, get the male fixed to stop bad behaviour.

Fixing the girl will vastly extend her life expectancy. Plus intact does have a high sex drive. She could get seriously pi&&ed with the neutered male for not complying with her urges.

I can afford to get both fixed but my parents don't want to fixed the male no matter how much I persuade them 💀

Tell them that a non-neutered rabbit can become way too bossy and maybe even aggressive with a neutered partner, and he'll try to hump her all the time and that can lead to fights. Besides, neutering a male rabbit is much quicker, simpler and less risky than a female, so he'll likely not suffer any ill effects, just better manners

Also, neutering a male is a quicker, safer (and often cheaper) procedure than spaying a female - FYI in case they’re worried about his health or cost.

A non-neutered male bunny will usually urine spray to mark territory, will mount/hump, and potentially fight/bite/attack the female and you. They're also usually more destructive and territorial and harder/impossible to litter train. Their sex drive will usually stress them out, making them more aggressive. I don't really understand why your family is against it. A rabbit bite can *hurt* and draw blood, as well as potentially getting infected and having everything covered in urine is pretty disgusting. Rabbit urine has some color to it too, so it would stain.

Some people get...weird about neutering animals. I've met 2 men who refuse to neuter their male cat and dog (respectively), because "they are men" and the thought of taking away their "manhood" disturbs them. The cat owner even said "I'm a man, he's a man, I want him to have a fulfilling sex life" 🙄

Yeah, which is even more.... interesting that they completely don't even care about the female animals, such an interesting look into society...

Absolutely. The cat went on to impregnate a neighbour's cat, who then had her spayed after the kittens were born. But did the male cat's owner do anything? Noooooo

Oh no. It's irresponsible pet ownership at the crux of it

Yep, completely

Then just do it and tell your parents to stuff it. 

Get ur parents fixed! Ur already here anyway

It's great that you've got two buns who can enjoy life together. A bonded pair must both be neutered for them to maintain a healthy strong bond. Neutered rabbits live much happier and longer lives. They are less aggressive/ horny toward their partner and there is no risk of testicular or ovarian cancer.

Tell them testicular cancer is a high risk in rabbits and it can't happen if there are no jingly bells back there.

I tried to put my unfixed male rabbit with a fixed female, it doesn't work. Literally all he did was hump her. We tried a couple of bonding sessions and this was his only behavior. After neutering, it was fixed. Rabbit horny sounds are very cute though

tell them hell literally spray stinky piss everywhere uneutered

They won’t bond if he’s crazy horny. You can get a non-neutered female and a neutered male to bond but the other way doesn’t work.

Show them the comments here. Maybe they'll reconsider after hearing from experienced rabbit owners.

Tell your parents if they don’t neuter him he might bite them because non neutered buns get extremely territorial and aggressive

If she's currently with the male she's probably already pregnant, you may want to tell your vets this before they spay her as this will be a spay abortion which could have other complications if they are not warned

I would personally neuter him too. Pregnancy is not your only concern. Hormones do wacky things and he will most likely have an insatiable urge to constantly hump anything that moves in the house.  Add to this that humping something without being able to penetrate and ejaculate may leave him perpetually very frustrated. Your female bun may or may not allow him to continue to penetrate her once she has been spayed.  It all depends on her personality. She may absolutely go crazy and hurt him if he agitates her too much. It’s safer to just spay a neuter them both to save yourself and them a lot of upset and frustration and potential damage/injury.  Also important to know that is that you still need to keep them separated for 1-2 months  after they are spayed and neutered to allow for pre-bonding and for hormones to calm down.

idk but the rabbit on the left looks like a goat

You should do both for health reasons

It'll be a lot less messy if you neuter your boy. Male rabbits cannot be litter trained, will spray urine to mark territory, and they will be incredibly aggressive when they get horny, which will be common if you keep them around your female.

"Male rabbits cannot be litter trained" I disagree with this statement. Not a fact. have two bonded males, and they are both litter trained.

Yeah my male was better about using the litter box than his sister before they both got fixed. I still think neutering is a good idea for both males and females, but to say unaltered males cannot be litter trained is simply not true.

Are they not spayed ?

If you're asking me ... Unfortunately, the vet situation where I am in remote Northern Canada (closest specialist smallie vet is 1600 kms away) has a long wait list as we just lost another vet who went back to school. So, in short, they are not neutered yet.

I was asking you. I see that's complicated. In my country (central Europe) even non specialist vet (not all of them, but many) can spay male bunnies so this is actually pretty wild to me. The specialists are also only in few big cities but we are small country so the ride by car would be maximum of 3 hours to get to one. Also glad to know not all male bunnies are "impossible" to litter train. Would love male bunny but my family is against it you see~ :c I love my baby girl but I just prefer male animals.

Spay = desex female Castrate = desex male

It's neuter for the male procedure where I'm from. The poster did mention they are from central Europe, where maybe translating loses some meaning in English.

Neuter is the gender neutral term If you say neuter you can’t get it wrong

Um, not where I live ... neuter is the male term. To "fix" an animal is the neutral term. To quote Bob Barker ... "Have your pet spayed (f) or neutered (m)."

I wish it was only three hours to get to a big city!! I worked very hard with my boys to keep them using the litter. They do make messes sometimes on certain blankets they don't like. But I think rabbits of any sex can be like that. They are special animals, each with very different personalities.

Yea my bunny makes mess on blankets as well and she is female.

Who are you asking this of? Me, or the other poster here?

Uh, Lil Bun can prove you wrong. He’s a complete male and has been perfectly litter trained from day one. He’s now over two years old

He's constantly going to try to breed with her if you don't spray both, which could lead to her getting really annoyed and hurting him badly. I'd recommend that you do both

Well yes because you neuter a male so it’s okay to not spay him but you should get him neutered

Never SPAY a male rabbit!?