Help: To spay or not to spay?

[carrot]

In a few days, I'm getting two 6 month oldfemale bunnies.The woman who I am adopting them from said that rabbitsdo not need to be spayed as it is costly and invasive. I have heard,though, that it is dangerous to not spay your bunnies. I need moreinformation on this, because I want to make the right decision. Imputwould be great!
~Liz

 

[Nadezhda]

Here is the thread from the Rabbit ResourceCenter at the bototm of the forum. They have a lot of greatinformation there!

http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=12040&forum_id=10

I'm going to quote what the first thing is that they have there, since it is such good information

Why spay and neuter rabbits?
http://www.rabbit.org/faq/sections/spay-neuter.html

• Alteredrabbits are healthier and live longer than unaltered rabbits. Therisk of reproductive cancers (ovarian, uterine, mammarian) for anunspayed female rabbit stands at is virtually eliminated by spayingyour female rabbit. Your neutered male rabbit will live longer as well,given that he won't be tempted to fight with other animals (rabbits,cats, etc.) due to his sexual aggression.
• Altered rabbits make better companions. They are calmer,more loving, and dependable once the undeniable urge to mate has beenremoved. In addition, rabbits are less prone to destructive (chewing,digging) and aggressive (biting, lunging, circling, growling) behaviorafter surgery.
• Avoidance of obnoxious behavior. Unneutered male rabbitsspray, and both males and females are much easier to litter train, andmuch more reliably trained, after they have been altered.
• Altered rabbits won't contribute to the problem ofoverpopulation of rabbits. Over 15 million adorable dogs, cats, andrabbits are killed in animal shelters in this country every year. Inaddition, unwanted rabbits are often abandoned in fields, parks, or oncity streets to fend for themselves, where they suffer from starvation,sickness, and are easy prey to other animals or traffic accidents.Those rabbits who are sold to pet stores don't necessarily fare anybetter, as pet stores sell pets to anyone with the money to buy,and don't check on what kind of home they will go to. Many of theserabbits will be sold as snake food, or as a pet for a small child whowill soon "outgrow" the rabbit.
• Altered rabbits can safely have a friend to play with.Rabbits are social animals and enjoy the company of other rabbits.But unless your rabbit is altered, he or she cannot have a friend,either of the opposite sex, or the same sex, due to sexual andaggressive behaviors triggered by hormones.
• Spaying and neutering for rabbits has become a safe procedurewhen performed by experienced rabbit veterinarians. TheHouse Rabbit Society has had over 1000 rabbits spayed or neutered withapproximately .1% mortality due to anesthesia. A knowledgeable rabbitveterinarian can spay or neuter your rabbit with very little risk to ahealthy rabbit. Don't allow a veterinarian with little or no experiencewith rabbits to spay or neuter your rabbit

I suck at quotes.

 

[Lissa]

It's completely up to you whether or not youwant to spay your rabbit. I chose to spay all of my rabbitsbecause I want them to live a very long time. Spaying yourrabbits reduces the risk of cancer. Itsupposedlyalso helps with behavioral issues (although I havenot noticed a change in Pristine since her spay).

 

[naturestee]

:yeahthat

I've spayed all three of my girls. My vet is good withrabbits and there were no problems. All the shelters in myarea spay/neuter their rabbits too.

Uterine and ovarian tumors are common in rabbits. I've heardof rabbits that were only one or two years old and the vet found tumorsduring their spays. Not all of these tumors are malignant,but it's better to be safe. I will always spay my rabbitsunless they have other health problems that prevent it.

Not to mention that spayed rabbits are less territorial and thereforeeasier to bond. Fey and Sprite are littermates who had alwayslived together, but were somewhat aggressive and not veryloving. I spayed them, and the aggression stopped and theyare now much more caring for each other, probably because theirhormones aren't stressing them out.

 

[bunnydude]

Hi Liz,

Just as Lissa mentioned, it really is a personal decision. My choicewas to have my bunnies altered. After Amber's spay I witnessed analmost 100% improvement in her attitude. The key is to find a rabbitsavvy vet who has a good track record with bunny spays.

Matt

 

[TrixieRabbit]

bunnydude wrote:

The key is to find a rabbit savvy vet who has a good trackrecord with bunny spays.

