No idea! Sorry Sealyah. I endured Henry and his naughty behaviour, particularly the SPRAYING for 2 months – I didn’t have the energy to wait and see ‘if’ he would/could grow out of it. Some BBer’s have been very ‘fortunate’ and have never had to endure the above mentioned and I have also heard of a few that were tolerant (not me!) and they now have loving ‘not loving’ bunny babes. As far as the ‘better to do it sooner rather than later’ for the pain factor – I tend to agree. I look at my childhood scars and think ‘that didn’t hurt a bit’ and yet now, a paper cut can bring me to tears! Cheers.

Yup. AndHenry makes a lot of sense. My vet sends home pain relievers, so that might help either way. I’m guessing that if they get into that teenage behavior, it’s because of hormones and will just continue. If you have an indoor rabbit you want to let run around, I think it would be very difficult if the bunny isn’t neutered. I have one that is too ill to spay and I don’t let her have free run all over because I can’t trust her and that bladder.

1) I’m not entirely sure. Healing ability is generally decreased the older PEOPLE get, not sure if that’s the same for bunnies. I do know that anesthesia can be more risky, so it is best to spay/neuter sooner rather than later.

2 & 3 is basically the same question) Hormonal behaviors MAY start to calm down, but not until 2-3 years old, maybe even later… Most people (like AndHenry!) are just not willing to “wait it out”… Neutered rabbits are usually much easier to care for bc bad litter habits, destructive behavior, and aggression are greatly decreased.

We do have some members who have unneutered males successfully with no issues. They are the minority however. We recommend neutering bc it’s a simple procedure that allows rabbits to be better indoor companions.

Well I’ve always had my rabbits spayed/neutered so for the behavior question I cannot answer that – I would do this no matter the reason though – it can be harder on any rabbit for any procedure as they age – this is something I would do if I had a young rabbit at a young age. I’ve had many rescued rabbits spayed/neutered at an older age though.

I think it depends on the buns personality. My Annabel is not spayed because there is not a rabbit savvy doctor I approve of anywhere near I live so it looks like I will have to wait it out. She’s only eight months old and I’m pretty patient when she starts to get hormonal but I strongly believe she’s going to be one of those buns that will calm down as she gets older. She’s far too sweet and enjoys her down time. And her little fits usually don’t last long.

But then again ask me in a year. lol

Lady Cardinal, keep searching for a vet to spay her. Leaving female rabbits intact isn’t a good idea due to their high risk of developing reproductive cancer. Have you tried to contact local rescues to see who spay/neuters their rabbits?

Lady Cardinal, I agree with Beka 27 100%. Is that your girl in your avatar? Her markings are lovely! Reminds me of a Victorian lady with long white gloves

I know BunnyLady1989! She is absolutely stunning!

Lady Cardinal, looks like she fell paws first into a paint tray! I’ve never seen markings like that. Usually it’s just the paw that’s white, not their full arms! 🙂

Really adorable, Lady Cardinal.
Also, I just learned a new fact about female bunnies’ uterine cancer. The vet lecturer I posted elsewhere said that it can develop in females as they get older, but we don’t catch the symptoms until it has spread because it isn’t an organ that is used daily (like stomach) so they don’t get painful symptoms there. So by the time we learn about it, it can be quite advanced in their little bodies. Spaying is such a direct way to prevent it, that we are big advocates of it (as you see from our replies.)
Sealyah, neutering males is also important for being cancer free, but not as urgent as with females. However, it does effect their behavior, and my experience with my previous male who was not, was that his hormones never totally calmed down. He was a single bunny, and he loved to hump my feet and ankles. I actually only wore jeans (not shorts) for 8 years! He was very sweet, but still honked and ran circles around me cause he Luved me. His nature wasn’t very aggressive.

As for pain in older bunnies – a vet will use enough anesthesia, and give you pain meds (ask for them) to take home after so it is not better or worse for an older bunny. Just that older bunnies will always have higher risk in a surgical procedure as humans do due to general aging of all organs. Some at any age have hidden genetic conditions, but no vet knows that going in. For your comfort at home, for his comfort, have it done early. If you ever get a second bunny, there is no risk of pregnancy with a new female, and no risk of serious aggression with a new male.

Great info, Pam!

The spread of cancer without symptoms makes perfect sense. This is similar to certain types of cancer in humans. A spay procedure, while more invasive than a neuter, is definitely less of an ordeal than surgery to remove cancerous cells/tumors that have spread to the surrounding tissue. It is also likely that the risk of anesthesia and ability to heal will be affected more since the system is compromised.

As far as Sealyah, her rabbit was scheduled for neutering yesterday (Feb. 20th). She has a thread about that in the Q&A section, but I haven’t seen an update on how it went yet.