Female spaying questions and bonding

[Cinibunny]

I have a un-spayed female dutch rabbit called Oreo which is almost 1 year old.

I also have a neutered male named Caramel who is the same age.

We have separated both our rabbits ever since we have figured out their genders, sadly I would rather not keep them this way.

Every time they are together Oreo nibbles on Caramels ears, often tries to mate with him and nibbles at his bottom area.

He in turn also chases Oreo around and tries to mate and nip at her bottom.

When Caramel doesn't see Oreo he becomes really depressed and mad at me by being very unsocial.

We have been waiting to spay Oreo so we can put them back together again. Problem is we just talked to the vet today and she said if it's not absolutely necessary we shouldn't spay Oreo.

She said there's a chance she could die and there could be complications.

I have been googling and looking this up since we knew she was a female and I heard completely different things than what she is saying.

For example she can live longer if she was spayed and that it is completely safe, sometimes even necessary, for bonding her with a male rabbit.

My question is, should I go through with the spaying anyway or is the vet right? Also is there a way to bond a neutered male and an unspayed female rabbit?

 

[Cinibunny]

Can someone move this to the proper forum? My phone said I was in the right sub forum sorry about that.

 

[JBun]

It is sometimes possible to bond an unspayed female to a neutered male, but a lot depends on the personality and hormone levels of your female, as well as the personality of your male. I have a pair that the female was unspayed in the beginning(spayed now) and they got on fine as she wasn't too hormonal and didn't pester him too much, and he is very easy going so when she did pester him it didn't bother him much.

Some amount of humping is normal in all rabbits, even altered ones, as it is how they establish dominance, but the hormones will add to this and if the humping is too excessive this can sometimes irritate the other rabbit, which could lead to fights. So you would just have to gauge their interaction and if your boy bun is getting irritated by the humping. What your two are doing, may in part just be normal bonding behavior as they sort out who will be in charge. You just have to ensure it doesn't escalate into fighting.
http://www.wheekwheekthump.com/2013...rs-guide-rabbit-bonding-everything-need-know/

With non breeding female rabbits, there does seem to be higher risk of them developing uterine cancer, especially as they age. At around 5 years old, and especially for certain breeds, there is an extremely high occurrence of uterine cancer. So in that respect, spaying does become something to seriously consider. There is always a risk involved with having a surgery like this done as it is fairly invasive, and if the vet isn't very experienced with rabbits, the risk will be greater. If you can find a rabbit specialist, that will help minimize the risks involved. One that intubates the rabbit, and uses the best and latest anesthesia protocols. Also getting a blood test prior to ensure her kidneys and liver are functioning normally, is a good idea. Deciding whether or not to have the spay done, you just have to weigh the cancer risks with the risk of surgery. It's a hard decision to make.
http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?A=671