Spaying and neutering rabbits

Reasons to Spay and Neuter
Surgery can be as safe on rabbits as any animal, given that you find an experienced veterinarian to perform the procedure. Do not allow any vets that are not experienced with safe rabbit surgery techniques to work on your rabbit. Make sure that they use a rabbit-safe anesthetic such as isofluorene.

Overall Benefits

 * Healthier and live longer than unaltered rabbits.
 * Calmer, more loving, and dependable once urge to mate is removed.
 * Less prone to destructiveness (chewing, digging) and aggressiveness (biting, lunging, circling, growling) behavior after surgery.
 * Easier and more reliable to litter train.
 * Will not contribute to the overpopulation of pet rabbits.
 * Can safely have a friend to bond with. Hormones will encourage sexual and aggressive behaviors toward other rabbits.

Female Spaying

 * Eliminates all risk of developing reproductive cancers (ovarian, uterine, mammarian).

Male Neutering

 * Reduces sexual aggression.
 * Stops spraying behavior.

Age
Females can be spayed as soon as they become sexually mature, usually around 4 months old. However, some veterinarians may want to wait until the rabbit is older at ~6 months.

Males can be neutered as soon as their testicles descend, usually around 3.5 months of age.

Older rabbits (6+ yrs) may need to have blood work done beforehand to make sure they do not react negatively to anesthesia. Small rabbits may need to grow bigger before they may be dosed with an anesthetic for surgery.

Costs
Costs of a spay or neuter will depend based on your location and availability of the service. On the low end, the procedure can begin at ~$50 at low cost spay/neuter clinics. At certain veterinarians, the cost can be $300+.

You can find more about the cheaper options at Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinics.

Additional Resources

 * howmuchisit.org, How Much Does Rabbit Spaying Cost?
 * howmuchisit.org, How Much Does Rabbit Neutering Cost?

Techniques
The following links are some detailed descriptions of the procedures used to spay and neuter rabbits.
 * Angela Lennox, DVM, DABVP, Comparing elective neutering techniques (Proceedings)

Warning: The following have graphic pictures of the procedures.
 * Long Beach Animal Hospital, Neuter- Rabbit
 * Long Beach Animal Hospital, Spay- Rabbit