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help my rabbit course

willowflower27

Mama Doe
the first two units went well but on this unit about disease and biology etc i'm having issues finding info and again i'm shocked by how little concrete information their is.
I need to find out HOW a male rabbit remains fertile for a wee while after castration all i can find out is that HE is not how, obviously its because things hang around and high levels of testosterone keep everything alive but HOW?
Anyone know of any good websites etc
 
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It may well be because there isn't any info on it. I wondered awhile ago but could find any source for the six weeks that gets quoted, I wonder if it's a bit of a myth. The theory is sperm potentially stay in the 'tubes' after the testicles are removed and therefore the rabbit could still be 'fertile'. However, it seems a little unlikely that sperm could survive 6 weeks outside the testicles. You'd have to do a bit of research into how long they can survive for a better date - I would guess days (if that) rather than weeks.

10-15 yrs or so ago the rec always used to be two weeks, and we put several chaps in with girls (unspayed) at that point and never had a pregnancy.

You might have more luck with records of hormone levels, you could try looking at data on other animals if you can't find it on rabbits.
 
Twigs (parsnipbun) explained it to me a little while back....maybe pop her a pm? I'm rubbish at explaining things :wave:
 
I'm doing the same course and im stuck on exactly the same thing, first 2 were fine but this module has got me stuck!!
 
What course is it you are doing? Im doing a vet nursing in rabbits cert and got asked this question in module 3. All I put was basically that sperm remains in the vas deferens once it is closed off following castration, which allows the male to possibly impregnate a female. Went in to a little more detail but that's basically why a male remains fertile for a short period of time following castration.
 
I'm doing the vet nursing certificate in rabbits, on module 3 have been for months really need to compete it but I'm stumped on a few questions!
 
It is a challenge but worth it. I struggled on a few and if you don't have the right books it can be difficult. If you need any advice PM me. I'm hopefully sending module 5 off tonight, eeeek!
 
There's loads of info about this on rats, so maybe that will help, even if to get an idea about it. I don't know though if it's the same in rabbits. I know rats are fertile up to 2 weeks.

Oh found something. http://www.ratbehavior.org/Neutering.htm

Why does it take so long for castrated males to become sterile?

Under normal circumstances, sperm leave the testes and enter a long tube called the epididymis. They travel down this tube, mature, and gain their fertilizing ability. Sperm are stored at the end of the epididymis, where they remain fertile for 42 days in the rat, then die (White 1932).

After neutering, sperm move rapidly through the epididymis (Sujarit and Pholpramool 1985). The epididymis atrophies, becomes hostile to sperm, and slowly destroys them (Arya and Vanha-Perttula 1985). Within 3-4 days after castration the sperm in the epididymis lose their mobility, lose the ability to fertilize, and die (Dyson and Orgebin-Crist 1973).

Oh seems they're fertile up to 8 days. I think most wait til 2 weeks to make sure.

I would have thought it would be the same in rabbits though or at least similar. 6 weeks seems far too long for sperm to survive for after neutering. Though the first paragraph would be where that information came from.
 
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