of my warren, I only had the boys neutered...mainly because I thought spaying was very traumatic
only one of the boys had a complication...mainly because he got loose, started a fight, and tore a a suture, so had to stay at the overnight vets, the others recovered quickly, the younger ones (10 weeks) seemed to recover very quickly...just a couple of days
recently one of the younger girls (5 years old) had some behavioural changes and after extensive tests she was diagnosed with uterine cancer...we operated immediately, and here is hoping she will fully recover
but the spaying itself was very traumatic for her, she was off her food, and had to be syringe fed multiple times a day, I tried fresh herbs etc...only after two weeks of hand feeding, painkillers and gut stimulant, she got to a point where I wasn't frantic with her progress
maybe it would have been easier for her if we had it done when she was 10 weeks old, but I feel I gave her every chance of a natural life without resorting to surgery and pain, until absolutely necessary
I suspect some of my other warren members may have passed due to uterine cancer, but one was 7 years old, whilst the other was 4...its a difficult decision, if I had spayed early the surgery might have ended their lives a lot sooner, but by not spaying, the onus is on us to spot symptoms early enough to save them...this is one reason I would encourage people to have no more than two bunnies at any time, you can devote all your energy onto them and easily spot any behaviour changes
if anyone can't live with only 2 bunnies, there is a huge warren in eversley that would appreciate cuddles anytime