Rabbit Neutering Advice

Anna Cockle BVSc MRCVS Partner shares some advice on neutering your pet rabbits.

Female Rabbits

It is important for your female rabbit’s health to be neutered. Female rabbits are very likely (60-80%) to be affected by cancer of the reproductive tract (uterine adenocarcinoma) in the first 3-4 years of life. Spaying them at an early age will prevent this.

Some female rabbits can become increasingly aggressive if not neutered. Spaying can make female rabbits much more friendly and sociable.

Male Rabbits

Male rabbits can fight if unneutered, fighting in rabbits can lead to nasty wounds often inflicted around the rear-end. Socialisation is much easier when rabbits are neutered, with neutered male and neutered female pairings being ideal, but neutered male rabbits also making good friends!

Neutering also prevents cancer of the testes. All rabbits can be neutered at any age over 4-5 months. Male rabbits need to be checked to ensure their testes are in the correct position. Very young rabbits can be tricky to decipher their sex, this is why many pet shops get it wrong. A rabbit pregnancy is only 31 days long and they can start breeding from 5 months of age.