Neutering a Rabbit

There are many benefits to neutering your male rabbit, especially if you want multiple rabbits to be able to live together in the same cage. Rabbits are highly territorial and may fight if they are intact and still producing their male hormones. Additionally, unneutered male rabbits tend to be less tame.

Benefits of Rabbit Neutering

There are several benefits to neutering a rabbit. Most importantly, it removes the production of some of the natural sex hormones, which trigger the instincts in rabbits that ensure their survival in the wild, where they have many predators. Rabbit neutering is a gentle and minor operation, which can be performed as early as when the rabbit is 3-4 months old.

Your Rabbit Will Be Easier to Tame

If your rabbit is neutered at a young age, it will be easier to make him completely tame. He will remain calm during handling and be less aggressive. Regardless of whether there are other rabbits in the area or not, an intact male rabbit is always ready to mate and therefore remains on guard, less social, and ready to fight rivals. Without the constant production of hormones that prepare the male rabbit for survival and breeding, he will also be less easily frightened.

Less Stress in Neutered Rabbits

Natural sex hormones are always at a high level in unneutered male rabbits. They are always ready to fight and always ready to defend their territory so they can keep their females to themselves. The increased production of sex hormones in male rabbits means they are always on alert and therefore experience a form of stress 24 hours a day.

Chronic stress is not beneficial for the body in the long run, and therefore, neutered rabbits typically live longer than unneutered male rabbits.

You Prevent a Lot of Rabbit Offspring

Rabbits have a very efficient ability to reproduce and can quickly have many offspring. By neutering your rabbit, both males and females can be together without the risk of a multitude of rabbits in a very short time. Without neutering, and where males and females are together under the right conditions, you can be quite certain that new rabbit offspring will appear every month and all year round.

Neutered male rabbits can easily live with several females without the females being attacked from time to time, as long as there is enough space in the environment.

Avoid the Smelly Cage

When a male rabbit needs to tell other male rabbits that the area is occupied and that the females within the territory are not available, it’s important to smell as bad as possible. The male rabbit will therefore spray urine almost everywhere and leave feces wherever he moves. The urine of unneutered male rabbits can smell very strong and unpleasant due to the sex hormones being produced.

The smell will generally become stronger as the male rabbit gets older. A neutered male rabbit, especially if neutered before it has developed the habit of spraying when sexually mature, will not feel the need to mark its territory with odors. Likewise, he will be somewhat more tidy with his feces and keep it in one place in the cage.

How Rabbit Neutering is Done

There’s no need to be nervous when your rabbit is going to the vet to be neutered. It is a very minor operation that neither requires stitches nor long-term aftercare. There is a very small risk of your rabbit being affected by the anesthesia, as it is a short procedure.

Anesthesia

When you arrive at the vet with your rabbit, you will be informed about what will happen, the framework, and the timeframe. Then your rabbit will be anesthetized with a small injection in the subcutaneous tissue or in the muscle. Then, it will slowly fall asleep, and within 10-20 minutes it will be completely asleep and will not feel anything afterwards.

It is possible to use forms of anesthesia that include antibodies that allow the rabbit to be awakened at any time if complications arise during the neutering.

Preparation for the Operation

Once your rabbit is anesthetized, the vet will take it into the operating room. Here, the area to be operated on will be shaved while it is continuously monitored so that the vet can see that your rabbit is doing well throughout the procedure.

Procedure

A male rabbit has very small testicles, and therefore only a very small incision in the scrotum is necessary. The testicles are quickly but carefully removed, and there is usually no need for further measures. There are no stitches needed that might later need to be removed, and there is also no need for wound care following the neutering of the rabbit.

After the Operation

As soon as your vet has determined that there are no bleedings or other issues that need to be treated, your rabbit will be sent to recovery. After the neutering, it may be possible to give medication to aid waking up, but otherwise, your rabbit will slowly metabolize the anesthetic until it has worn off enough for your rabbit to be taken home.

Aftercare

It is ensured that your rabbit is given pain relief and antibiotics during the operation to prevent subsequent infections and pain resulting from the neutering. There is generally no need for further aftercare, pain relief, or additional antibiotics.

You should simply keep an eye on the surgical site and make sure it does not become infected or too swollen. If you have the slightest suspicion that the healing is not progressing as it should, you can contact your vet.

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