Castrating rabbits????

[mommaebear]

Call me and think of me what you will.

So many other livestock are castrated on the farm by farmers I would like to know about the non-vet options for castrating rabbits. If noone has any ideas on how I would go about this in a safe simple planned out way(so it can be as breif as possible and well thought out to cause the least amount of stress), I guess I'm going to have to take what I've learnt castrating pigs and such, and I'll let you all know how it goes if anyone else is interested.

Please spare me, I've had to work up alot of guts to post this and am afraid of some responses I know I'm sure to get.

 

[SatinsRule]

I've honestly never heard of the practice of castrating rabbits in the years I've been involved in rabbit raising. Everyone is left to assume it's to trigger extra weight gain in the animals prior to slaughtering them, as you really didn't spell out why specifically you'd even want to do so.

I know that on certain farm animals, the use of rubber bands to effect castration is a common method, but I would imagine that trying it with a rabbit will lead to some pretty good gouges in your hands, arms and upper torso when you're attempting to put not one, but two of them onto a buck which would rather hang onto his equipment.

Ottersatin is more involved in the veterinarian side of things, and could probably give more feedback on what it would do to the animal from a health standpoint, but for what little you'd likely gain from it, I really don't know that it's a good practice to engage in with a rabbit.

 

[PulpFaction]

There was someone on the Rex Rabbit Yahoo list a while back that claimed to have had good success with banding. I want to learn how to sterilize the male rabbits one way or another for pet buyers as I think it would improve their success with them, but many aren't wild about the vet bill. I used to work at a vet as an assistant and cat castrations were so simple the vet let us do it ourselves, but of course there were sedatives at work. You would have to be very good at hypnotizing rabbits, I think, to do any cutting down there.

Please let me know your results!

Perhaps you could experiment first on dead rabbits intended for the stew pot, etc.

 

[ottersatin]

Ottersatin is more involved in the veterinarian side of things, and could probably give more feedback on what it would do to the animal from a health standpoint, but for what little you'd likely gain from it, I really don't know that it's a good practice to engage in with a rabbit.

[Not True!] I don't know what ever gave anyone the idea that I was into
veterinarian techniques. C.V.R. stands for Crescent Valley Rabbitry,
though I have had others mistake it for Vet Tech in the past.
I would NOT ever have any of my rabbits spayed or neutered!
I would have no use for such a rabbit. I have heard of others
using the Rubber-bands and I believe there is an injection
which will serve the same purpose. If I was to want to perform
such an operation I would seek the help and or aid of another
more experienced breeder or that of a rabbit savvy Veterinarian.
Never do any thing without the proper experience and or training.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[SatinsRule]

I don't know what ever gave anyone the idea that I was into
veterinarian techniques. C.V.R. stands for Crescent Valley Rabbitry,
though I have had others mistake it for Vet Tech in the past.

That's exactly where it came from. My bad. :lol:

 

[ottersatin]

From Rabbit Production [Eighth Edition] page 435.
Castration of the Buck is quite simple but should be done when they are weanlings.
Hold the testicles in the scrotum by placing a finger above each one,
and make a small incision with a scalpel or razor blade on each side of the scrotum.
The testicles will pop out of the incisions. Pull each testicle out so the cord can
be seen. Sever the cord just above the testicle by scraping with the scalpel:
Don't slice the cord or it may hemorrhage. The wound can be rinsed with
hydrogen peroxide. Disinfecting your hands and your surgical equipment will
help prevent infection.
Another method is Chemical castration. Inject 0.2 milliliters of
a 10 percent calcium chloride solution into the bottom of each testicle.
The calcium chloride is a desiccant that will dry up the testicle in a few days.
I hope this helps, I have never done it but this is the best information
I can give you.
Ottersatin ldtimer:

 

[MaggieJ]

This topic has come up before, both here and on HT, I believe. I'm no expert, but my understanding from these previous discussions is that due to the structure of the buck's genitals, castration is NOT the simply operation it is with pigs or calves. Neither banding or cutting is simple on a rabbit and they put the rabbit at considerable risk. Rabbits can be surgically neutered by a vet, but even this is not without risk as rabbits often do not do well under a general anesthesia.

Ottersatin's information from Rabbit Production is certain to be accurate. That book is respected by just about every rabbit breeder I know. I do not think, however, that there is enough detail given to warrant trying it without seeing it done by an expert. At the very least, I suggest that one practice on a rabbit already killed for meat.

