Cage rest after neutering?

Winston is settling in really well and his litter habits are becoming much more reliable. I would like to take his run down in the next week or so, so that he just has the tray from his cage in the kitchen with his litter tray and hay in it (and favourite hiding box of course!) and then has free range of the kitchen to run around to his hearts content. We have started leaving the run gate open when we are home and this weekend it will be open all weekend whether we are in or out or asleep, so as long as he doesn't have too many accidents I would really like to retire the run to the shed or loft! So, to get to the point, how likely is it that Winston will need cage rest for a few days when he is neutered? I saw the vet on Wednesday for his vaccinations and she suggested that as he quite a nervous bun he will need longer to recover from that vet trip and suggested I wait a month before neutering him, so i'm going to book him in for April. I don't want to take the run down and all that faff just to have to put it back up again in a few weeks time!

Bucks generally recover very quickly from a straight forward castration. Most are virtually back to normal within 24-48 hours. It is not necessary to confine them for longer than that unless specifically advised to do so by your Vet. Hope that Winston continues to gain confidence and that his op' goes well when he has it

Jack's-Jane said:

Bucks generally recover very quickly from a straight forward castration. Most are virtually back to normal within 24-48 hours. It is not necessary to confine them for longer than that unless specifically advised to do so by your Vet. Hope that Winston continues to gain confidence and that his op' goes well when he has it

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So will he be okay to have access to the whole kitchen while he is recovering, and will it be safe for him to hop in and out of his cage tray straight after the op? Or should I try and confine him for 24 hours? It's his first night having full access to the kitchen tonight….OH isn't convinced so fingers crossed Winston doesn't show me up!!!

ImoT said:

So will he be okay to have access to the whole kitchen while he is recovering, and will it be safe for him to hop in and out of his cage tray straight after the op? Or should I try and confine him for 24 hours? It's his first night having full access to the kitchen tonight….OH isn't convinced so fingers crossed Winston doesn't show me up!!!

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He will probably be a bit drowsy during the first night after his op' so I would keep him in the cage during that time. Also, do make sure that there is some sort of mat/rug by his cage door to provide his feet with some traction so he does not slip on kitchen tiles/lino when he hops in the cage. This should be a permanent fixture, not just whilst recovering from surgery. I have known of more than one Rabbit who sustained a serious injury (fracture) after an accident caused by slipping on kitchen tiles whilst trying to hop into a cage.

Winston may well lose his litter training and he may also start to spray urine whilst he is still entire. The likelihood of this increasing as Spring approaches.

Jack's-Jane said:

He will probably be a bit drowsy during the first night after his op' so I would keep him in the cage during that time. Also, do make sure that there is some sort of mat/rug by his cage door to provide his feet with some traction so he does not slip on kitchen tiles/lino when he hops in the cage. This should be a permanent fixture, not just whilst recovering from surgery. I have known of more than one Rabbit who sustained a serious injury (fracture) after an accident caused by slipping on kitchen tiles whilst trying to hop into a cage.

Winston may well lose his litter training and he may also start to spray urine whilst he is still entire. The likelihood of this increasing as Spring approaches.

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Thank you for your advice. The only reason he hasn't got a rug down is because he wees on anything soft at the moment. However I have just realised I could use some spare carpet as he doesn't seem to wee on that. I shall put that down! He does have a ladder he can use as well but he seems to prefer jumping!

Okay well he is going to be neutered at the beginning of April so hopefully Spring won't quite have started by then! But if he does then he does, everything is wipeable/washable I would rather give him a month or so to settle and get over his vacs than rush him in to be neutered because I'm scared of a bit of wee!

I think waiting a month before having Winston neutered sounds a good idea. He will be more settled then. You mustn't let him jump on anything for a couple of days after his neuter, this is the main worry really and also he may lose his good toilet habits for a week or so post neuter. Some do.

tonibun said:

I think waiting a month before having Winston neutered sounds a good idea. He will be more settled then. You mustn't let him jump on anything for a couple of days after his neuter, this is the main worry really and also he may lose his good toilet habits for a week or so post neuter. Some do.

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Thank you. I think from all the comments he will have to be on cage rest for at least 24-48 hours I might ditch the cage tray and make a slightly bigger area with just the run panels so he can have a slightly bigger space without needing to jump anywhere. Do you think that would be a better idea than restricting him to a cage? That's fine we coped with slighter poorer litter habits when he first arrived so we can do so again!

