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babies or no babies

emily..

Warren Scout
i know Princess is only 20 weeks old but when she is older would you reccomend me leaving her have babies or not :)?
 
if you mean 'letting' instead of 'leaving' then I'll just warn you that RU is generally speaking, an antibreeding forum. We do have a few breeders on here but because of the high number of unwanted rabbits in rescues, it is pretty much always advised against. I'd personally say NO. The actual mating/kindling is very stressful on the doe an obviously there can be complications, for me I wouldnt risk that. Also, if you're going to have responsible homes lined up and you trust the new owners to keep their bun(nies) in acceptable conditions then its one thing, but if you think about all the rabbits desperately waiting for a new home, what's your reason to breed Princess? Apart from the fact they're cute, and please don't take offence, I'm not getting mardy AT ALL, but I don't see that as a valid explanation if I'm perfectly honest. So if it was me I wouldnt, because even though baby bunnies are adorable, there are thousands of rabbits being mistreated/waiting for a home in a rescue all over the country. Don't take this as me being moody and horrible though, I'm definitely not :D

Jay x
 
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Do you want babies?

Do you have the accomodation for them all and time to look after them .. and money for all the vet bills, especially if any are unwell. Also any vet bills for Princess if she is unwell during pregnancy or labour. There's loads of risks involved.
 
Hmm, I think if you intended to keep the litter, then perhaps. But there are so many people who breed irresponsibly - which is why there are so many poor bunnies in rescue centres!

For me, there are already so many bunnies who are in need of rescuing! I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.
 
Hello :wave: I wouldn't recommend letting her have babies. There are lots and lots of rabbits in rescue centres looking for homes and it's a real problem so I don't think bringing even more bunnies into the world would be a good idea. I would get her spayed and then see if you can get her a friend from a rescue centre. That would be a great way to help a rescue rabbit and get her a friend at the same time.
 
ok thanks guys i think i will leave the baby bunnies lol:), im not sure if i want to spay her or not:??xx
 
Of course not, you shouldn't just breed a rabbit simply because you can. If you're intending to breed you need to get a male and female from a good breeder and know their background so you don't unknowingly breed unhealthy rabbits and pass their problems on to the babies. Dental problems are particularly common in rabbits.

Plus, there's so many rabbits that need homes that there's no reason to breed really. Especially someone who doesn't have any experience/knowledge of breeding.
 
ok thanks guys i think i will leave the baby bunnies lol:), im not sure if i want to spay her or not:??xx

Even though there are risks (and believe me, I know the risks!) Princess is pretty much guaranteed to get uterine cancer by the age of 5, 80% of unspayed does get it. My Dee (doe) has just been done on the 21st and even though it's been a nightmare afterwards due to other health conditions, I do NOT regret it one second. Go for it, make sure you have a rabbit savvy vet though!

Jay x
 
It's much much better for Princess if you do have her spayed and there are lots and lots of reasons for this. Perhaps if you have a read through some of the stickies on rabbit health it would help to put your mind at rest. We all worry about our furries when we make them have an operation, especially if it's to prevent a problem rather than because they are ill but it really is the best thing to do for you bunny.
 
ok, i know spaying should be done but ive heard of a lot of problems after spaying any way?

The reasons people advise you to spay are 1. No babies! and 2. No uterine cancer. Uterine cancer is extremely common in unspayed does, I think the statistic is 80% of unspayed does will get it eventually. The risk of it increases with age, so people tend to spay as early as possible.

There can be problems after spaying, but it tends to be something like a naughty bunny pulling out stitches! :lol: Occasionally there can be problems with the anaesthetic but this is rare with a good vet. Sometimes, when a rabbit is not spayed early enough, cancer is found which has already spread to other parts of the body, which is incurable. The solution to this is obviously to spay early.

Please remember as well that you are on a forum which people come to when their rabbit is ill. There are hundreds of spayed rabbits on here which have had no problems, but we don't hear about them because the owner doesn't need advice!
 
ok, i know spaying should be done but ive heard of a lot of problems after spaying any way?

I'm going to be honest with you and say yes, there definitely can be. My own bunny is having serious problems BUT she is 5 and a half so not as able to recover due to age, and I'm sure Princess will be fine. You've got to consider this though: Would you rather Princess get some form of cancer, and most cancers go undetected until it is too late and they are PTS, or would you put her through a routine spay and risk the small chance of there being problems after?
Jay x
 
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