Bedding for spayed buns

I have been reading through the various threads regarding spayed bunnies. Mine is being done next tuesday and the vet said she should be put on either shredded newspaper or vetbed. Leonora is usually on shavings and hay so I will have to remove all that bedding. She is usually in a rabbit run in a brick building with a hole out to a very large fenced grassy area. Obviously I will close the hole off so she is restricted to the run. This has a plastic crate in it where she can snuggle in. The question is whether to put her into a rabbit hutch rather than her run so she is restricted although the hutch is quite large too. Also will she be ok in the brick barn providing the temperatures don't plumet. The run is next door to another one with four guinea pigs in so she does have company. (they often mix and match anyway) Any advice would be appreciated as this spaying is new to me!

Hi there,

It is a good idea to remove the wood shavings in her bed area as they are not great for buns.

Perhaps give her a fleecy blanket to snuggle onto? She will still need her hay as thats what she should be eating most of the time.

She will be feeling groggy bless her but will prob want her home to remain as normal as possible, but should be brought inside for a night or two to help keep her warm.

Is her crate something she can snuggle under??

I think the vets normally advise to keep them indoors for the first night afterwards because she will be very fragile and won't be able to control her temperature as well. If you can bring her in somewhere warmer that would be good . Defo no to wood shavings as they could get into the wound and infect it, I just used newspaper and a blanket when I had my girl done.
Also keeping her indoors for the first night will enable you to keep an eye on whether she is eating/drinking/toileting properly and if there are any problems you will see straight away.
I doubt she'll feel like much exercise for a few days after either, girls take a bit longer to recover than boys because it's a more serious operation.
Good luck, I hope it all goes well
Oh and yes keep the hay for nomnoms!

I laid towels down as bedding for mine after they got neutered, for the next 2-3 days. Keep the hay though, if a piece does get stuck to her wound you'll be able to see it when you clean the wound anyway.
Mine were in their normal cage though and they were fine, but they are males, I'm guessing females need more restrictions since it's an actual internal surgery.

Hiya, she should stay indoors for a day or two, it's a pretty heavy operation and she won't feel up to much afterwards, and she should stay warm. Vet bed is best, but soft towels will work ok. Hope it all goes well for her.

Thanks for the advice much appreciated

I have a small cage that I could bring in but will have to disinfect it as its housed my broody bantam! Also it is rather small for my bun as she is not all that little. I will have a practice with her and see if there is enough room. How do you clean the wound without stressing them out, although she is very sweet when i have caught her, she does lunge at me to start with. I dont want her to pull the wound apart. Perhaps if she is in a cage she has not been in before, she will not be so territorial.

I have kept rabbits for years but never had to a) deal with a slightly grumpy and b). had one spayed!!!



I have to say i am dreading it, it does sound like quite a major op, worse than having a dog spayed

I didn't have to clean Luna's wound :/, but then it never got dirty so I suppose it wasn't a problem and I never needed to so I'm not sure how you would do that. Probs best to ask what your vet advices..Luna was very stroppy and would lunge, but I only picked her up after her spay to check the wound hadn't come open or was infected, that was about twice a day. For the first couple of days I doubt she will have the energy to lunge at you

you shouldnt have to clean the wound, but just keep an eye on it. Id keep handling to a minimum.

The most important thing is to get her eating and pooping.

Take some of her fave foods to the vet with you so that she can be tempted when she comes round.
Also just a note: She will need to be eating right up until the operation - buns should not be starved.

If you are worried about bringing her in - perhaps a really warm bet she can get into (that is closed over the top) and a snugglesafe heat pad underneath some nice soft towels / fleece.

Thanks again, will take your advice. Lilygrace did your rabbit stop lunging at you when her hormones died down? I know it will take a few weeks, but I would be delighted if I didnt have to wear gauntlets to pick her up!! Today she was good and I managed to fill her bowl with just a few grunts.

