spay at 10 weeks?

[Carrot Lane Bunny]

So yesterdayc we took jersey to the vet for her exam Because we ust got her. And when he sexed her he said she is definantly a girl. And when asked about fixing he said that with boys you have to wait for their *ahem* bits *cough* to drop. But with females its just a to my convience because its all there wether they are 8 months or 10 weeks.And i would like to get it done as soon as possible so i can start bonding.And i would just like to mention this vet is wonderful tons of expeirence very nice and will be doing the surgery himself.So the vet in my opinion is verry rabbit savvy. But what do you think about that age for a spay? We made the opointment already for next week tuesday. Jersey will be ten weeks then.

~CLB DJ And Jersey

[Elrohwen]

From everything I’ve read, that sounds a bit young, but if you trust your vet then go for it.

How big is she? Some vets only want them to be a certain weight before their operate and maybe she’s already above that minimum weight.

You can always rescedule for later if that will make you more comfortable.

[Deleted User]

I have heard of this practice in shelters. Most vets want to wait with the spay surgery until the females are close to 6 months old. A spay is pretty invasive and surgery carries a higher risk on a young animal. I personally would not have any animal desexed before they hit maturity; it is not even known what the implications are of such early interference with hormone production. Hormones do a number of things in the body, not just to do with reproduction.
Carrot Lane, this topic hits a nerve in me, I don’t believe prepubertal sterilization is a good idea. Different vets will have varying opinions, my own vet would never perform a pediatric spay on any species of animal.

[Sarita]

I think that is way too young. House rabbit society recommends at a minimum of age 4 months when they are sexually mature but says that most vets prefer to wait until 6 months as surgery on a young rabbit is riskier.

If it were me, I would wait – I don’t agree that 10 weeks is the right age. I understand you are anxious to start bonding but truly 10 weeks, way too young.

[TARM]

The vet Bunny Lu uses does early spays like that all the time.  It really depends on the comfort level of your vet.  I know most people here will tell you it’s dangerous to do it any earlier than 6 months but I’ve seen many 10-12 week old babies get spayed and they do fine.  They actually do a little better because the younger they are the quicker they bounce back.  Keep in mind that our vet does a couple dozen rabbit spay/neuters per week and they have for the last 10+ years.  I would find out how long your vet has been practicing on rabbits and make my decision based on that.

 

[Carrot Lane Bunny]

My vet has been spaying rabbits for 9 years and has never lost a rabbit in a desexing surgery. He does about four rabbit spays every Wednesday.

[Deleted User]

I think shelters do it because it takes the decision out of the owners’ hands, and less unwanted litters will be born. However, if you have a choice it is better to wait. Dogs are being spayed and neutered before puberty in shelters across the country now also, and it is a fact that those dogs grow taller than dogs neutered or spayed after 1 year of age. The early sterilization impacts muscoskeletal development and hip dysplasia as well as other disorders are more common in dogs that were desexed as very young pups.

[TARM]

Pediatric spay/neuters are very common in rescue. I’ve never seen an adverse effect on any animal spayed that early. Dogs, cats, ferrets, rabbits. In ferrets I know that early desexing can make them stay tiny but other than that they turn out pretty normal. Is there a rescue or shelter that uses that vet? Maybe you can talk to them and see what they recommend.

[Deleted User]

I agree with TARM in that rescues will opt for the early spay and neuter. I also believe that your vet will do a very good job on your rabbit and has not lost anybun during a surgery.

[Sarita]

I understand the same as Petzy about hormones and muscoskeletal development.

[LizzieKnittyBun]

I have to agree with Sarita. My vet at home and all the sources I’ve consulted over the last year and 1/2 suggest waiting until at least four months. It is very invasive with girls, much more so than boys, and since you only have to do it once you really want to be careful and do it in the safest manner possible.

It’s up to you, especially if your doctor is great, but it does seem awfully young for surgery.

[Beka27]

I absolutely agree with what Petzy and Sarita said: I was going to say that estrogen helps in the formation of bones. I was actually reading something by Dana Krempels the other day saying it *may* be better to possibly WAIT UNTIL LATER… about 10 months… before spaying girls. I think 10 weeks is way too young. I mean… I know it’s done, but it’s certainly not ideal… especially since this rabbit already has a forever home and it’s not a case of “wanting to alter before adoption”. I would wait until at least 5-6 months.

