Safe age for a spay/neuter?

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This topic has 10sd replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 11 years, 2 months ago by BB Administrator.

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- 01/24/2013 at 11:01 AM
  Aimee
  Participant
  14 posts
  I was wondering what is a safe age for a bunny to get neutered/spayed? I was told 8 weeks but that seems a little young to me.
- 01/24/2013 at 1:47 PM
  Snowytoshi
  Participant
  263 posts
  Most people get female rabbits done at six months and male rabbits can be done once they haved reached a certain weight and their testicales have dropped.
- 01/24/2013 at 4:27 PM
  Roberta
  Participant
  4355 posts
  You are right, 8 weeks is way to long. 8 weeks is the age it is usually safe for them to leave their Mother.
- 01/24/2013 at 6:06 PM
  tanlover14
  Participant
  3617 posts
  Wow, 8 weeks??? Any vet in their right mind (and knows anything about rabbits) would probably never attempt a spay at that age unless there was a medical reason. That sounds… horribly wrong. From wherever you heard that.
  
  Most vets will want to wait until about 6 months of age or a good full-sized weight for their breed before attempting to spay a girl. My girl was done at about 4 1/2 months and that was pushing it a little as my vet was pushing to wait until at least 5 months. My boy was also done at 4 1/2 months and his testicles had JUST dropped. So it depends on acouple variables in each situation.
- 01/24/2013 at 7:49 PM
  Toady
  Participant
  186 posts
  I got the girls done at 4 months, the vets will spay from that age onwards. But then again they do have a lot of experience with bunnies and have been doing surgery on them for decades. Thee and Seph were only about 3 lbs each when they went in and have recovered with no ill effects
- 01/24/2013 at 9:10 PM
  Stickerbunny
  Participant
  4128 posts
  My vet will do girls as young as 4 months and boys when they are ready. He has been treating bunnies for 25 years though so he is very comfortable with them.
- 01/25/2013 at 5:35 AM
  Aimee
  Participant
  14 posts
  Whew, I am sure glad I checked!
  I am the unfortunate victim of a pair of mis-sexed rabbits. You know the story, I was told I had 2 sisters that wanted to be together so I took them both in. Found out ten days ago that that is not the case. Mother and father have been separated until taxes come in and we can afford to get both of them fixed.
  Meanwhile, we have fell in love with one of the babies, a beautiful blonde little wiggly thing who is just as sweet as candy. When I was calling around looking for a vet to fix the parents, I asked when is it safe to perform this procedure? I was told 8 weeks, and I could bring all three in mid-March (the baby will be around weeks then) and get all three done at once, I figured that sounded young since my parents were 10 weeks old when I got them and the male was mistaken for a female. If it isn’t that easy to sex them at that age, why would it be safe to perform a spay or neuter?
  Thank you so much for the advice!
- 01/25/2013 at 5:44 AM
  Snowytoshi
  Participant
  263 posts
  I know of no one who has gotten their rabbit fixed before the four month mark. Spaying is such an invasive procedure that I’d imagine on a ten week old rabbit the probablity of death and the length of recovery time must be huge. Definitely make sure you find a rabbit-savvy vet who knows what they’re talking about!
- 01/25/2013 at 6:27 AM
  Sam and Lady's Human
  Participant
  2001 posts
  My vet does females at 4 months and males at 3 or as soon as they drop. 8 weeks is a bit young, preferably just away from their mum at that point, although I will say Lady my flemmie was ready to spay around 3 months and it was a long stinky 4 weeks
- 01/25/2013 at 7:45 PM
  Bunslave54
  Participant
  6 posts
  For females it very much depend on the size of the rabbit at certain ages. Actually when I was in tech school my New Zealand was spayed at school, just before 3 months of age. And yes this was done by an experienced rabbit vet. This is uncommon though, but she was already 6-7 pounds by the time she was spayed and was by no means tiny.
- 01/25/2013 at 10:08 PM
  BB Administrator
  Keymaster
  392 posts
  Posted By aimeeseee on 01/25/2013 05:35 AM
  
  Whew, I am sure glad I checked!
  . When I was calling around looking for a vet to fix the parents, I asked when is it safe to perform this procedure? I was told 8 weeks, and I could bring all three in mid-March (the baby will be around weeks then) and get all three done at once.
  
  This may not be a reflection of the vet’s recommendations but a misinformed front desk staff. So if this vet clinic came recommended or the vet is supposed to rabbit-savvy, then you may ask for the vet to call you back to confirm some information and verify with the VET what they think.
  
  Helloworld!!
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