• Forum/Server Upgrade If you are reading this you have made it to the upgraded forum. Posts made on the old forum after 26th October 2023 have not been transfered. Everything else should be here. If you find any issues please let us know.

  • Please Note - Medical Advice

    Please keep in mind that posts on this forum are from members of the public sharing personal opinions. It is not a replacement for qualified medical advice from a veterinarian. Many illnesses share similar symptoms but require different treatments. A medical exam is necessary for an accurate diagnosis, without which appropriate treatment cannot be given.

    You should always consult your vet before following any suggestions for medication or treatment you have read about. The wrong treatment could make your rabbit worse or mean your vet is unable to give the correct treatment because of drug interactions. Even non prescription drugs can do harm if given inappropriately.

    We are very grateful to members who take time to answer other members questions, but please do be clear in your replies that you are sharing personal experience and not giving instructions on what must be done.

    Urgent Medical Advice: If you need, or think you might need, urgent medical advice you should contact a vet. If it is out of working hours phone your vet's normal number and there should be an answer phone message with instructions on what to do.

Too early for neutering?

myfriendchez

myfriendchez

Young Bun
Hi all.

Just wanted some opinions really. I have had quite a lot of experience with bunnies, but only have experience of one being speyed. So, therefore I ask this:

I have a male rabbit (small breed) aged about ten and a half weeks and a female rabbit (mini rex) aged about 14 weeks. They are in separate areas and are waiting to be neutered. I am taking them to the vets on Thursday to see if they are ready for this. What is the chances the vets will say 'too young'/'small'? Vet says via email that this age group in both sexes could be neutered, but having read thorugh emails on here I'm not too sure. My speyed rabbit had op done at the same vets, but not till she was about 6 months.

What do you think?

Also, slightly worried my female could be pregnant as it has since dawned on me that she was 12 weeks old and living with similar aged males when we got her. Only time will tell, I guess, unless vet advises me otherwise.

Thanks for your thoughts!
 
My female bunny was speyed at around 16 weeks old :) The reason some vets wait is because i believe its harder to spey a younger bunny. I think it depends on the individual vet, and the weight of the bunny.

Its easier with a male bunny, if he has hit 'bits' they will neuter him, though he does sound a little young. Both my male bunnies were done at around 5-6 months :) xXx
 
Theyre both too young to be done yet males are normally done anywhere from 5 months and females about 6 months size shouldnt be a problem, if they have the op done too young the anesthetic can be more risky and also they havnt had a chance to develop and mature hope this helps:D x x
 
our vet will spay when they are 1kg or over which usually works out at about 12 - 16 weeks....although with boys you obviously have to wait for things to drop. In an idea world you would wait for about 16 weeks however if she might be pregnant I would be more worried about an early pregnancy than an early spay. Your vet however may not have the confidence that ours has & may not spay until 16 weeks. Almost all vets will now spay at 4 months as they will have reached a good size, are young enough to recover well from the operation and it is early enough to stop some of the more agressive signs of sexual maturity whilst giving them a good month "teenagerhood".
 
Last edited:
So you think there is a strong possibility she could be pregnant then? Should I get the vet to do ultrasound - would this show anything up?

Yes, I am worried about pregnancy as well as spey! She is such a loving rabbit. Very snuggly!

Mind you, the longer they go without being neutered, the longer they go without being as close as they could be. Although I realise I do need to wait a little while after neutering before they can be allowed together anyway.
 
your vet should hopefully if experienced be able to tell if she is pregnant by feeling her uterus. Thinking about it, if she is pregnant she would be at least two weeks gone which is a bit far for many people to be comfortable having a spay because of the development of the babies.

I would say it is probably unlikely that she is pregnant however I would definately take her to the vet who can either put your mind at rest or prepare you for the inevitable. You can also discuss neutering then.
 
If she was pregnant, I would definitely not have her speyed. Is that what people mean by an emergency spey? To terminate the pregnancy? I wouldn't do that.

I am taking her to vets on Thursday as I want to see if she could be speyed, that's if she's not already pregnant.
 
Weighed them both last night and I don't think either of them are 1kg yet, but it is quite tricky trying to keep them still so I can get the correct weight!
 
Well, the bunnies both had their ops today and are now back and home. They are snuggling down for recovery now. Both are looking well.
 
:D good news. I'd leave it a few weeks before you try bonding. It will help the hormones to die down. Don't forget that you will need to bond them in a completely neutral space.
 
Thanks for the advice. This time last year we successfully bonded two spayed female rabbits together(one over 6 months old, the other over a year old) with relative ease. Hopefully it will be the same with these guys too.

Also, I realised I put down that they were in separate areas, but I suppose what I really meant was separate cages. They have their cages next to each other and take it in turns to have a run in the space around the cages in the bedroom. So they have already had plenty of opportunity in interact. It's so great to see them hopping about (mind you, they're taking it easy tonight).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Cocoandpickles
general advice for new baby
Replies
8
Views
257
Cocoandpickles
Cocoandpickles
A
Possible underlying cause for dental issues?
Replies
4
Views
90
Apache
A
H
Bonding an ec bunny
Replies
3
Views
132
InspectorMorse
InspectorMorse
Back
Top