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Vet won't neuter bucks until 6 months

Silverleaf

Silverleaf

Alpha Buck
As in the title, really. My vets have been really good with my rabbits, but it's apparently practice policy not to castrate until 6 months because rabbits are high risk when it comes to anaesthetic.

I'd like Meeple and Nemesis neutered as soon as their testicles descend, to minimise the risk of their bond breaking. 6 months might be too late. If I have to separate I want it to be for the shortest possible time.

As much as I hate to do it, I think I might need to take them to a different surgery for the castration. It just feels a bit rude to my vets! I do want to carry on using them so I guess I have to go through the awkwardness of exchanging notes, etc, between surgeries.

Anyone else had to do this? I guess the process is similar to if you have to go to a specialist?
 
I had to have my boys done at 4 months as they started fighting. I personally think 6 months is too long to wait and might cause more problems. The risks with anaesthetic is slightly higher in rabbits than cats and dogs but I think the benefits outweigh the risks.
ps I use the vets at Pets at Home, not specialists but are on the ball.
 
Which is your vet?
Ark are on the RWAF list but mainly 'cos of a guy who predominantly works in their Killamarsh branch
Not sure if their neutering policy

Mine (Peakvets in woodseats) did both my two around 3-4 months. Both survived and had quick post op recoveries but other than a dose of metacam before they left the vets they weren't given any pain relief to take home for the next few days. I did ask and they said it was cos the pain relief would last 24 hours (not true) and cos inexperienced owners trying to medicate can stress the bunny more than the pain relief benefits them. But they're now going to RWAF conferences and stuff so they're getting better
 
Maybe your Vet is being extra cautious as you have Netherlands - I don't know. They are small aren't they. I have a feeling there is a very good rabbit Vet near where you are - maybe you could start a thread asking for a recommendation in your area. You don't have to feel bad about going to a different Vet - I know I used to be like that but now I will use another Vet if I feel it's the right thiing to do.
 
dumblepaws said:
Which is your vet?
Ark are on the RWAF list but mainly 'cos of a guy who predominantly works in their Killamarsh branch
Not sure if their neutering policy

Mine (Peakvets in woodseats) did both my two around 3-4 months. Both survived and had quick post op recoveries but other than a dose of metacam before they left the vets they weren't given any pain relief to take home for the next few days. I did ask and they said it was cos the pain relief would last 24 hours (not true) and cos inexperienced owners trying to medicate can stress the bunny more than the pain relief benefits them. But they're now going to RWAF conferences and stuff so they're getting better
Click to expand...

I've been using Vets4Pets in Chesterfield. Helpfully it's only a 10 minute walk from my house which is helpful as I don't drive (boyfriend does but he works during the day), but of course that isn't the reason I use them!

I had my first rabbit Kenny neutered at Carrick's but that was 15 years ago and I have no idea what they are like now.

I wasn't aware of Ark, thanks! They're now on my list to check out.
 
tonibun said:
Maybe your Vet is being extra cautious as you have Netherlands - I don't know. They are small aren't they. I have a feeling there is a very good rabbit Vet near where you are - maybe you could start a thread asking for a recommendation in your area. You don't have to feel bad about going to a different Vet - I know I used to be like that but now I will use another Vet if I feel it's the right thiing to do.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure she meant rabbits in general, not just Nethies.

Yes, they are very small! Nemesis was only 500g last week but Meeple's a fair bit bigger. I think Nemesis might make 1kg, Meeple a bit more because he's a chunkier build (muscular boy).

You're right about using another vet, I think. I know neutering earlier will be best for my rabbits so they can go back to being best friends more quickly. I'm just having guilt because I went to school with V4P's owner and I'll have to 'fess up that I've been "cheating" on them. ;)
 
As your boys are so tiny I tend to agree that waiting until they are more fully developed would be safer. I realise this would mean that the boys will need to remain apart for longer. But personally I would feel happier to allow the boys to get to at least 1kg before putting them under GA.
 
Jack's-Jane said:
As your boys are so tiny I tend to agree that waiting until they are more fully developed would be safer. I realise this would mean that the boys will need to remain apart for longer. But personally I would feel happier to allow the boys to get to at least 1kg before putting them under GA.
Click to expand...

