new pet rabbits mating

[andy]

hi,, me and the family went out for a day to a tourist attraction farm ,,had a brill day,,so much that we bought 2 rabbits,,1 female lionhead,,and 1 flop eared male,,and hes already humping her,,there both locked up together and she could already be 1 day pregnant,, we said we would like 1litter to keep a couple of more rabbits,,we are totally new to caring for rabbits,,so any help and advice would be great,,thanks andy

 

[silkiechicken]

I know nothing about rabbits other than now you have to seperate the male and female as the male will kill all the babies if they are kept together.

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

A good website with basic rabbit care & information all in one place is "LaRue Lops and Cavies"

Their gestation period is 30-32 days, so you have 1 month to build/buy a separate cage for the male, and a nesting box for the mom-to-be.

The essentials for feeding them are pellets (better from a farm supply shop than a pet store), hay, and water.

They like cool weather, but don't do so well in the hot summer months.

Good luck, and have fun with your new pets!

 

[andy]

Quote:
me to,, i know about that tho,,i dont think you have to seperate them till about 2-3 days till there due,,or not,, i might be wrong,,cheers

 

[andy]

Quote:
thanks i'll look that web site up,,, keep the dvice coming folks im hungry for knowledge,,,....

 

[eichenluft]

also if you don't separate the male and female, or neuter the male, you will very quickly have LOTS AND LOTS of rabbits! They are very good at reproducing!

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

Oh.
Me again.
I think you need to do a search for "lopsandcavies" to find the LaReau website.

 

[chickbea]

Please also check out www.rabbit.org. It is the home site of the House Rabbit Society.

 

[bantymum]

Hi, welcome to the wonderful rabbit world.
I did the same as you when I started out.
I thought it would be nice to have 1 litter.
I had purebred mini lops. The breeder told me that If i wanted to breed from them that Id have no trouble selling them as they are so popular.
So i had 1 Doe and 1 Buck to start with.
She got pregnant, and all was well until I had to sell them.
I had so much anxiety with trying to find nice homes for them even at $30 each.
I had to try and determine their gender too, which was a drama for a beginner.
I ended up selling a pair to a lovely home, then I still had 5 babies(kits) leftover to roam around the garden with the others. There was no fighting YET!
Then WW4 happened in my yard, the boys were fighting, then the girls, then the girls got pregnant and I had babies coming out of everywhere.
I then had 3 boys spayed and rehomed all the rest.
I have now only 1 doe and 1 spayed buck. Peace!
It was a nightmare for me and yes I did it all wrong but i dont want to go through that again.
Just be wary with litters, you need to be stronghearted when it comes to selling the kits!!
Good luck
'sorry to rave on!
ps: youll have a better time if you neuter your bunnies.

 

[Rafter 7 Paint Horses]

Andy

I'm going to tell you my opinion.
You need to separate your buck from your doe now. The only safe way to keep them together is to have them in a large yard where they can get completely away from each other. Most people don't have a place like that to keep rabbits.

If you leave them together you run the risk of one or both being severely injured. Bucks will continue to try to breed the does even if they are bred. He can hurt the doe. Also the doe may become very territorial when bred, and may attack the buck and castrate him or even kill him. When kits are born, the buck may try to kill them, or the doe may see the buck as a threat and kill them herself to protect them.

We keep all of our rabbit in separate cages after they reach about 2 1/2 months old. This prevents fighting and unwanted pregnancy. When we breed, we take the doe to the bucks cage for breeding and remove the doe after about 5 minutes. We never leave the doe with the buck unattended.
Our does cycle about every 18 days. We may have to put a doe in with a buck every day for 17 days in a row in order to get her bred.
When breeding takes place, the buck will scoot his back feet forward very fast, land on his butt, and he will fall over. Some will squeal and some never make a noise. Some will seem locked together for a second or two. A buck humping on a doe does not mean she was bred. This is why we always watch our rabbits when breeding, so we know for sure when she has been bred.

Good luck with your rabbits. I know you will enjoy them.
If you would like more info, you can email me.

Jean