Does anyone know...

[Watts76]

Does anyone know...

If female buns have a higher or lower chance of getting ovarian/uterine cancer if they have had a litter or not?

 

[I_heart_Fraggles]

I think if there not being used for regular breeding then yes. A doe should be spayed by the time she is four years old preferably as a young bun but if you wanna prevent the cancer then the risk goes WAY up after four years old litter or not.

 

[ldoerr]

I agree with what Katie said. If not used regularly for breeding I would get her spayed.

 

[agnesthelion]

:yeahthat:

I agree with Katie and Lauren.

I think if a doe is not used regularly for breeding then the chances DO go up and spaying is a good idea.

 

[LakeCondo]

Someone who has been on the site was going to get their doe spayed after it had been bred a number of times. I don't know if this was based on any research or was just thought soon enough to eliminate any cancer before it spread.

 

[Imbrium]

iirc, the age by which breeding does typically get retired is a bit before the age where the odds of cancer get sky-high, so getting a retired doe spayed is definitely a good idea. also, because both ovaries and uterus get removed in a typical spay surgery, if there's anything pre-cancerous, it's likely to get removed with the spay (the exception being mammarian cancer)

 

[pamnock]

Advanced age is the primary risk factor for developing uterine tumors (which may or may not be cancerous).

 

[Watts76]

I guess I kind of worded my question strangely.

I have been investigating vets around that do the spay, and none of them that are "rabbit-savy" charge less than $500 for the surgery.

Therefore, I wanted to know if I were to let Pepper have a litter or two, would that reduce her chances of developing uterine/ovarian cancer like it does with women of the human species.

 

[Imbrium]

I'm pretty sure it wouldn't... and regardless, bringing more bunnies into the world when there are already so many in shelters for no reason other than to reduce cancer risks in the one you've already got isn't a very good reason to breed. besides, the owners of the offspring would have the same problem you have of a spay being too costly, so you'd really just be passing the problem along to a lot more people.

have you tried contacting shelters, wildlife rehabs and/or rabbit sanctuaries to see if any of them can help you find a more affordable way to get your girl spayed?