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Advice on neutering rabbits?

H

hannahbee23

New Kit
Hi,

I am a first time rabbit owner. I have a 5 month old Netherland Dwarf called Winston :) he's a house bunny.
At the moment I'm debating whether or not to get him castrated. I've read the pros of getting it done but are there any negatives to getting it done? Has anyone not had their rabbit neutered?
I'm just a bit nervous about him having the operation and recovering!

Hannah
 
Hello

A Rabbit castrate is a relatively minor procedure and it will improve the quality of his life in that he wont be ruled by the hormonal drive to mate. Many entire Bucks also start to spray urine once they reach puberty which can result in Rabbit wee up your walls, on your furniture, on the ceiling (yes, seriously !!). Finally, if you intend to obtain a companion for him (Rabbits are social animals and most do benefit greatly from the companionship of another Rabbit), neutering would be essential

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/pdfs/BunnyBuddiedwebpage.pdf



Here is some information about Neutering :

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/neutering28.8.07.pdf


He will need vaccinating against Myxomatosis and VHD (RHD) too

http://www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk/resources/content/leaflet_pdfs/vacination28.8.07.pdf
 
hannahbee23 said:
Hi,

I am a first time rabbit owner. I have a 5 month old Netherland Dwarf called Winston :) he's a house bunny.
At the moment I'm debating whether or not to get him castrated. I've read the pros of getting it done but are there any negatives to getting it done? Has anyone not had their rabbit neutered?
I'm just a bit nervous about him having the operation and recovering!

Hannah
Click to expand...

It's normal to be concerned when putting one of our furries through an anaesthetic, but it's really the right thing to do :)

If you ever think of getting him a friend, and rabbits love company, then he will definitely have to be neutered or he will pester the life out of any female and try to dominate another male.

Whilst unneutered males can make good pets on their own, you may find he becomes (if he isn't already) territorial. He may express that by trying to 'mark' areas. Even neutered males do this to some extent, but urinating outside the litter box and spraying your furniture or the walls isn't much fun after a while.

Welcome to the Forum :wave:
 
I was a bit worried about Lopsy going through the operation (it would have been a spay as he was 'supposed to be' female ;P) but castration is quite straightforward and they can do other things while the bun's under the anaesthetic: Lopsy's not keen on being handled so a back teeth check was done. He's an outdoor rabbit so I got it done in Summer and brought him inside for a night: being indoors yours will probably be easier to keep an eye on. He also had a cone-of-shame which he hated but he coped OK: I took it off a bit earlier than recommended but Lopsy was fine. Yours may not even come back with a cone!

I have found, since his castration, Lopsy's a much calmer fellow: he doesn't push my hand away when I'm checking him over any more, and doesn't seem to mind being handled quite as much!
 
Thank you everyone for your advice. I'm feeling much better about getting Winston done now!

I've noticed over the past couple of weeks that his behaviour has changed a bit. He's been getting more protective over his areas of the house and has started lunging at people on occasions. I also really don't want him to spray - I live in a rented house and that would be a nightmare! And of course I would love to get a companion for him in the future :)

Good idea about getting other things done while under. He got quite stressed when the vet tried to check his teeth and clip his nails last time.

Thanks again everyone!
 
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