That's a very good point. Meeple must be close to 1kg already - he's a chunky little monkey! Nemesis is considerably smaller but I think he'll grow faster now they are apart as I'm pretty sure Meeple's been eating more than his fair share of food. I really should weigh them, I'll try to do that tonight.
 
Yep, generally 'as soon as they drop' also comes with a 'and they are over 1kg' clause. It's just most bunnies usually manage that without trouble, with Nethies though you might have to wait a little longer. You could explain your concerns/reason to the vet and see if they agree, but obviously no point pushing a vet to do something they don't feel comfortable with.
 
Tamsin said:
Yep, generally 'as soon as they drop' also comes with a 'and they are over 1kg' clause. It's just most bunnies usually manage that without trouble, with Nethies though you might have to wait a little longer. You could explain your concerns/reason to the vet and see if they agree, but obviously no point pushing a vet to do something they don't feel comfortable with.
Click to expand...

That makes sense. I'm sort of reading between the lines here - if the vets says "rabbits under 6 months are too risky" then I'm reading that as "we're losing too many of the young ones", so best not to try to persuade them anyway, I guess.

We'll have to see what happens - obviously I don't know when exactly the balls will drop (although by keeping records of their weight I'll be able to have a good educated guess as to when they'll hit 1kg) so I don't know how long we'll have to wait anyway. :?
 
Just weighed them - Nemesis is 550g so he's gained 50g in almost 2 weeks, and Meeple is 610g - I forget what the vet said he was when she weighed him so I don't know how much he's gained.

I'm actually surprised that Meeple isn't heavier than that. He's noticeably bigger than Nemesis and I wouldn't have been shocked to see 750g on the scale. Just goes to show how deceptive appearances can be, right?
 
Silverleaf said:
Just weighed them - Nemesis is 550g so he's gained 50g in almost 2 weeks, and Meeple is 610g - I forget what the vet said he was when she weighed him so I don't know how much he's gained.

I'm actually surprised that Meeple isn't heavier than that. He's noticeably bigger than Nemesis and I wouldn't have been shocked to see 750g on the scale. Just goes to show how deceptive appearances can be, right?
Click to expand...

Yep, which is why setting a routine of weekly weigh ins as part of our regular Rabbit care regime is exceptionally useful :)
 
Jack's-Jane said:
Yep, which is why setting a routine of weekly weigh ins as part of our regular Rabbit care regime is exceptionally useful :)
Click to expand...

Oh I absolutely agree, it's a great way to spot health problems before a rabbit starts displaying symptoms.

The only reason I haven't been doing it with Meeple and Nemesis is that I'm trying to minimise handling them until they are more used to me - I don't want to be the snatchy scary human! But it turned out to be easy as they are small enough to fit on my old kitchen scales (no longer used in the kitchen, obviously) and both hopped on fine if I bribed them with pellets. So now I'm happy with doing it weekly.

When I used to rehabilitate hedgehogs weighing was one of my best tools. Nothing showed me so clearly how a hog was doing than a simple weight graph in Excel! And it's kind of comforting when you have released a fat healthy hedgehog back into the wild to look back at the numbers and marvel at how quickly a tiny underweight prickler can grow. Maybe I'm weird. ;)
 
Silverleaf said:
Oh I absolutely agree, it's a great way to spot health problems before a rabbit starts displaying symptoms.

The only reason I haven't been doing it with Meeple and Nemesis is that I'm trying to minimise handling them until they are more used to me - I don't want to be the snatchy scary human! But it turned out to be easy as they are small enough to fit on my old kitchen scales (no longer used in the kitchen, obviously) and both hopped on fine if I bribed them with pellets. So now I'm happy with doing it weekly.

When I used to rehabilitate hedgehogs weighing was one of my best tools. Nothing showed me so clearly how a hog was doing than a simple weight graph in Excel! And it's kind of comforting when you have released a fat healthy hedgehog back into the wild to look back at the numbers and marvel at how quickly a tiny underweight prickler can grow. Maybe I'm weird. ;)
Click to expand...

Well if you are then so am I !! :lol:
 
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