To spay or not to spay

[momofonly]

I had always heard that female rabbits should be spayed if not bred, due to an astronomical rate of uterine cancer in unspayed does who were never bred.

My vet told me that the study it was based on used only a few rabbits, and that the risk of cancer in these rabbits is greatly overstated. He sees lots of rabbits and said over the years he's only seen two cases of uterine cancer in rabbits.

He also told me that there is a small window of time in which to get the does spayed, at around 5 or 6 months. He said if you wait too long, fatty deposits can build up around the uterus which complicates the operation.

I trust my vet so I believe what he says. I'm probably not going to get her spayed at this point. I would like to show her also, and I know that many shows don't accept spayed rabbits.

I'm wondering if anyone else has practical experience, with unspayed, never bred, does.

 

[Bunnylady]

I have to admit that I don't really know what the actual numbers are when it comes to uterine cancer in rabbits. Anyone weighing in on this subject most likely would have some ax to grind (like the House Rabbit Society), so the results they report might be skewed to reflect their particular bias.

Over the years (and we're talking more than 20 years, and hundreds of rabbits) I have seen the predicted loss of fertility in does that is said to be the result of cancer, starting at about age 3. I have had a few does that were still fertile at age 6, but they have been rare; most of my does haven't lived past age 5. I have had a few that never had litters for one reason or another, and I can't say that their personalities or health was any different from those that were mothers many times over.

As you know, ARBA sanctioned shows are only open to intact animals. While it wouldn't be obvious that a doe had been spayed (once she healed up and her fur grew back), I doubt that one that had would do very well on the show table. Surgery is a huge stress, and would most likely result in a loss of condition. For some reason, rabbits that once lose condition very rarely get it all back, so spaying would put her at a disadvantage when compared to an unspayed animal, even if it were permitted.

 

[momofonly]

I have to admit that I don't really know what the actual numbers are when it comes to uterine cancer in rabbits. Anyone weighing in on this subject most likely would have some ax to grind (like the House Rabbit Society), so the results they report might be skewed to reflect their particular bias.

Over the years (and we're talking more than 20 years, and hundreds of rabbits) I have seen the predicted loss of fertility in does that is said to be the result of cancer, starting at about age 3. I have had a few does that were still fertile at age 6, but they have been rare; most of my does haven't lived past age 5. I have had a few that never had litters for one reason or another, and I can't say that their personalities or health was any different from those that were mothers many times over.

As you know, ARBA sanctioned shows are only open to intact animals. While it wouldn't be obvious that a doe had been spayed (once she healed up and her fur grew back), I doubt that one that had would do very well on the show table. Surgery is a huge stress, and would most likely result in a loss of condition. For some reason, rabbits that once lose condition very rarely get it all back, so spaying would put her at a disadvantage when compared to an unspayed animal, even if it were permitted.

Interesting, thanks for the info. Since the House Rabbit Society says all rabbits should be kept inside, and I'm keeping mine outside or in a 3 season porch, I'm sure they'd have an axe to grind with me as well. That being said, I couldn't take anything they advise to heart since I obviously have a different viewpoint from theirs. (Incidentally, I did have inside rabbits at one time for 10+ years, but that's another story.)

 

[TheSheepGirl]

Your doe should be fine if not spayed. My holland doe was never spayed and is just fine. She has also never beed bred.

As for cancer causing lower fertility, perhaps, but this is probably due to age more than cancer. Rabbits only live about 6 years on average and most aren't fertile the entire time. I've found that my does lose fertility at about three years of age. One of my does is 5 and still produces large litters.

 

[Bunnylady]

My bucks live (on average) a good bit longer than my does do. It is rather unusual for me to lose a buck before age 6, many have lived to be 8 or 10 years old before they passed on. I've had a couple that were 12 when they died. Somehow, I suspect that there may be more than just age at play here. :/

 

[nogoatsyet]

I've only had one female rabbit. My vet advised against spaying and she died from cancer at age not quite four

 

[ChickenPotPie]

Momofonly, it sounds like you have a very good vet. Count your blessings and listen to him.

