"Fixing" Rabbits

[RabbitDad]

I got a quote... and advice from my trusted vet on spaying / neutering my rabbits.
The total looks like my zip code!
Over $300.00 each for the bucks and $75.00 for the does! I don't understand the drastic difference.
There are pros & cons that I wasn't previously aware of.
1. It's a VERY risky surgery as rabbits don't tolerate stress very well.
2. With both male & female their life expectancy averages double if "fixed"!
Does are designed to be pregnant or nursing. If that's interrupted for an extended period, they WILL develop cancer.
Something similar occurs with bucks but I was flooded with too much info to pay much attention to the mechanics of it.
I'm still in awe over the cost.
The vet suggested that I only do the does if my primary concern is to prevent further breeding. & to save my bank account.
While that reduces the risks of surgery, it doesn't help the lifespan of the bucks.
While cost is a concern, it's not a deciding factor.
(Yeah, I'm the guy that spent thousands on a cat that wasn't even mine! And worse, I'm not that fond of cats in the first place. If it's any consolation, we did save the stupid cat's life.)
I've decided to not decide & leave it all up to the vet.
I hope the checking account gods forgive me.

 

[Preitler]

Interesting. Normally does are more expensive since that's a rather big surgery, and I consider my vet cheap at 150€ for a doe. Never heard of neutering bucks being more expensive, those numbers look very strange.

No, it does not double their life expectancy, for bucks it does pretty much nothing in that regard. It does make them way better indoor pets (my free range house bunnies are my intact buck and his spayed cuddlebun) and companions for does. Intact, they try to hump and spray during certain times of the year. Not really an issue if the buck is alone, they can be perfect house bunnies (my first buck was alone in my house for 2 years) but with a second rabbit around there are issues.

Does, well, not exactly. Although cancer is a real risk the numbers parroted all over the net are blown out of proportion, I would guess it's more around 20% in their lifetime, (not 80% at 3 years, that's scaremongering by activists), still a lot and a very good reason to spay a pet. There seems to be no correlation if a doe is bred regularily, or not.
There are other good reasons to spay, false pregnancies can be very stressful for some does, they dig less, and litter training can be easier.

Risk of the spaying depends a lot on the vet, but imho usually is in the ballpark of 1-2%.

 

[RabbitDad]

Interesting. Normally does are more expensive since that's a rather big surgery, and I consider my vet cheap at 150€ for a doe. Never heard of neutering bucks being more expensive, those numbers look very strange.

No, it does not double their life expectancy, for bucks it does pretty much nothing in that regard. It does make them way better indoor pets (my free range house bunnies are my intact buck and his spayed cuddlebun) and companions for does. Intact, they try to hump and spray during certain times of the year. Not really an issue if the buck is alone, they can be perfect house bunnies (my first buck was alone in my house for 2 years) but with a second rabbit around there are issues.

Does, well, not exactly. Although cancer is a real risk the numbers parroted all over the net are blown out of proportion, I would guess it's more around 20% in their lifetime, (not 80% at 3 years, that's scaremongering by activists), still a lot and a very good reason to spay a pet. There seems to be no correlation if a doe is bred regularily, or not.
There are other good reasons to spay, false pregnancies can be very stressful for some does, they dig less, and litter training can be easier.

Risk of the spaying depends a lot on the vet, but imho usually is in the ballpark of 1-2%.

That's what I would expect too but... my vet has never been wrong. (As far as I know LOL)
That's why she makes the big $.
It sure would be nice if I could just have a talk with them and pass out tiny condoms.

 

[ladysown]

I would double check those numbers for neuter vs spay, that seems very odd as bucks are much easier to do.

With surgery there is always a risk of death, with bunnies it's a tad higher due to their low tolerance for sleepy meds.

The HRS pulls some really high numbers for cancer in rabbits. Breeding doesn't seem to make a difference. I've only known of one rabbit coming out of my herd that developed ovarian cancer. But consider this... the longer any mammal lives the higher the risk of cancer...

if you are planning on colony raising them all, neuter/spay the works. the bucks will get along better if they don't have hormones to mess them up.

 

[RabbitDad]

I would double check those numbers for neuter vs spay, that seems very odd as bucks are much easier to do.

With surgery there is always a risk of death, with bunnies it's a tad higher due to their low tolerance for sleepy meds.

The HRS pulls some really high numbers for cancer in rabbits. Breeding doesn't seem to make a difference. I've only known of one rabbit coming out of my herd that developed ovarian cancer. But consider this... the longer any mammal lives the higher the risk of cancer...

if you are planning on colony raising them all, neuter/spay the works. the bucks will get along better if they don't have hormones to mess them up.

Sounds like you've been talking to my wife. She said exactly the same things.
Maybe... I misunderstood what the vet was saying... but I kinda doubt it. In any case I've got some time as she also said they aren't old enough yet.
I'll also inquire why it's referred to as "fixing" them when in reality, it's "breaking" them.

 

[Preitler]

I think it's fixing for being useable as pet. Solving problems and inconviniences permanently. You would fix a car that has characteristics that make life difficult or unpleasant, like losing air on two wheels within a week, battery down after 5 days without driving, not able to turn the heating off other than closing all the vents (yup, that's my car). Of course, the car can perfectly do what it's supposed to do, get me from A to B, but fixing it would make my life easier.

 

[MsTemeraire]

I guess I'm lucky, there a vet about 20 miles away that charges £50 for a buck and £75 for a doe*. I had three bucks neutered at 14 weeks old a few months ago (as soon as the nuts dropped) and they were absolutely fine and bounced back within hours. I think this practice is very experienced with neutering and gets a lot of custom. The benefit of having them done so young is they never get the major hormone surge of puberty and I know that in this breed, bucks done young will stay together for life without fighting.

*That's roughly $60 and $90 USD.