Matt

I agree with this completely. DO NOT take your bunny to just anyvet...as long as they are rabbit-savvy, they make the procedure asuninvasive as possible.

Check outhttp://www.rabbit.org/vets/index.htmlfor a listing of rabbit-savvy vets in your area.

Denise

 

[BACI]

Hello carrot and welcome to the forum. You canread over the resources section and get all the data you need to makean informed decision but I would like to share a personal experiencewith you.
I am an experience animal owner and have had all myanimals spayed, not really noticing a difference but buns are a totallydifferent animal. I got Delilah fully informed that rabbits don't liketo be picked up or carried. I was ready to love her on her level, butwhen I first met her she seemed perfectly happy in my arms so I waspleasantly surprised. As time went on the true bun came out.. hershyness about a new environment seemed to allow her to tell us exactlywhat she did not like. What I never could find out was what she didlike. She was like living with a distant roomate. I offered loveaffection via petting, or not petting, never picking her up unlessnecesarry. I followed every piece of advice in every book as well as onthe forum. Delilah is funny because I leave her door open all day andso she will follow me from room to room during the day, just don'tattempt to pet her or pick her up.
At 6mos, I decided to schedule the spay, knowing I was risking thelittle amount of trust I had developed and litter training by causingher pain. None the less I had the surgery, after calling tons of vetsand asking all the questions they tell you about on hrs website.FInally, the right vet and the surgery is done. 7 days after she is anew woman so to say. I can't type on the computer withouth her jumpingon the keyboard, but still not too keen on picking her up. The toys---she loves them. It is like they removed the ovaries and implanted apersonality. OMG I was so ready to get another one since I had beenadvised that would help her become more friendly. She is such a hamnow. Mind you that means she is into everything, but she listens to NOand comes when I call her. I definitely recommend it. I also would hateto think of someone falling in love with a rabbit and at 1yr old havingit have cancer. yes at 1yr. if you are worried just know after thesurgery RO is the best support team you will find. they helped me whenI had worries. Delilah let me hold her after the spay to syringe feedher, although not all rabbits need this. I did not know this but nowthey even can implant a chip to find her if the rabbit is lost orstolen. go figure. well good luck and best wishes. we are here for youif you need to chat.

 

[FlopsnWills]

my first rabbit died at the age of 5 fromuterinecancer and from now on, all of my female rabbits in the futureWILL be spayed. with a knowledgable rabbit vet, the risk of the surgeryis FAR less than the risk of uterine cancer. she had a very painfuldeath and this is why i recommend to anyone who has a female petrabbit, to get them spayed ASAP. always make sure the vet knows whatthey are doing with neutering rabbits and does them on a regularbasis.. and make sure they remove both the uterus and the ovaries.

 

[Bassetluv]

I tend to agree that the decision to spay orneuter a rabbit is a very personal one. There will be pros and conswith either choice; the chances of uterine cancer is definitely a proinsofaras considering spaying a female, along with the possibility ofsurgery calming a nervous/aggressive rabbit (though there's noguarantee that spaying will help to change aggressive tendencies). Thecons with surgery is that there will always be a risk; so if thedecision is to spay, then as others have suggested, finding a vet whohas an excellent track record with surgery on rabbits is important (Ilost one of my rabbits during a routine neuter that my family vetperformed, who had assured me before going into the surgery that he'dhad plenty of experience with rabbit surgery...unfortunately I don'tknow whether I lost Scooby due to that risk factor, or whether my vetdid not have the experience he claimed to have had). The pros of notopting for surgery is that it eliminates any risk that surgery wouldimpose; however, the cons would be that of a higher risk for cancer, aswell as risk of pregnancy if the doe is ever exposed to an unalteredmale. Whatever decision you come to, just be sure that it's yours, andthat you are comfortable with it.

 

[redestarrosa]

right now Honey is a very very sweet girl, i hadwanted to breed and raise rabbits but, i don't want to loseHoney's sweetness when she hits pubery


then again she might not lose her sweetness,

but i still got about 2 to 3 months to get this all figured, she is almost 7 weeks old
(i know very young, but she is doing very well, and she and Boogie is getting along great)


Evenstar