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Do we get him castrated?

B

Biscuits

Young Bun
We have a little lionhead male (Buttons) who we got from a rescue centre in January. He will be 1 year old in september. He lives alone in a big hutch and when we're home has the run of the garden and in winter comes indoors (he is litter trained!). He's great fun and quite mad, but we were considering getting him castrated so we could get him a friend.

I've never had a rabbit castrated before, and understand (as with all rabbit procedures requiring general anaesthetic) that there is a risk. We have also read that not all buns take to living with another rabbit, and I am a bit worried about putting him through the operation, and then him not really getting on with any other rabbits.

We were going to get him a new friend from the same rescue centre he came from. How should we go about introducing him to other rabbits? How long after the op do we need to leave it?
Thanks!
 
Hi there, I personally would recommend that you go ahead with the castration then go to a rescue centre and get a neutered female as his companion. This is the easiest combination to bond together as a general rule and there's loads of great advice to be found on this forum about how to go about bonding, or you may find the rescue centre is able to help out and bond them for you.

As for the risks involved, there is always some risk with a general anaesthetic but things have come a long way and if you ensure the op is done by an experienced rabbit savvy vet (don't be afraid to ask questions before you book about how often they do the op and what their success rate is), then the risk should be very small.

I work at a vet practice and it is extremely rare for us to lose a bun during a routine GA.
 
I had similar dilemma with my lionhead (Tyson) who was 3 when I got him but I went ahead and he now has a friend (a male actually simply because they got on so well together) and they are really happy. I can see a big difference in him now he has a friend. I thought he was happy before but he is really, really happy now :D
 
I would also agree and recommend having your boy castrated. Providing he's not starved beforehand he should be absolutely fine. All of my buns have been neutered and I only ever had a prob with one of them. Tippex decided she wasn't going to eat for 3 days after her surgery but the vet was really good and checked her daily and she was back to normal within a week.

Once your boy has been deplummed, it takes 8 weeks for the hormones to die down, then you can start trying to find him a wifey bun, or a hus bun if he's that way inclined!!:lol::lol:
 
I had my french lop done last week. I was worried, but he is fine now and back to normal. Good luck with your bun. Pam
 
hi!
the male bunnie neutering process is failry straight forward, and less complicated than spaying a female. he should be just fine.
allow him time to recover after the opp, (keep him calm, dont give him as much space to run for a few days)
after hes healed, and the hormones subside (like was said, he is still fertile for 8 weeks post-opp) you can look into getting another bunny. :) you could bring him to visit new bunnies before you pick one out, and maybe leave a toy or blanky with his smell on it with the new bun, and the same can be done with yours if the new bun has toys or blankies to spare. this will get them used to the scent before they even meet!
about bonding, here is a good site about bonding - here

edited to add: you could see if you could find him a bun friend who is already spayed/neutered, as that will make the bonding process a TON easier! rescue centers and SPCA's often have their buns fixed before letting them go to there new homes. :)
good luck, and happy bonding, be sure to add pics of the soon to be happy couple! :)
 
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