neutering/spaying concerns

[Mjd]

Hello I have multiple questions about neutering/spaying rabbits.
When It's too late to do it (age wise) ?
What is the minimum age to do it ?
Is it dangers and could my rabbit die from it ?
and if you guys have any resources about the after care that would be great

 

[SableSteel]

Any surgery is dangerous. I had one die in a spay; it was a very tragic loss. Personally I wouldn't recommend it unless the rabbit had serious issues that made it necessary. After losing my sweet Bianca, I've not spayed any of mine and they've all done great - wonderful personalities (no aggression or marking; they walk on leashes with me in the store - personality varies a lot with rabbit, and neutering/spaying isn't the temperament "fix all" that some people act like it is) and good health.

 

[odyssey~]

contradicting to sablesteel, I always recommend spaying females but neuturing for males depends on the situration. females have a higher chance of getting cancers if left unspayed, but they also have a high chance of passing during the sugery since it's longer and more complicated. fixing them can fix territorial problems and also improve potty habits and agression. most importantly (in my eyes) is that fixing them could let your rabbit bond with another rabbit and have a friend, and I think that all rabbits should be bonded whenever possible. spaying can be done at 4 months of age, while neuturing is 6 months or when their testiciles drop. too old would be ~5 years as opinions vary on this.
if you don't currently have a bunny now I'd recommend looking into shelters as they often fix the rabbits prior to you bringing them home.

 

[Catlyn]

Any and all surgeries carry some risks, it's equally true for pets and people, but with a savvy vet, it will be minimized. Our local nearly non-experienced clinic did well with all three neuters and the girl's spay was also fine.
Both spays and neuters could be done starting from 4-5 months, though it also depends on the vet. If a bun is past three years, it would be advisable to consult the vet and get the bun checked up (bloodwork and liver function checks? Not really sure as to what would be checked there) to make sure that nothing would make the surgery more complicated. I've read that past the age of five isn't really reccommended, but emergency fixes have been done on buns that were 7 and up. It depends on the individual.
I would definetly spay any female bun unless they're for breeding, mostly to avoid the high chance of them developing cancer. Iris got spayed at six months and the vet told us right then and there that if we'd waited any longer, she really would've developed cancer.
I agree with Odyssey on males being neutered depending on the situation. If you can handle pee stains, grunting, circling, humping etc, and if you don't plan on having a bondmate for them, it might be entirely possible to live with an intact buck. We couldn't handle it with our solo bun and the two after that had the intention of being bonded, so they did get their neuters.

 

[Critter girl]

Hi I recently got a lionhead bunny and have been doing some research and so I have a question .Should lionheads eat alfalfa grass , hay, and pellets?

 

[Critter girl]

Also I now have another question. How can I litter box train my rabbit? We have had 4 different rabbits at different times and Leroy (my lion head) is the first one that I have decided to train.

 

[Catlyn]

Hi I recently got a lionhead bunny and have been doing some research and so I have a question .Should lionheads eat alfalfa grass , hay, and pellets?