Hiya, I had my 3 girls spayed, they are outdoor buns and for 2 nights I kept them in a small pen on newspaper and a fluffy towel to bed down on in the house. I kept the hay seperate in their litter tray. Once I knew they were eating and pooing ok I put them back in their outdoor accomodation. I avoided picking them up for a few days as I have had 3 c-sections and know how sore and uncomfy moving around can be after a major abdominal surgery!
I didn't need to clean their wound, but I did check it daily by having a sneaky peak whilst they were stretching upwards to get a treat in the pen!!

I took the girls back after 3 days for their checkup and all was fine.

Sending healing vibes for your bun!

Fraggle wrote:Thanks again, will take your advice. Lilygrace did your rabbit stop lunging at you when her hormones died down? I know it will take a few weeks, but I would be delighted if I didnt have to wear gauntlets to pick her up!! Today she was good and I managed to fill her bowl with just a few grunts.

With Luna it took a few months, she also had a few days where she would be fine, then she would get grumpy again She doesn't particularly like being picked up now, but has no problem with me putting my hand in her cage or going near her and loves strokes and kisses etc. I found she calmed down even more when I got Thistle castrated and made them husbun and wife But your little lady could be different, I'm sure it depends on the rabbit too....but just to warn you it could be a little bit more than a few weeks! Totally worth it though
She used to grunt at me ALL the time, stamping, lunging but we get none of that now

Well that is definitely something to look forward to then! Hopefully I will learn rabbit language and understand which grunt means, "I'm coming to get you" and which mean, good morning!!

you should try grunting back, that really confuses them

I read an interesting article in the most recent edition of Rabbiting on. It said that some of the grunting and lunging has to do with a buns line of vision. They have a blind spot directly in front of them and when approached from this angle they can't see so often grunt and lunge. So it might be worth approaching her from side on too....see if this makes a difference.

Of course having a bun spayed is always the best way to go, as they are prone to some nasty diseases when not spayed.

Have you thought of getting her a friend after she is spayed?


K x

^^ tis true, they attack, cos they can't see there, always best to approach them from the side

Luna would attack from any which way sometimes even if I walked past her haha! But yeah I agree, it did help if I put the food as far away from her as I could

I often wonder, when we speak to them in our own language what it may be translated as in Bun LOL!!!

LOL! We probably don't make much sense!!

I often think think Vince is saying to me ' hey, you great big clumsy lummux, what on earth are you doing picking up my poo and bashing your head on the roof of my hutch? Ere, I'm gonna nibble your shoes and head butt you on the bum for that, oi, that's my bed you just re arranged, clear off you cumbersome noisy oik!'

I am sure Mr Snuffles says something very similar to me, but not in language I could repeat on here LOL!!!

Jo xx

I am away for the weekend, but apparently my bun has dug a burrow and didnt want to come out. Perhaps she has got wind of what is going to happen on Tuesday

Oh bless her.

good luck for thurs. Will be thinking of you both. Let us know how she is doing and if you have any questions at all please ask.

Katie

Did I say Thursday, I meant Tuesday, which is tomorrow. She has at least come back into her home in the barn, so she is shut in now for the night. I am not looking forward to this at all. Have a small cage ready to bring in tomorrow night.

One more question, should I put her in one of the bedrooms which are not too hot as our living room, kitchen and garden room are all heated by the log burner and I dont want her to get used to too much heat.

Good plan xxx don't forget her fave foods for the vet message if you need to x good luck. Will be thinking of you both x x

When I have had mine spayed I used shreaded paper.I caged B overnight & in the morning opened her door for breakfast.She didn't jump around much as she didn't feel like it but I didn't leave her caged as thought it may cause more damage,her trying to get out.I have had 3 does spayed over the years & no problems as yet-touchwood! I didn't put her straw/hay back as bedding for 10days.

Fraggle wrote:Did I say Thursday, I meant Tuesday, which is tomorrow. She has at least come back into her home in the barn, so she is shut in now for the night. I am not looking forward to this at all. Have a small cage ready to bring in tomorrow night.

One more question, should I put her in one of the bedrooms which are not too hot as our living room, kitchen and garden room are all heated by the log burner and I dont want her to get used to too much heat.

I would keep her lovely and warm whilst shes recovering but maybe move her somewhere cooler before she goes outside again.