I only know from what’s been previously discussed as you said. I think some “infantile” spays are done in rescue though I don’t know how young we’re talking. I’m also aware there is concern about the physical development.

As for castration, I don’t think 12weeks is that young. Males can be done as soon as the testes are present. Very possible that’s the case at 12 weeks.

Mine were three and a half months – so around 14 weeks. Oxo was over grooming and pulling all the fur out from Bisto’s back; my vets opinion seemed to be if he could see the testes he could whip them off! I would say that my vet would be willing to do it at 12 weeks, unless there is maybe difficulties with anaesthetising a very young rabbit?

We’ve discussed this in regards to larger breeders like new zealands, flemmies, or french lops… I think the consensus was that you can wait til 6-9 months to neuter, but I don’t know how much of an added benefit it would have.

The main concern is that many people CANNOT wait that long to neuter because they are faced with various behavioral issues: territorial, amorous, biting behaviors, poor litterbox habits/spraying, or they are looking to bond and this will increase the length of bonding by several months.

It would be interesting to see some research on this. Many rabbits are neutered after age 1 (because that is when they are surrendered to rescues). I am not sure if they are any better off developmentally than a bun that was snipped at 4 months.

I don’t know the correct answer, but I am planning on getting Sunny neutered sometime in mid-late January. He will be 4 months old then.

I was looking into this online and I found this passage repeated on different websites, including the HRS Chicago website. It’s attributed to Susan Brown who apparently is a vet:

The best age to neuter is shortly after sexual maturity. Depending on the breed, this could range from 4 to 6 months and with giant breeds up to possibly 9 months. If the rabbit is neutered much younger than 4 months of age, not only is the surgery more difficult due to the immature condition of the reproductive organs (in males the testicles might not even be descended into the scrotal sacs prior to three months) but we do not know what the long term effect is on the endocrine system of the body. The reproductive organs are part of an interconnecting system of hormone producing organs including the thyroid, pituitary, pancreas and adrenal. If we remove a large “chunk” of the endocrine system before it is done developing, we suspect there could be long term effects on the health of the rabbit. This has been studied in mice and rats where ill effects have been found with early neutering, but as yet has not been researched in rabbits. For the pet rabbit, there is really no good reason to neuter your rabbit before it is mature.

You should have your rabbit examined by an veterinarian who has experience with rabbits to make sure your pet is in good condition and ready for neutering. Sexual maturity can be gauged a number of ways including the presence of the testicles in the scrotal sacs, a well developed and possibly swollen vulva (this has to be checked by “pushing” the vulvar tissue out by pressure placed above it), a mature body condition and by behavioral changes such as urine spraying and increased aggression. Your veterinarian may recommend some simple tests prior to surgery, particularly if your pet is older or has had other medical problems. I do not recommend performing routine neutering procedures on obese animals or those with other disease. The weight should be reduced and other disease managed prior to having a major surgical procedure performed.

I guess it’s up to interpretation what ‘much younger’ than 4 months of age means. I think I’d wait till 4 months just in case.

They do pediatric spay/neuters on dogs and cats in shelters as young as eight weeks. There are risks (notably for large breed dogs, males have an increased risk of bone cancer if neutered before age 1)…but like you said they recover quicker. Think of a kid having their tonsels out vs. an adult-it’s weeks for the adult and it’s a day surgery for kids.

The reason shelters do it, is even if they adopt a dog or cat out at eight weeks and have the adopter sign a contract AND offer the surgery free-most are left unaltered and reproduce.

I read a lot about it because I was horrified at first. Generally speaking it’s ok. However I liked the one articles’ conclusions as I agree-it said if you are a shelter, and thus worried about a population then spay/neuter as young as you need to….if you are a pet owner, then discuss it with your vet and the standard 4-6 months is likely what is best.

Dutchess was spayed at the humane society when she was surrendered at four months of age. From what I’ve read or been told about four months is ideal. It would be interesting to see some research on this topic. I think the general consensus on pet neutering/spaying from my limited experience is to wait for sexual maturity.

Awhile back Petco was selling rabbits already spay/neutered, I think that was another case where the surgeries were being done very, very early. Fortunately, I think most (if not all) have stopped and they are now working with shelters to adopt out rabbits.

If you have a reputable vet, they will have a set protocol on when they feel is the right time to alter. If you’re not comfortable and think it’s too early still, you do have the prerogative to say “I want to wait a little bit”.

Some vets will neuter at 12 weeks, especially if it is a larger breed that is big enough to handle anesthesia.

My vet wanted to wait until Otto was 5 months at least. I’m all for waiting to spay/neuter until the animal is mostly grown, so that was fine with me. He actually didn’t grow much at all after the surgery (he’s practically the same weight) and I’m glad we waited until he was basically done growing. For a large breed, like a flemmie, I might choose to weight even longer since they grow for a longer period of time.

K&K, I liked your post. I agree that shelters don’t have much of a choice between keeping populations down and neutering before puppies leave the shelter. For pet owners, I think it’s a good idea to wait longer so bones can develop.