 

[ladysown]

there is a fellow up my way who does it for folks. Not licensed. not a vet. for $30 the deed is done. Does it on the hush hush.

 

[mommaebear]

there is a fellow up my way who does it for folks. Not licensed. not a vet. for $30 the deed is done. Does it on the hush hush.

$30 is too much for a rabbit that will only bring me 14-16$ plus the feed to get him there

 

[ladysown]

consider that it costs folks $100+ to get a rabbit neutered.

you offer neutering as a service for your pet folks .... you will rack in the dollars AND prevent tons of unwanted bunnies from being born 'accidentally'. you will also do a HUGE service to those who have two or three bucks that are retired from service and are sweethearts deserving good pet homes. Or who simply want to run a small herd of neutered bucks together.

To neuter bucks... it's worth it sometimes. it really is.

 

[akane]

When neutering a rabbit there is an internal layer that should be sown up. Unlike other animals the ring of muscle does not close on rabbits and guinea pigs after the testicles drop. They are able to pull them back up in to the body. If you don't close this ring other internal organs can fall through after you remove the testicles. That makes banding or simple cutting procedures risky and while it may work sometimes without problems personally I would not buy a rabbit neutered that way if I were looking for a neutered pet. Especially if someone is charging more for an animal that may have major health complications and require surgery or being put down later because of a cheap neutering job. Unfortunately that and the lack of experience most vets have neutering small animals makes the cost prohibitive for neutering every rabbit you want to sell as a pet. It's $70 to have them done properly here and the best I can get for them after neutering is $50. I would quite happily spay and neuter every rabbit I sell as a pet if I could get at least what I spend to do it out of them. There are lots of benefits to having an altered pet rabbit and I do suggest everyone who buys a pet from me consider it. Particularly for rabbits they want as house pets.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I'll try to remember to ask a couple friends who used to neuter their pet sale rabbits, mice, and rats about closing that inner opening-- I seem to remember one used a single stitch with cotton thread--
Also-- also, anyone neutering, cropping, or docking any animal, other than their own, for a 'fee' is unlawfully practicing veterinary medicine. (It is legal to 'vet' your own animals-- to a point---) Unfortunately, it is breeders that actually do a more aesthetic job on the cosmetic cuts, and also realize the pricing constraints on selling small, vet neutered animals.

 

[SatinsRule]

there is a fellow up my way who does it for folks. Not licensed. not a vet. for $30 the deed is done. Does it on the hush hush.

$30 is too much for a rabbit that will only bring me 14-16$ plus the feed to get him there

Which only tells me that the trouble you're going to is hardly worth the risks involved. JMHO!!!

 

[mommaebear]

You know I swear vets make up as much stuff, just to be safe, as doctors do, then the idea is around and so practised out of fear for so long that it becomes fact.
In response to the opening which allows the testicles to enter and exit the body. If there is a whole there after the testicles are removed, that is the same hole that was there before the testicles were removed, why do we not have a mass occurance of hernias in intact bucks????? Should we all be searching for intestine loops in our bucks scrotums? it's not like the organs aren't firmly attached. And if a rabbit is sustaining enough brunt force to dislodge something putting direct pressure on the 'hernia-prone' area, and chances are there is damage in other areas, and a high level of healing required wether or not a hernia occures.

The reason for writing this is because I don't have many large breed rabbits available in the area, so I've been gathering almost any large healthy adult I can find over 7 lbs, and breeding them hoping to have larger kits to breed once they mature and building up as I aquire larger rabbits like my new 11lb buck to add to the program, and having rabbits in the mean time to work out the setup and tweeks and not let anything go to waste, including the chance to build a group of people happy to buy rabbits.

People here prefer 6lbs+ rabbits(live), and currently my quickest growing bunnies are 5lbs at 6 months, and they are already mature, the males. I have a huge colony type setting and have males that don't sell as bunnies, that need a place to go, I could build a second huge pen for the males, but see no point in all the fighting that would go on in the time it took to grow them up size, and seems like I would be trapping them all in tourture. But if I castrate them than I might as well let them be with the girls, or atleast be able to leave them with their female buddy the bond to when younger and togather.