Louie wasn't confined after his neuter. I made him a puppy panelled area with fleece, blankets, hay in a rack and he went mad trying to get out, he even lifted the run with his teeth and was moving it across the floor.

I thought he would do more harm to himself so let him out to his normal freeranging. I kept an eye on his wound but he was absolutely fine.

*lily* said:

Louie wasn't confined after his neuter. I made him a puppy panelled area with fleece, blankets, hay in a rack and he went mad trying to get out, he even lifted the run with his teeth and was moving it across the floor.

I thought he would do more harm to himself so let him out to his normal freeranging. I kept an eye on his wound but he was absolutely fine.

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Ah that's interesting. Winston loves spending time in his run and cage tray (it's where all his food is!!) but if I shut the gate he spends a lot of his time running to the gate everytime I walk in the room so he loves having the option to take a wander around the rest of the room. I think while he is still super drowsy after his op I will keep him in his run without the tray (but with his hay and litter tray in the run) so that he doesn't have to do any jumping and if he is desperate to get out I will let him. Hopefully by the time he is bothered enough to realise he is shut in his run he won't be drowsy anymore and he will have had 24-48 hours to rest and heal so it will be safer for him to be more free ranging…if that makes sense?! I'm not too concerned about his litter habits because he has had a few accidents in the kitchen but once he picked up on the fact he was supposed to be weeing and pooing in the litter tray he hasn't had any accidents outside of his cage tray….apart from a couple of poos when he gets too over excited in the kitchen! So if we have a few accidents I don't think it would become a habit.

ImoT said:

Ah that's interesting. Winston loves spending time in his run and cage tray (it's where all his food is!!) but if I shut the gate he spends a lot of his time running to the gate everytime I walk in the room so he loves having the option to take a wander around the rest of the room. I think while he is still super drowsy after his op I will keep him in his run without the tray (but with his hay and litter tray in the run) so that he doesn't have to do any jumping and if he is desperate to get out I will let him. Hopefully by the time he is bothered enough to realise he is shut in his run he won't be drowsy anymore and he will have had 24-48 hours to rest and heal so it will be safer for him to be more free ranging…if that makes sense?! I'm not too concerned about his litter habits because he has had a few accidents in the kitchen but once he picked up on the fact he was supposed to be weeing and pooing in the litter tray he hasn't had any accidents outside of his cage tray….apart from a couple of poos when he gets too over excited in the kitchen! So if we have a few accidents I don't think it would become a habit.

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Louie wasn't drowsy in the slightest after his op!

Best thing would be to see how Winston is when he comes back from the vets and take it from there.

*lily* said:

Louie wasn't drowsy in the slightest after his op!

Best thing would be to see how Winston is when he comes back from the vets and take it from there.

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Okay thank you for the advice

I have never confined a buck after neutering, and I have fostered over a hundred in my time keeping buns. However, best to see how he reacts and if he's a bit drowsy make sure he's got a comfy area to retreat to.

It's a really good idea to wait three weeks at least after his vaccinations (which you are doing) so he recovers well with no adverse reactions.

MightyMax said:

I have never confined a buck after neutering, and I have fostered over a hundred in my time keeping buns. However, best to see how he reacts and if he's a bit drowsy make sure he's got a comfy area to retreat to.

It's a really good idea to wait three weeks at least after his vaccinations (which you are doing) so he recovers well with no adverse reactions.

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Thank you for your advice. It's really difficult as a new bunny owner to know what to do when there is differing advice, I do really appreciate everyone's input though I think I will just have to wait and see how he is when he back from the vets! They do tend to keep buns in overnight to check they are eating and pooing and so he will have had at least 24 hours cage rest so he might be ready to have a bit more space once he is home. I will definitely take out/away all things he could jump on though so he doesn't make his wound worse.

What should I expect the area to look like after surgery? There is a chance that they may have to go in through the abdomen because one of his testicles isn't very 'obvious' but the vet thinks that is only a small chance because once Winston is under anaesthetic everything relaxes a bit so they will probably be able to access it more easily. I'm guessing if they go through the abdomen he will be in a bit more pain than the usual approach and he will take a bit longer to heal?

The vet said I will have a proper discharge appointment when I take him home and the nurse will go through everything with me and show me how to look at the wound and things and he will have a post op appointment at 3 days and 10 days after his op but I just want to be as prepared as possible!!

He's been booked in on the 31st of March ahh!!