Rabbit castration procedure
The neutering of rabbits is an important, but optional operation, after which there is a change in the character of animals for the better, the absence of nervousness and aggressiveness towards other individuals (often pets bite each other, damage the wool, thereby devaluing it). Castration, moreover, helps to improve appetite and increase body weight by 20-30%, as a result of which the meat becomes more refined and tender.
Neutering rabbits
Sometimes castration is a necessary way for a rabbit to protect against a hernia of the scrotum, varicose veins, dropsy, orchitis. How is the operation carried out at home, is it necessary to castrate farm rabbits? And is it really good for the crawl?
On the intricacies of castrating rabbits
Neutering rabbits can be carried out only after the animals reach the age of 3-4 months. It is at this time that the ovaries descend into the scrotum. Sometimes rabbit breeders resort to early castration at the age of 5-6 weeks. When carrying out the operation, rabbits whose age has already exceeded 6 years old should be aware of the high probability of death.
Rabbit castration is mainly performed in order to correct the behavior of males and to prevent injury to other rabbits during fights. It is thanks to such an operation that you can make your pet balanced and calm. In addition, the improvement in the taste of meat is also pleasing.
In a rabbit, after an emergency castration, not only does the behavior change, but the appearance also improves. So, the skin acquires greater softness, density and silkiness, which is most important for a decorative male or an animal that has suffered a skin injury.
Advantages and disadvantages of the procedure
Before neutering rabbits, it is necessary to carefully analyze not only the merits, but also the possible negative consequences of the operation. The main advantages of castration include the following:
- Noticeable improvement in quality of life: transformation of coat, appearance, behavior, body weight.
- Improving the taste of meat and acquiring a more delicate and juicy taste.
- Stop fighting between animals: rabbits no longer fight against each other for females and a free area.
- Termination of constant contamination of the territory with feces and secretions.
- Absence of strong odors in the rabbitry.
- Solving the issue of increased fertility of pets: after the procedure, males can no longer produce new offspring, therefore they can be kept together with rabbits without fear of unexpected consequences.
- Stopping the search for a mating partner, which makes him calmer in relation to the rest of the male and less active in terms of behavior.
However, neutering a rabbit at home has not only advantages: it is necessary to rely not only on factors that are useful and beneficial for the breeder.The negative features of castration include certain nuances.
- More than one case of death was recorded during the procedure, which especially concerns animals over 4 years of age. It is quite difficult for pets to endure anesthesia and surgical interventions.
- The high cost of drugs and postoperative care.
- The possible occurrence of complications, which can manifest itself both as suppuration and as more serious infections after surgical procedures.
- The possibility of accidental ruptures in restless animals (threatens with closed hemorrhage). Sometimes pets gnaw the stitches on their own, causing bleeding and possible infectious infections.
- There is no 100% chance that the aggressiveness of the rabbit will disappear forever. Sometimes the animal instinct is so strong that it is impossible to avoid constant clashes and trauma even after castration.
Having answered the question of why castration is needed, it is necessary to consider the main methods of its implementation. In addition, each farmer decides for himself whether to castrate his pets or not.
Castration methods
Before neutering an animal, it is prepared for the procedure using special preventive measures. Often, pets are given acidophilus to drink a few days before removal. Acidophilus helps prevent dysbiosis, which appears immediately after the intervention of the surgeon. 10-12 hours before the start of the operation, the animal must be transferred to fasting, leaving only clean water for consumption. Lack of food in the body will prevent intestinal prolapse. Before the operation, it is important to thoroughly examine the pet in order to make sure that its health is correct.
Methods of castration of rabbits with their own hands are presented only in two varieties: castration of rabbits in a closed and open way. The second method is preferable for young individuals, while the first is considered safer. What are the features of each of the methods?
- Adult pets are always operated with a closed method. The procedure is carried out in the form of ligation of the scrotum with a thread or ligature. The animal is held by lifting its head up so that the testes can descend. The final stage is the ligation of the scrotum at the base. If the technique was correct, then within a week the testes will dry out and fall off without outside help, which will be facilitated by a thread that prevents blood circulation. The main disadvantage of closed castration is the possibility of inflammation of the weak scrotum.
- Only a specialist can correctly carry out the operation in an open way, because in this case there is a risk of serious complications and infections, such as a hernia or inflammation of the peritoneum. For the procedure, general anesthesia is used, after which the groin area is carefully shaved and treated with alcohol and iodine. Next, the scrotum is dissected and the spermatic cord is cut, which is fixed by treating the wound with streptocide. The cost of open castration is often higher due to the need for anesthesia and being in a separate room with sterile and special instruments.
You can find out how much it costs to remove the reproductive organs of a rabbit at any veterinary clinic. It should be noted that the price of such a procedure is rarely high. The cost of castration done in a public institution is lower than the services of private doctors.
Taking care of the animal after surgery
Whichever methods are chosen for the procedure, the rabbit is able to recover and return to normal activities within a few days. To prevent complications and infections, you should:
- to carry out general cleaning and disinfection in the crawl cage;
- provide the feeder with fresh hay, and the drinker with clean water;
- regularly examine the pet and treat the wounds with peroxide;
- monitor the rabbit's nutrition;
- leave a heating pad in the cage for several days;
- limit communication between the male and the females for a period of up to 2 months.
You can watch how the castrated rabbit behaves on the corresponding videos.
How to castrate a rabbit yourself
Often, rabbit breeders wonder how to castrate a rabbit yourself. They are pushed to such a thought either by the inappropriate price of the clinical procedure, or by distrust of medicine. The neutering of a decorative rabbit should only take place in the clinic.
In order to carry out the operation with your own hands, you need to properly prepare. It is important to thoroughly wash your hands, cut your nails and lubricate your fingers with iodine. To carry out castration, you will need sharp scissors, a scalpel and the presence of any suture (silk or nylon) material. Each instrument should be boiled for half an hour. Next, the table is treated with a disinfectant and anesthesia is administered to the rabbit (to calculate its volume, the body weight of the animal is taken into account). As soon as it fell asleep, you need to put it on its side and fix the legs with a rope.
The procedure itself takes place in several stages:
- shaving the groin and treating the scrotum with iodine;
- retraction of the testis and its incision;
- extraction of the testis and tug of the cord with a thread;
- removal of the testis with a scalpel; you need to cut it over the constriction (so as not to damage the peritoneum, you do not need to pull the cord to the side);
- similar removal of the second testis;
- treatment of wounds with streptocide or any other antiseptics.
After the crawl, you can untie it and wait for it to awaken. As the animal recovers, it is required to provide it with the necessary restorative complex of procedures.
Summing up
There is nothing difficult in carrying out an operation to castrate rabbits at home, and every rabbit breeder can perform it. In order for it to be successful, you need to familiarize yourself with the features of the anatomical structure of the scrotum and the intricacies of the procedure. The castration of an adult crawl to this day causes a lot of controversy, because there is still no consensus about its need. Ultimately, deciding whether to castrate a pet rabbit is only after analyzing all the pros and cons.