Please create a totally new thread, check the diet and nutrition secton of the forum, people can see your questions better there.
If you've had four rabbits before, why are you asking if they should have alfalfa and hay? What have you been feeding to them? Almost any googling of "reccommended rabbit diet" would give you the answer. But since you asked-
Clean fresh water is essential and should be avaliable at all times. Bottles make less mess but they can accumulate nasty bacteria if not cleaned properly, and it is a bit harder for most buns to get ample wafer from those. Bowls are usually easier for them to use, take less hassle to clean, and a rambunctious bun can just have a heavy ceramic bowl, or one of those lock n crocks that van be attached to some sort of grid.
Good grass hay is the staple in their diet. It forms about 80-90% of their diet and a rabbit should eat about the size (not weight) of their own body of hay. If they're eating significantly less, something in their diet is wrong. Rabbits should have unlimited grass hay, there are many varieties including but not limited to timothy, orchard, ryegrass, meadow hay, or any combination of those. Alfalfa should only be for baby rabbits younger than three months, as it isn't really hay but legume, higher in calcium and nutrients but lower in fibre. If your bun is already on grass hay, keep it that way.
Leafy green vegetables like romaine lettuce, herbs like dill, mint, parsley, and if you have somewhere to collect untreated grass like dandelion leaves, they make for nice nutritional and tasty addition to your bun's diet. They should be introduced indivodually over the course of a week or two, so that your bun doesn't get an upset stomach. Vegetables could be introduced from four months of age if they didn't get any when with momma bun.
Pellets, it depends what brand, and what age your rabbit is. Some good brands are sherwood, oxbow, burgess. For a bun older than 16 weeks, you would be okay to go with adult pellets. Make sure to read the packaging and that the minimum fibre content is 18% but the more the merrier. Calcium should stay somewhere around12% I'll surf the internet and get you some links. Keep the heck away from muesli mixes, pellets with colourful bits like corn and seeds in them, and never give your rabbit any dairy products, nuts, seeds, grains, corn. They shouldn't get those as they can seriously mess with bun's digestion.
Fruits and non-leafy things are treats. No more than a tablespoon's worth per day for a small breed like the lionhead.
Here you go, a few trusty sites i found just from googling "reccommended rabbit diet" i'll check if all the links work as well.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care...pet/rabbits/your-rabbits-diet#contents-link-4
https://bunnylady.com/rabbit-diet/

 

[Critter girl]

Please create a totally new thread, check the diet and nutrition secton of the forum, people can see your questions better there.
If you've had four rabbits before, why are you asking if they should have alfalfa and hay? What have you been feeding to them? Almost any googling of "reccommended rabbit diet" would give you the answer. But since you asked-
Clean fresh water is essential and should be avaliable at all times. Bottles make less mess but they can accumulate nasty bacteria if not cleaned properly, and it is a bit harder for most buns to get ample wafer from those. Bowls are usually easier for them to use, take less hassle to clean, and a rambunctious bun can just have a heavy ceramic bowl, or one of those lock n crocks that van be attached to some sort of grid.
Good grass hay is the staple in their diet. It forms about 80-90% of their diet and a rabbit should eat about the size (not weight) of their own body of hay. If they're eating significantly less, something in their diet is wrong. Rabbits should have unlimited grass hay, there are many varieties including but not limited to timothy, orchard, ryegrass, meadow hay, or any combination of those. Alfalfa should only be for baby rabbits younger than three months, as it isn't really hay but legume, higher in calcium and nutrients but lower in fibre. If your bun is already on grass hay, keep it that way.
Leafy green vegetables like romaine lettuce, herbs like dill, mint, parsley, and if you have somewhere to collect untreated grass like dandelion leaves, they make for nice nutritional and tasty addition to your bun's diet. They should be introduced indivodually over the course of a week or two, so that your bun doesn't get an upset stomach. Vegetables could be introduced from four months of age if they didn't get any when with momma bun.
Pellets, it depends what brand, and what age your rabbit is. Some good brands are sherwood, oxbow, burgess. For a bun older than 16 weeks, you would be okay to go with adult pellets. Make sure to read the packaging and that the minimum fibre content is 18% but the more the merrier. Calcium should stay somewhere around12% I'll surf the internet and get you some links. Keep the heck away from muesli mixes, pellets with colourful bits like corn and seeds in them, and never give your rabbit any dairy products, nuts, seeds, grains, corn. They shouldn't get those as they can seriously mess with bun's digestion.
Fruits and non-leafy things are treats. No more than a tablespoon's worth per day for a small breed like the lionhead.
Here you go, a few trusty sites i found just from googling "reccommended rabbit diet" i'll check if all the links work as well.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care...pet/rabbits/your-rabbits-diet#contents-link-4
https://bunnylady.com/rabbit-diet/

You see all the rabbits that I have had were meat rabbits but we didn’t eat them

 

[Critter girl]

You see all the rabbits that I have had were meat rabbits but we didn’t eat them

I have never had a lion head bunny before and want to take really good care of it

 

[Mjd]

contradicting to sablesteel, I always recommend spaying females but neuturing for males depends on the situration. females have a higher chance of getting cancers if left unspayed, but they also have a high chance of passing during the sugery since it's longer and more complicated. fixing them can fix territorial problems and also improve potty habits and agression. most importantly (in my eyes) is that fixing them could let your rabbit bond with another rabbit and have a friend, and I think that all rabbits should be bonded whenever possible. spaying can be done at 4 months of age, while neuturing is 6 months or when their testiciles drop. too old would be ~5 years as opinions vary on this.
if you don't currently have a bunny now I'd recommend looking into shelters as they often fix the rabbits prior to you bringing them home.

