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Rabbits in for spaying/neutering tomorrow

Hi,

My rabbits are book in for their ops tomorrow. Is there anything I really should know before I take them/after I picked them up? They are a bonded pair so I’m hoping having each other there will make it less stressful for them.
 
Being together will help immensely. Make sure everything is clean for when they return home. Have some of their favourite food to tempt them to eat. Are they inside or outdoors? They should be kept quiet for a couple of days. Hope everything goes well.
 
Sending tonnes of vibes for tomorrow xx

I agree with tonibun that having plenty of their favourite foods to tempt them to eat when they get home is a good idea. It's also useful to have some recovery food and syringes on hand as a backup in case they don't eat much for themselves (I had a doe who took a couple of days to start eating for herself post spay). Make sure the vet gives you a few days' worth of pain relief when they get home.

Finally, just in case this hasn't been mentioned already, make sure you feed them as normal tomorrow morning. You don't need to fast rabbits before a GA.


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Thanks both,

They are outdoor rabbits, so will I need to keep them inside? I don’t have an indoor hutch for them, but they do have a larger carrier or if the need more space my bath room is a wet room, so they could have the run of that if needed. Also their hutch is attached to a run which is on grass, to which they have unlimited access through a homemade tunnel system.
 
I hope al goes well tomorrow. I recently had my boys "done" and the instructions were to keep them inside. Mine boys are indoor bunnies but I think the instructions were generic / Sending our vibes for tomorrow.
 
It's generally advised to bring them in temporarily as they struggle to regulate their body temperature after a GA. So they would need to be kept nice and warm. It's also easier to monitor their input and output and how they're recovering generally. Having said that, some bunnies who prefer being outside can get a bit stressed being brought indoors and would do better staying in a familiar environment. If that's the case, you would just need to make sure their accommodation is warm and well insulated. Snugglesafes can also come in very handy [emoji3]


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I’ve had a few foster rabbits neutered - the vet recommends I bring them inside for at least the first night. I have puppy pen panels so I use them to make a small space to keep them in a cool room (usually my bedroom with heating off & window open, warm pjs for me lol) I find it makes life easier for me too as I can keep a closer eye on them and syringe feed through the night if necessary without having to get all ready to go outside! As both are being neutered at the same time you would have to watch them to make sure both are eating and pooping, it can be hard to tell if the poop is from just one or both. I did separate a bonded pair with a panel down the middle (they could still touch if they wanted) just for a few hours until I was sure both were pooping as one was brighter than the other and I couldn’t be sure who was producing the poops. You should be given gut and pain meds when you collect them from the vet.

Hope all goes smoothly :)
 
You've had some excellent advice. If it's cold I normally bring a rabbit indoors for the first night. They need to be kept quiet and must not run or jump for a few days and longer for the Doe.
 
I've just got in to work after dropping them off. The vets have check them both over and have now decided that what we actually have is 2 girls!!!!! I know my other half is now going to ask why I bothered going ahead, as there is no chance of them mating, so if you guys could list all the other health benefits, maybe that would help. Also the vat said they will need to be kept inside tonight as it's winter. And advice on the best way to do this, as I don't have an indoor hutch?

Thanks
 
Mis-sexing does happen :) Sending lots of vibes for their spay today and I hope they recover well.

You are obviously correct in saying that they will not be able to mate, however there are other benefits to having them neutered. The most important is concerning their health, as 80+% of unspayed does will develop uterine carcinoma later in life. They will also not be subject to hormonal urges, so for instance they will be far less likely to have phantom pregnancies. Also I assume they will continue to live together and a good bond is more likely if they have been neutered.
 
I've just got in to work after dropping them off. The vets have check them both over and have now decided that what we actually have is 2 girls!!!!! I know my other half is now going to ask why I bothered going ahead, as there is no chance of them mating, so if you guys could list all the other health benefits, maybe that would help. Also the vat said they will need to be kept inside tonight as it's winter. And advice on the best way to do this, as I don't have an indoor hutch?

Thanks



If your girls have been used to living outside up until now, quite happily, I wouldn't necessarily say they need to be brought in UNLESS they have had an operation. Rabbits can't regulate their temperature so if they had a GA they would need to come inside.

Two girls will likely get hormonal very soon and it could mean they will fight and not get along any more. Spaying helps that aspect.

It also has the added benefit of reducing the chance of uterine cancer:

https://rabbitwelfare.co.uk/rabbit-health/neutering/

Advantages of having female rabbits spayed

Unspayed females are at very high risk of two potentially fatal conditions. uterine cancer and pyometra (infection of the uterus/womb). These can both be fatal.

Less commonly, they may develop mammary tumours

Some unspayed females are aggressive and territorial. Many have repeated phantom pregnancies and may growl, lunge at, scratch or bite their owners or other rabbits, particularly in spring and summer.

Keeping two unspayed females together, even if they are sisters, is very likely to result in serious fighting and the risk of injuries.
 
I've just got in to work after dropping them off. The vets have check them both over and have now decided that what we actually have is 2 girls!!!!! I know my other half is now going to ask why I bothered going ahead, as there is no chance of them mating, so if you guys could list all the other health benefits, maybe that would help. Also the vat said they will need to be kept inside tonight as it's winter. And advice on the best way to do this, as I don't have an indoor hutch?

Thanks

What a surprise!
 
Re somewhere to keep them indoors - do you have a puppy pen or large dog crate, or know anyone you could borrow from for a day or 2? You may be able to pick one up from gumtree or similar quite quickly, just give it a good clean / disinfect before use.
 
Thanks,

I do have a puppy pen, but its currently used as their run in the garden, so I'm worried it will be rather muddy at the bottom, although I suppose I could turn it upside down, lol x
 
Morning,

I collected the rabbits after work yesterday, the nurse said they would be ok outside as long as they were well protected as both their hutch and run have covers she said this would be fine. I've been out to feed them this morning (while it was still dark), they were still both looking a bit sorry for themselves. they had eaten most of the pellets I gave them last night, they perked up a bit when I gave them some fresh veg and pellets this morning.

They have painkiller medication and 1 has antibiotics as they didn't know if some fur had got in to her wound. I'm going to check their 'output' and wounds this afternoon when I get home and Ill also give them their medication then.

Is there anything I can do to help them get back to themselves, I don't think they have been in to their run since they came home.
 
Hello there. As long as they are on clean bedding and don't jump onto anything, they should be ok. You can give them grass if you have some, this goes down very well. By tomorrow they should be acting much brighter and hope the one on abx will be ok.
 
Glad they are home safe, my boys have just been "done" and I did give rather a lot of high value foods such as apple to encourage them to eat.
 
That’s good if they are eating themselves, I think you should find later today they’ll have perked up a bit more. I wouldn’t worry too much about them not using their run as they shouldn’t run / jump around too much for a couple of days after the op due to the wound. Sounds like they are doing well so far :D
 
Morning,

I collected the rabbits after work yesterday, the nurse said they would be ok outside as long as they were well protected as both their hutch and run have covers she said this would be fine. I've been out to feed them this morning (while it was still dark), they were still both looking a bit sorry for themselves. they had eaten most of the pellets I gave them last night, they perked up a bit when I gave them some fresh veg and pellets this morning.

They have painkiller medication and 1 has antibiotics as they didn't know if some fur had got in to her wound. I'm going to check their 'output' and wounds this afternoon when I get home and Ill also give them their medication then.

Is there anything I can do to help them get back to themselves, I don't think they have been in to their run since they came home.


Glad to hear it's all been done :)

Good to hear they have been eating. When is the post-spay check up with the vet?
 
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