happybunny
Active member
What is the lifespan of a pet, unneutered male New Zealand rabbit? And will neutering him extend his lifespan? Or is this only for spayed female rabbits?
Lifespan of unneutered male New Zealand?
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happybunny
Active member
Also, do I really need to neuter my male New Zealand bunny?
I would not unless you are having problems that it would solve. Males may spray urine. Particularly if they see or smell females. Also they cannot be housed with females unless you want a population explosion.
All surgery carries risks, especially surgery requiring general anesthesia. Many vets are not well versed in caring for pet rabbits. If you do opt for surgery, please look hard for a vet who is confident and well rated for treating rabbits. In some parts of the country that won't exist, but in the Bay area you should be able to find a vet who is familiar with pet rabbits.
All surgery carries risks, especially surgery requiring general anesthesia. Many vets are not well versed in caring for pet rabbits. If you do opt for surgery, please look hard for a vet who is confident and well rated for treating rabbits. In some parts of the country that won't exist, but in the Bay area you should be able to find a vet who is familiar with pet rabbits.
I have not seen any actual evidence that neutering will extend lifespans in rabbits even in does. Some of the House Rabbit Society people insist they'll die of uterine cancer if left unspayed, but I've never seen any of our does develop, let alone die of, uterine cancer. We do PMs on most rabbits that die or are put down for any reason, and we've found all kinds of amazing things, but no uterine cancers at all.
I agree with the advice from @eco2pia not to neuter unless there is a specific problem calling for it, and I would add that if you like your buck's temperament, do not neuter him. Changing the hormonal profile of a rabbit by neutering may very well change his personality. We've seen neutered bucks develop territorial/aggressive behaviors similar to what you'd see in an uppity doe. We've also observed that neutering reduces spraying/humping behaviors in some bucks, but not in others. Overall, in general it seems like too much risk for iffy benefits to me.
So, we don't neuter any of our rabbits. I have found that my meat breed rabbits (Satin, Californian, New Zealand, 6-9 years) have slightly shorter lifespans than the smaller breeds I've raised (Polish, Mini Rex, Holland Lops, 8-12 years).
I have observed that the does of the meat breeds often live longer than the bucks. The big muscle-bound bucks seem to have a tendency to suffer from some sort of deterioration in their hindquarters which can shorten their lifespan by a year or two. Some of them get very stiff in the back end, progressively lose coordination in their back legs, and eventually develop some kind of neuropathy/numbness in their hind feet. When they can't feel their feet, they start chewing at them, and that's really when they need to be humanely put down. I don't know if this would be affected, either way, by neutering, but it doesn't seem likely. This may not be a problem with a pet rabbit that is not kept outside and/or not used for breeding, but I don't know that either.
I have never seen this in our small breeds; in fact right now we have a very sweet 9-year-old BEW Polish, Jazzy, that leaps back and forth over his food bowl like a hurdle when he sees us coming, and is still happily producing bunnies.
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