On the subject of Bellas spay day....

[poiuytrewq]

Yesterday’s post. Bella went to be spayed and is a boy not a girl.
I bought “her” from a breeder, we travelled quite a way and I really specified it had to be a girl as I was looking for a wife for my neutered buck after loosing his companion.
The breeder was 100% certain female. I can’t tell myself and took her word for it.
Introduced her to Jon, it went perfectly and I was told that was ok as long as he went to the vets with her to be spayed.
So they lived together maybe a month before I found him suddenly dead. He had no injuries and was in his bed (I may have posted at this time)
Everyone assured me that he had died of natural causes (he was a rescue so not totally sure on age)
I got another neutered buck to introduce after the spay, vet said this should still be ok.
My bosses wife today said (what I’d been thinking) that obviously being two boys, one not done that now Bella probably (her words) sh**ed Jon to death.
This is such a terrible thought but I guess might be true.
She said I need to call the breeder, also, and now I wonder about this too. I paid for vaccinations and never received any proof they were done.
Im now feeling a bit done over and stupid.
Ive had Bella castrated and am really fond of him so do t want to take him back or anything but should I complain?

 

[zandp]

Your old dog probably died of old age rather than anything else, don't feel guilty about that.

I'd definitely complain about not getting what you thought you'd bought though. That's incredible to have happened.

 

[poiuytrewq]

Your old dog probably died of old age rather than anything else, don't feel guilty about that.

I'd definitely complain about not getting what you thought you'd bought though. That's incredible to have happened.

Rabbits not dogs! (Dogs I could have told myself!)

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Did you ever see her/him trying to shag Jon? I'm no rabbit expert, but I would presume that if you'd seen Bella show interest in trying to shag/hump Jon, then it would be more likely that Bella also tried doing it when you didn't see them.
But if you never saw Bella try doing it before, I would presume that the risk is less for that it is what caused Jon's death.

According to what I've read, it is much more likely that they would have fought to death, than one humping the other to death, and as you said, there was no sign of a fight.

You said when Jon had died, that it's possible that Jon was older than you thought. As I recall, you also said that Jon suddenly had started to become a bit almost cuddly, for being him that is, compared to how he'd always preferred rabbit company before human company, during all his years with you.
Reading that, made me immediately think that there was possibly something going on with him, that made his behaviour change, even though it maybe was something so small, that Jon wasn't really aware about it, but it still made him feel more approachable.
So to me, it sounds more likely that Jon simply died, without Bella causing it.

But if it still was Bella, then also according to what I've read, rabbits are actually like dogs, and humping is not an exclusively male behaviour. So with bad luck, and if being humped to death really is what killed Jon, it could have happened also if Bella really had been female. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Anyhow, do I think you should contact the breeder, yes. They sold you a female, and it turned out he's a male, but since you don't know if Bella being the wrong gender had anything to do with Jon's death, and since you don't want to send Bella back, I would try to keep it more like an Oops, just wanted to tell you...

 

[poiuytrewq]

Did you ever see her/him trying to shag Jon? I'm no rabbit expert, but I would presume that if you'd seen Bella show interest in trying to shag/hump Jon, then it would be more likely that Bella also tried doing it when you didn't see them.
But if you never saw Bella try doing it before, I would presume that the risk is less for that it is what caused Jon's death.

According to what I've read, it is much more likely that they would have fought to death, than one humping the other to death, and as you said, there was no sign of a fight.

You said when Jon had died, that it's possible that Jon was older than you thought. As I recall, you also said that Jon suddenly had started to become a bit almost cuddly, for being him that is, compared to how he'd always preferred rabbit company before human company, during all his years with you.
Reading that, made me immediately think that there was possibly something going on with him, that made his behaviour change, even though it maybe was something so small, that Jon wasn't really aware about it, but it still made him feel more approachable.
So to me, it sounds more likely that Jon simply died, without Bella causing it.

But if it still was Bella, then also according to what I've read, rabbits are actually like dogs, and humping is not an exclusively male behaviour. So with bad luck, and if being humped to death really is what killed Jon, it could have happened also if Bella really had been female. Unlikely, but not impossible.