He is correct in his statement about the numbers in that ONE study. HRS has used that one study as their springboard. They also do not inform people of the Japanese study that reports what you mentioned about breeding does not having an increase in reproductive cancer (ie. a spayed doe and a doe bred on a regular schedule have about the same % chance of getting reproductive cancers.

Because I'm anal, I'll point out that reproductive cancer (broad term including more than just uterine cancer) is what was studied in the study that HRS promotes and not uterine cancer (limited to just cancer of the uterus). Just a note.

In any case, 4 - 5 years is what ANY rabbit, spayed or not, might live and, to me, if you give them a good life you can be happy with those years.

I recently received word that my retired, rehomed Wonder's Dahlu (my avatar rabbit) passed away 3 months ago. She was a retired, Grand Champion show rabbit. Though I require spay/neuter for most rabbits I pet out (I'll tell you why later) Dahlu was not spayed. She lived a wonderful, happy existence with people who cherished her throughout her lifetime. She was adored, loved people, and was very happy. She lived 4 1/2 years. I have no regrets for her.

The only reasons I require spay/neuter for the few rabbits I pet out is because
a) it keeps people from breeding rabbits they have no business breeding
b) pet folk often want to keep rabbits in such a way that they have unsupervised access to each other. Intact rabbits (including siblings and mother/daughter pairs), more often than not, fight and kill or inure each other once the hormones set in. Spay/neuter at a young age reduces that risk.
c) though I have a first-right-of-refusal written into my contract I really have no guarantee that the person I sell to will keep the rabbit but pass it on to someone else who might try to breed it (purposely or by sheer ignorance)

If you have any thoughts of showing your doe, wait on your decision. Entering her in a local show where you can get both judges' and exhibitors' opinions on her quality might help you with your decision. She'll be was past minimum show weight before 5 - 6 months of age so you have some time to get her to a show or two, in the meantime, at least.

 

[momofonly]

Thanks for the info, ChickenPotPie.

I notice a lot of people saying rabbits only live about 5 years. I owned three rabbits before this one, all spayed or neutered. The first was a male that I had neutered later in his life. He lived to be about 10 years old. Then I had a spayed female and a neutered male in separate cages. The female only lived to be three, after getting sick from some illness (don't remember the details) that made her succeptible to fur mites. It looked like she had mange. The male lived to be close to ten years old.

I notice Bunnylady wrote that her bucks live significantly longer than her does. So maybe I can only expect this one to live half as long as my previous males did. That's too bad. She's a great bunny and I'd like her to be around longer than that.

 

[RabbitMage]

I generally tell people that 'average' for a rabbit is five to ten years. Some will live shorter lives, some will live longer.

I have a retired buck named Bobby who was born in January 2004. He's showing his age a little, but he's still healthy, bright-eyed, and occasionally wooing the ladies.

 

[ChickenPotPie]

I generally tell people that 'average' for a rabbit is five to ten years. Some will live shorter lives, some will live longer.

Oh, I tell people the same thing. I was just using the "worst case scenario" here to make a point - even if a rabbit lived a shorter lifespan, if it was a great life, you can feel good about it. With rabbits, you can help them live long with good management practices but sometimes things come out of the blue and you loose them suddenly. It happens. You can't always expect nothing else will happen to them if they are "safe" from reproductive cancer because they were spayed. You just can't.

We've only owned rabbits for 5 1/2 years now. Our oldest is about 5 now but that is because ours is a show home and most rabbits come and go. We've since sold our original stock. He is our current eldest of our line. WE hope he will be with us for many years to come.

I have friends and acquaintances who've owned rabbits longer and they have or have had rabbits 9, 13, 15 years old, etc. The 9 year old that I'm thinking of was a doe. I'm pretty sure she was not spayed because her owner thought she was a buck for 8 of those years. . The other two are bucks.