hormones

[Imbrium]

apparently my bunns are late bloomers, as they're 17 and 18 weeks with no signs whatsoever of fighting (*knocks on wood*) - they're as snuggly together as they've always been.

can they be spayed before they reach sexual maturity? when they were 3 mos, I asked the vet if he thought they'd be big enough at 4 mos for spaying or if I should wait until 5 mos (he originally said 4-5) and he said he'd rather wait until 5 mos because they were still pretty small... so I've got an appointment for october 16th.

I know a hormonal bunny remains hormonal for a few weeks after spaying... if they get spayed before the hormones kick in, they won't still kick in for a bit during those few weeks following the spays, will they? I just wanna make sure that, assuming I don't have to separate them some time in the next couple weeks, it'll be safe to put them right back together after their spays.

on a side note, I know vets might say no to spaying an underweight bunny... what about overweight? gazzles is a little tubby and I'm trying to get her slimmed down, but I don't wanna cut back *too* much on the pellets since Nala's slim and both bunns are still growing.

 

[JBun]

If they're getting along now and you get them spayed in a couple weeks, they will probably still get along. Not all unspayed females dislike each other and fight. I had two sister's that got along just fine. Just keep an eye out for any changes... I just had two of my girls spayed and one is a bit overweight and it seemed to be fine. It actually looks like they sucked the fat out of her stomach area where the incision is cause now it looks all wrinkley like a raisin

 

[Imbrium]

thanks! I've been watching them pretty closely for fighting for about three weeks now... still sort of expecting it to happen at any time, so I'll be keeping a close eye on them until their spay date!

 

[ldoerr]

I am glad that they are still getting along. My guess is if Gaz is not TOO over weight it should be fine. How much overweight is she?

 

[Imbrium]

a little round in the tummy area, but not too bad as long as I stay on top of it... it's been a minor issue for as long as I've had her.

 

[agnesthelion]

Agnes was spayed at almost 5 months per vet recommendation too. However, her teenage hormones came out at 4 months for sure, maybe even sooner!
I would say that if they are getting along you won't have a problem. I have been reading SO much literature over the past few weeks about bonding (hehe, because of my situation) and I have been surprised how many sisters or female bond stories I have read about....even non spayed females! So if you haven't seen much aggressiveness yet, I think you'll be okay.
Good luck with the spays and keep us updated!

 

[ldoerr]

I have a breeder friend who set up a pen in her barn for some rabbits. She put all of the overweight brood does in there so that they could run around and loose weight. She just put 10 unspayed adult female rabbits in there and left them to it. When I went over and saw them not long after the pen was set up all of the rabbits were just hanging out, relaxing, not bothered by eachother. It is posible to bond unspayed females.