[Moonlight_Wolf]

I think it would be better to wait till she is six months – both my bunnies were neutered/spayed after puberty and I think that is the way to go.

[jerseygirl]

I also feel it is too young, but it really between you and your vet.  Hope he can give you some good information on this.

Here’s what I have read on spaying at earlier age before from Medirabbit.com:

An elective spay is usually done around the age of 5 months, or when the rabbit is sexually mature. At a younger age, the surgery is complicated by the difficulty to locate the very thin uterus and very small ovaries.  A spay at an immature age may also have  a dramatic effect on the proper calcium absorption by  the bones.  http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/Uro_gen_diseases/castration/ovario.PDF

My other concern would be the anaethesia and lack of appetite post surgery.  Baby rabbits have a high metabolism so the poop stuff out quicker and need to eat again sooner in my mind.  Sometimes it can take 24hrs for a Doe to want to eat after surgery – I don’t know the risk of a very young one not eating for that long…  This is just my own thought on this, I really don’t know how they go post surgery as I’ve only had my own Doe spayed.

[MirBear]

depending opn how big she is….. i would say go for it if your confertable with the vet, i would see what he recomends you do though.. if he is confertable doing it now and she is big enough to handle it, then by all means…. but iof he prefers you wait or she is still fairly small then i would maybe wait…. it depends more on the vet though

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I’ve been doing LOTS of research on pediatric spay/neuters lately -as they are doing them at the shelter here and it’s piqued my interest. \

STudying what little studies have been done on them and a meta study, and also congruently with what the AVMA says about it is; if you are a shelter, people sign adoption contracts and 1/2 don’t follow through with spay/neuters-so you should look at population control and spay/neuter as babies-before they are adopted. And if it’s your pet, you should spay/neuter at 6 or more months (longer for large dog breeds, especially males as they have an increased risk of bone cancer if neutered before one) -so I’d say if you were running a shelter-do it. If it’s your pet-wait Just my opinion-it’s a fairly new practice and there is not a lot of research done yet.

[RabbitPam]

I think the issue for you is not the ability of the vet – clearly he is quite comfortable with it at an early age, and therefore when your bunny is still small – but rather the effect of hormones on her growth. It’s not a problem for the vet if you tack on another 4-6 weeks more after your appointment (that will be about 5 months, right?) but it may help her with important stages of her development. And you will see when she hits puberty because her behavior will change, which is an indicator that she’s got hormones starting. A few weeks of that, then the spay, would be safest.

My vet only needed to wait until she had grown large enough for her to feel comfortable with her size during the surgery. As others pointed out, a vet that does them frequently is more experienced that way, so it’s not the issue.

[lwayne]

My vet said as long as they are above a certain size/weight age doesn’t matter for a spay. I know they do kittens that young, so as long as your vet is willing, I’d say go for it.

[angelicvampyre]

Is your other rabbit de sexed? My Boy was desexed and my girl is not yet (she JUST got to weight so is going in on wednesday) she is approx 4 – 5 months old. They have been together well it feels like 2 months now and no issues, the odd humping but as he can’t produce anything I am not worried about it. if one is desexed and you are not worried about a litter then there is no rush to get your girl spayed. Also alot of vets don’t recommend you bond untill both are over 6 months as once hormoes / teenage years kick in you are going to have to re bond anyway.

[Carrot Lane Bunny]

ok we are gonna wait because yesterday I reread this thread and my gut said wait till 5 months its to risky.So we are going to wait! Thank you for your advice!
CLB jersey and dj

[Beka27]

I’m glad you’re going to wait. Enjoy the baby time with her, as messy as it is… and start to bond with her. Then worry about spaying later on.

[Sarita]

I’m glad you are waiting as well…did you ever post photo’s of her? I don’t remember ever seeing one.

[Carrot Lane Bunny]

no i didnt post pictures but im going to do that.Jersey is the one in avatar though.

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