I have five unfixed rabbits 4 females ages 1.5year-1year-6months-4months and one male age one .
I keep the male in a playpen and the females free-roam in their roam the older girls fought in the past but now the are ponded .
Do you guys recommend fixing only the male or only the females or all of them to minims the risk of any of them dying because of cancer or fighting and I don't want accidental pregnancies .
I really love my rabbits like my children and I will feel really bad if something happend to them because of me

 

[TreasuredFriend]

All our rescue intakes get spayed and neutered, We have a rabbit-savvy DVM who has done thousands of surgeries on exotic or small mammals. Preliminary xrays, CBC/BMP panels are done to check for blood-clotting, kidney function, hydration prior to anesthesia.

Google on reasons to spay and neuter, and be informed. My rabbit rescue network continually mentions the amount of stray rabbits! Strays brought into rescue, shelters, or on a wait list to be accepted. Typically all stray rabbits are unfixed, and then babies are continually born. The amount of dumped and unwanted rabbits is overwhelming to those in rescue network.

Spay and neuter is always a smart decision after you've cosulted with a rabbit-savvy DVM.

My friend did accept an unwanted "garage bun" at age 9. My friend's DVM did not recommend a neuter at little guy's age.

 

[TreasuredFriend]

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/spay.html

 

[TreasuredFriend]

Pre- and Post-operative care of rabbits by Dana Krempels.

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/opcare.html

 

[TreasuredFriend]

For newbies or any bun parent having Qs, good links on many topics found here:

https://rabbitsindoors.weebly.com/resources.html

 

[TreasuredFriend]

We've had two die in neuter surgeries.
The first death was under the hands of a vet I wished I have never Taken my cryptorchid boy to. I was pretty darn ignorant at the time.

Our rescue Flemish came from a backyard breeder originally. Then the person who took them away from the breeder situation lost interest with demands of her family and multiple other pets, and aging mother moving in. Two FG's came our way. One of the boys died at the end of his neuter having cardiac arrest. I requested a necropsy. DVM determined that he had less than 1/4th normal lung function from likely ingested odor-control bedding treated with baking soda. Huge no-no. That d*mn baking soda stuff. -- Hubby and I were devastated.

We are always extremely sad when a furry companion passes away, whether in surgery or after 13 1/2 years in our care, or via mammary gland tumors, bone cancer, thymoma decline, enlarged liver progression, any type of failing health in their elder years. Yes, they are loved like family members.

 

[Critter girl]

