Spaying And Neutering Rabbits

Why You Should Spay and Neuter Your Pet Rabbits

Hello friends, hope you all are doing great. Today I will tell you a few of the reasons why you should spay and neuter your pet rabbits. In recent years spaying and neutering rabbits very frequently search topic on internet.

The Overpopulation Problem

We have too many rabbits. We can’t place all of the rabbits in the United States. We have rabbits in animal shelters and in rescues, and one of the reasons for this is that people are not spaying and neutering their rabbits.

You know the saying, “rabbits breed like rabbits”? Well, a male and female rabbit can conceivably have 200 or 300 rabbits in the course of a year. That’s because the female rabbit has a gestation period, or the time from conception to birth of her babies, of 28 to 31 days. She can become pregnant immediately after giving birth and have another litter a month later. At 4 months of age, her babies can reproduce and have more babies. Each litter can be six to nine baby bunnies or kits. So you see the problem: we absolutely have to spay and neuter our rabbits in order to save some of these unwanted rabbits that we can’t find homes for.

Health Benefits of Spaying and Neutering Rabbits

Now, this is very important. The second reason to spay and neuter your rabbit is health. It’s a fact that the majority of female rabbits get reproductive organ cancers by the age of two. So, in order to prevent that, we need to spay the females as soon as possible after the age of 4 months. Some exotic veterinarians will say that the girls should wait until they’re 6 months of age, but in some situations, it isn’t practical to do that. For instance, if you have a rescue, an animal shelter, or if you have a large number of rabbits, what you want to do is keep them together as long as you possibly can without them fighting, up until the age of 4 months. You neuter the males at 3 months, and then you spay the females at 4 months, and you track it very carefully.

Male rabbits also have health benefits. They have less testicular cancers as they get older, but the primary reason for neutering male rabbits is behavioral. Male rabbits, if not neutered, will often exhibit mating behaviors. Such as:

• They will circle and nip your ankles,
• they bite,
• they fight with one another,
• and they spray urine.

Who wants bunny urine all over the house, right? Then, they can dig and chew and cause damage, and what happens when you have these rabbits with behavioral problems is that people will put them outside, and then they’re in danger from predators. So, it’s much better for the health of the rabbit to neuter them and keep them safe indoors. You can also read “how to bunny proof your home”.

Bonding Rabbits for Companionship

Then, there’s happiness. When you neuter a rabbit, you can safely put another neutered rabbit with them. It’s better to have a neutered male and a spayed female. You can introduce them together, and they can live together safely and happily. Rabbits really love to have another rabbit. They’re herd animals. They like to live in groups, and they need that 24/7 companionship of their own species. But they can’t do that if they’re not spayed and neutered. Besides the fact that they’ll have too many babies, they’ll fight, and they don’t get along. So, it’s absolutely essential that you spay and neuter your pet rabbit. You can also read “can a rabbit live alone?”

Adopt a Spayed or Neutered Rabbit

It’s also important when looking for a pet rabbit to adopt a rabbit from a shelter or rescue group, rather than buy one that’s not altered from a pet store. If you have a rabbit and you don’t know how old it is but you’re pretty sure it’s 3 or 4 months of age, there are some behavioral signs that you can look for that indicate your rabbit is ready to be neutered.

Behavioral Signs Your Rabbit is Ready to Be Neutered

If you’re unsure how old your rabbit is but suspect it’s 3 or 4 months old, look for these signs that it’s ready to be neutered:

• Low humming noises, especially in male rabbits
• Circling your ankles and nipping
• Trying to “mate” with your fingers or ankles
• Spraying urine or becoming suddenly aggressive

These are indications that your rabbit is ready for spaying or neutering. Always confirm this with your veterinarian.

Preparing for Rabbit Surgery

The first thing you want to be aware of is that rabbits should eat the night before and the morning of the surgery. Unlike cats and dogs, and you may have heard that you fast a cat or dog before surgery, that’s not true of rabbits. First of all, rabbits can’t vomit, so there’s no risk for them to have food in their system. But in addition to that, and more importantly, it’s really important that rabbits have food moving through their systems at all times. If a rabbit doesn’t have food moving through the digestive system, it will die. It’s really critical to feed your rabbit the night before and the morning of surgery, and also to make sure your rabbit eats after surgery as soon as possible.

It’s also important to make sure your rabbit is adequately hydrated. Rabbits drink five times the amount of water for their body weight as cats and dogs. They dehydrate very easily, and if they don’t drink for a day, it can be fatal. So, they always have to have water, and they always have to have food. These are important things to realize about a pet rabbit, and they’re true every day when you own a rabbit, not just when they’re getting surgery.

Transporting Your Rabbit Safely

You want to bring your rabbit to the spay/neuter clinic in a hard carrier, not a cardboard box or a soft carrier, with something absorbable in the bottom, like an artificial sheepskin or a towel. If the rabbit slips, it won’t get wet if the rabbit has to urinate. It’s important. Keep the temperature controlled, as rabbits overheat easily, especially after surgery.

After Surgery: Rabbit Recovery

Anytime you’re transporting a rabbit, whether it’s for surgery or a veterinary visit, you want to make sure the temperature is stable. Rabbits overheat faster than most companion animals. Post-surgery, their temperature will drop, so it’s important to keep the environment not too warm or too cold, not over 90°F but with controlled air-conditioning.

Once your rabbit is home after spay or neuter surgery, here are some signs of stable recovery. The rabbit should eat within 24 hours; males may start eating within two to three hours post-surgery, while females might take a little longer. Offer them their favorite treats if necessary. Anytime a rabbit doesn’t eat for 12 hours, treat it as a medical emergency and ensure you get an emergency number from your vet when you pick up your rabbit.

Check the surgical site daily. For female rabbits, lift their front legs and peek under to ensure the incision is not leaking or infected. For male rabbits, who recover faster, turn them over to inspect for swelling or inflammation. If your female rabbit doesn’t eat, you’ll need to syringe feed her with pellet mush or Critical Care. Consult with your veterinarian on how to force-feed your rabbit, as it’s critical for her health.

Post-Surgery Checkup and Care

Don’t forget to take your rabbit for a post-surgical exam. Most rabbits with external stitches will need them removed 10 to 14 days after surgery. Even if the stitches are dissolvable, your bunny still needs a post-neuter exam.

If your rabbit starts chewing or digging at the surgical site, ask your vet about using a belly band around your female rabbit or a cloth collar for males instead of a hard plastic cone, which may interfere with eating.

There are excellent resources to help you care for your pet rabbit. You can visit:

• House Rabbit Society at www.rabbit.org
• Los Angeles Rabbit Foundation at www.larabbits.org

These websites offer accurate information about rabbit care. Be sure to get information from reliable sources. One of the best books on rabbit care is The House Rabbit Handbook by Marinell Harriman, published by Drollery Press. You can order it on the House Rabbit Society website.

Conclusion

That’s all for today. If you found this article helpful, please share it with bunny your owner friends. If you have any question about rabbit care and tips, let me know in the comment box.