I wouldn't be castrating anything but the meat rabbits. Seems like a simple thing to save them all alot of stress.

 

[eco2pia]

Everyone has to do what suits them best, but for me separating meat rabbits for the 3-4 weeks that the need to be separated before freezer camp sounds much less stressful. I am not even sure mine have dropped their testicles before they are butchered. I rarely even separate mine at all, since I start butchering the largest at 8-10 weeks, and all are gone by 12 weeks.

I can see wanting to offer castrated pets though, a castrated male rabbit is the only one I would recommend to a new house rabbit owner.

 

[akane]

The testicles block the opening even when on the other side of it. For the most part internal organs all squish together and don't pull the body cavities open even when they shift around unless something goes wrong or you remove something and leave that space empty. A cut in the skin probably also makes it looser so it can't pull tight over things like when the testicles are pulled up in the body. I don't know if banding would leave as much of an empty space there or not. Hernias from improper neutering by a vet is well documented in pet rabbits and guinea pigs. It's a common posting from people who didn't use experienced vets on the rescue based small animal forums who are anti breeding anything and push their members to neuter everything including guinea pig boars.

 

[hoodat]

There was someone on the Rex Rabbit Yahoo list a while back that claimed to have had good success with banding. I want to learn how to sterilize the male rabbits one way or another for pet buyers as I think it would improve their success with them, but many aren't wild about the vet bill. I used to work at a vet as an assistant and cat castrations were so simple the vet let us do it ourselves, but of course there were sedatives at work. You would have to be very good at hypnotizing rabbits, I think, to do any cutting down there.

Please let me know your results!

Perhaps you could experiment first on dead rabbits intended for the stew pot, etc.

I'd have to see banding done on a rabbit to believe it. From my farm experience I would say you can only band animals that have an exterior scrotum like cattle. Those with interior testicles (like rabbits) and exterior testicles without a free scrotum (like pigs) leave you nowhere to place a band.
Castrating a rabbit after the testicles develop enough to locate easily should be relatively simple but I've never done it. I see no reason for it except on pet or house rabbits and most wouldn't begrudge the cost of a vet operaton on those. Meat rabbits are normally harvested before sexual maturity anyway.

 

[mommaebear]

I think it is lovely that other people have breeding stock available that can be butched at 10-12 weeks, but my 10-12week bunnies are about a pound. My only option for meat is to keep them longer for them to grow into full sized adults for now.
My huge pen is at the local farmers market up the road, and the does and female bunnies do awsome and get so much attention, pets and treats, along with people sitting and watching them for hours each weekend. Bunnies are even recognizing return visitors that they like and going up to the fence when they come.
If I were to make a Buck pen it would have to be off in the back because people would be upset by the fighting, not only removing them from the public and their lovely attention loved by the girls, but also isolating them more from myself since the rabbit pen is near all the other animals I give tours to show, and would keep me from being able to observe them and their needs or catch problems quickly.
If I were keeping them a year or more I think I would be more concerned with the possibilities of hernias, but in the laidback doe pen for a few extra months I believe by the time we got to the end of the "wait and see"period if there were a problem it would be time to butcher anyways.
I have been considering butchering my orange buck giving me a chance to experiment on him dead, but when it comes to banding I would be interested in seeing the progress even just to the half way point of 5 days to observe hhow the body adjusts and copes.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

I would suggest reassessing your breeding program if the fryers are only a pound at 10 to 12 weeks. It sounds like you are raising a dwarf breed? Those weights are totally off base for meat rabbit production, even on a casual for home use basis.Why is this your only option? I am sure you could score a couple large meat rabbits from somwhere for cheap or even free on one of those classified sites? Castrating bucks also won't guarentee that they won't fight or grow any faster.

 

[eco2pia]

I really agree with DML...I can't imagine you can't find any larger stock, but if that is really true, you should be able to select for better grow out. My mixed-breed mutts make 5 lbs by 10 weeks, and my new zealands do it by 8.

I would cull almost everybody and start with a few NZ/CA crosses. If you are looking to keep the fun mutt colors, just throw a colored NZ buck in there and cull all the old bucks, that right there should improve your herd 10 fold immediately. Then start butchering only the smallest rabbits first...keep the biggest fastest growers for replacement does. In about a year you should have 5 lbs by 10 weeks, if it takes that long...If you are still having trouble then you aren't feeding enough.