Please create a totally new thread, check the diet and nutrition secton of the forum, people can see your questions better there.
If you've had four rabbits before, why are you asking if they should have alfalfa and hay? What have you been feeding to them? Almost any googling of "reccommended rabbit diet" would give you the answer. But since you asked-
Clean fresh water is essential and should be avaliable at all times. Bottles make less mess but they can accumulate nasty bacteria if not cleaned properly, and it is a bit harder for most buns to get ample wafer from those. Bowls are usually easier for them to use, take less hassle to clean, and a rambunctious bun can just have a heavy ceramic bowl, or one of those lock n crocks that van be attached to some sort of grid.
Good grass hay is the staple in their diet. It forms about 80-90% of their diet and a rabbit should eat about the size (not weight) of their own body of hay. If they're eating significantly less, something in their diet is wrong. Rabbits should have unlimited grass hay, there are many varieties including but not limited to timothy, orchard, ryegrass, meadow hay, or any combination of those. Alfalfa should only be for baby rabbits younger than three months, as it isn't really hay but legume, higher in calcium and nutrients but lower in fibre. If your bun is already on grass hay, keep it that way.
Leafy green vegetables like romaine lettuce, herbs like dill, mint, parsley, and if you have somewhere to collect untreated grass like dandelion leaves, they make for nice nutritional and tasty addition to your bun's diet. They should be introduced indivodually over the course of a week or two, so that your bun doesn't get an upset stomach. Vegetables could be introduced from four months of age if they didn't get any when with momma bun.
Pellets, it depends what brand, and what age your rabbit is. Some good brands are sherwood, oxbow, burgess. For a bun older than 16 weeks, you would be okay to go with adult pellets. Make sure to read the packaging and that the minimum fibre content is 18% but the more the merrier. Calcium should stay somewhere around12% I'll surf the internet and get you some links. Keep the heck away from muesli mixes, pellets with colourful bits like corn and seeds in them, and never give your rabbit any dairy products, nuts, seeds, grains, corn. They shouldn't get those as they can seriously mess with bun's digestion.
Fruits and non-leafy things are treats. No more than a tablespoon's worth per day for a small breed like the lionhead.
Here you go, a few trusty sites i found just from googling "reccommended rabbit diet" i'll check if all the links work as well.

https://www.pdsa.org.uk/taking-care...pet/rabbits/your-rabbits-diet#contents-link-4
https://bunnylady.com/rabbit-diet/

I mostly fed them grass and pellets and veggies but got confused when I looked up the diet of a lionhead because they had quite a few different things that they said to feed them and to not feed them one said not to feed them alfalfa and another said that you needed to feed them alfalfa . I just don’t want to kill Leroy so Iam being careful we were younger when we had 2 of them but now that I am older I want to take really good care of the other 2 . Thanks for putting the links for the “recommended rabbit diet “ they were really helpful.

 

[FuzzyBunny ph]

I have five unfixed rabbits 4 females ages 1.5year-1year-6months-4months and one male age one .
I keep the male in a playpen and the females free-roam in their roam the older girls fought in the past but now the are ponded .
Do you guys recommend fixing only the male or only the females or all of them to minims the risk of any of them dying because of cancer or fighting and I don't want accidental pregnancies .
I really love my rabbits like my children and I will feel really bad if something happend to them because of me

Its important to look for a rabbit savvy vet that has done this multiple times with a high success rate. And then get their blood work done (cbc and blood chem) to be sure they're healthy enough to survive the anesthesia.

It would be safer for if the vet uses a gas anesthetic like isoflurane as oppose to injectable anesthesia, I forgot the reason for this though.

After the surgery, make sure they give you some take home pain medication, they could also prescribe an antibiotic but the pain medication is more important

Recovery part is usually scary, they usually dont eat once they get home so make sure she nibbles on a bit of hay at least. Some bunnies would go to stasis after surgery so you have to be prepared for that

For my girl, it took her about 12hrs to start eating again, when we got home she was just hiding at the back corner under the bed my boys though started eating right when they got home.

Hope this helps some how

 

[JBun]

Hi I recently got a lionhead bunny and have been doing some research and so I have a question .Should lionheads eat alfalfa grass , hay, and pellets?

Also I now have another question. How can I litter box train my rabbit? We have had 4 different rabbits at different times and Leroy (my lion head) is the first one that I have decided to train.

I mostly fed them grass and pellets and veggies but got confused when I looked up the diet of a lionhead because they had quite a few different things that they said to feed them and to not feed them one said not to feed them alfalfa and another said that you needed to feed them alfalfa . I just don’t want to kill Leroy so Iam being careful we were younger when we had 2 of them but now that I am older I want to take really good care of the other 2 . Thanks for putting the links for the “recommended rabbit diet “ they were really helpful.

Please start your own thread if you have questions or further comments unrelated to the thread topic. Members are willing to answer most questions asked, but it's distracting and confusing to have other comments in a thread that are unrelated to the original topic. And if you start your own thread, you're more likely to get more input and help for the question you're asking.

https://www.rabbitsonline.net/threads/how-to-post-on-the-forum.92892/