Anyhow, do I think you should contact the breeder, yes. They sold you a female, and it turned out he's a male, but since you don't know if Bella being the wrong gender had anything to do with Jon's death, and since you don't want to send Bella back, I would try to keep it more like an Oops, just wanted to tell you...

Thank you. No i never saw anything at all that worried me. My friend this morning was just quite vicious in her reaction and it made me feel awful all over again.
I’ll drop her a message and let her know.
Thanks, I needed a rational answer!

 

[Griffin]

Rabbits are notoriously good at hiding illness because they are prey animals. I am sure that Jon most likely died of natural causes because if he was a rescue, you don't know what their life was like before you got them and what underlying conditions they may have have (this has never put me off having rescue rabbits but it is something to be aware of).

I would complain to the breeder though about the mis-sexing.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thank you. No i never saw anything at all that worried me. My friend this morning was just quite vicious in her reaction and it made me feel awful all over again.
I’ll drop her a message and let her know.
Thanks, I needed a rational answer!

If Bella had done anything which killed Jon, there would have been evidence of that on the body. Tbh your friend sounds bonkers, male rabbits are far more likely to fight than anything else. And yes, the breeder needs to know, if nothing else so that she can brush up on her 'sexing' skills!

 

[FinnishLapphund]

Thank you. No i never saw anything at all that worried me. My friend this morning was just quite vicious in her reaction and it made me feel awful all over again.
I’ll drop her a message and let her know.
Thanks, I needed a rational answer!

I can totally understand if you've been thinking about What ifs about Jon's death, it's quite normal to worry, and go through a bit of second guessing. But I agree with Pearlsasinger, to be bluntly honest, your friend sounds bonkers.

You have no reason to feel awful. You had Jon for several years, and gave him love, and the best care you could. He was a very lucky rabbit, the day his thumper feet landed with you.

 

[brighteyes]

There's a rabbit illness that kills them very fast, with no warning and no symptoms but I can't for the life of me think what it is called.
Don't beat yourself up and I am sorry for your loss.

 

[zandp]

Rabbits not dogs! (Dogs I could have told myself!)

I was wondering how you couldn't tell !!!

 

[poiuytrewq]

I was wondering how you couldn't tell !!!

Haha! I’m not that bad honestly! Even the vet had to wait til s/he was under GA to check!
I did have a friend that bought a boy puppy and didn’t realise til taking it for jabs she had a girl though ?‍ That blew my mind!

 

[Redders]

The disease that kills them quickly is RHD 1 and the variant RHD 2. Rabbits are very good at hiding other illnesses also, and Jon was an older boy, so please don’t feel bad about it. If Bella has been bothering him then there would have been fur everywhere and evidence of fighting, so none of it was anything you did and introducing Bella didn’t cause it. That said, the breeder really should be better at sexing. It’s breeders not doing it properly that results in many oops litters and unwanted rabbits being born - makes my blood boil! I know sexing them when young is hard, but they shouldn’t be selling them until they can be sure what sex they are. I’m sorry Bella was not what you planned him to be, you should feed it back to the breeder so they are aware that they need to improve their sexing skills! I would also ask for proof of vaccination - should be able to get through vet history via the breeder

 

[poiuytrewq]

The disease that kills them quickly is RHD 1 and the variant RHD 2. Rabbits are very good at hiding other illnesses also, and Jon was an older boy, so please don’t feel bad about it. If Bella has been bothering him then there would have been fur everywhere and evidence of fighting, so none of it was anything you did and introducing Bella didn’t cause it. That said, the breeder really should be better at sexing. It’s breeders not doing it properly that results in many oops litters and unwanted rabbits being born - makes my blood boil! I know sexing them when young is hard, but they shouldn’t be selling them until they can be sure what sex they are. I’m sorry Bella was not what you planned him to be, you should feed it back to the breeder so they are aware that they need to improve their sexing skills! I would also ask for proof of vaccination - should be able to get through vet history via the breeder

Thanks again.
I will try and get hold of her. Just makes me think If she was that flaky did she even bother with the vaccinating of just pocket the extra £70!

 

[Redders]

I agree, better to be safe than sorry!