Breeding rabbits

[mystang89]

Am I doing something wrong? I have 1 buck and 2 does. The 2 does ranged from 7 months to 1 year and the buck is over a year. I've had them for about 2 months now and out of the 2 does only one of them has tried to mate with the buck and that was a one time deal. I have yet to have any of them get pregnant. The buck is always willing it seems. A little stupid, but willing. I've tried putting the doe in the bucks cage which is about 2' x 4'. The does just run around in a circle with the buck trying to catch up. I've tried putting a board in the cage to cut the space in half but the does don't raise their rear end. I've tried putting them in a neutral spot on top of a table. Both the buck and the does just sit there. I've even gone so far as to try whatever trick it is where you hold the does down, raise their rear end and let the buck do its thing. The buck doesn't really like that and even when he gets over it and tries he then goes at her from the side.....like I said, a little stupid. Anyway, I can't think of anything else to try. I've read that the does are supposed to be willing 14 out of the 30 days in the month. Well, someone needs to tell my does that because I've taken a look at their girl parts which are supposed to be all red and swollen when they are ready and not once where they red and swollen. Almost always they are white and small. The temperatures are around 70's - 85's F. I don't want rabbits for pets, I want them to feed my family. I already have a dog and 4 small kids. That's all I need for pets. Any hints or does anyone see something that I am doing wrong. Please tell me.

 

[animalsRawesome]

Hello.

Not that it really probably matters, but what kind of rabbits are they?

Secondly, are you sure that the person you got them from did not get them fixed?

I do have one suggestion... I don't normally have to do this, but since you are having difficulty... put your doe in with your buck (this is important bc the doe may be territorial if you try putting the buck in with the doe.) After a while, (maybe 45 minutes or so???) you can pull her out and put her back in her own cage. Then, 12 hours later you need to put the doe back in with the buck. The correct word slips my mind at the moment, but basically the doe's eggs don't drop to get fertilized by the male's sperm for about 12hrs after mating so by re-breeding her 12 hours later you are increasing your chances! Does that make sense?

 

[yinepu]

A few things to consider:

Are you certain that you really have 1 buck and 2 does?.. lol.. a "professional" breeder sold my husband a nice "buck" one time that he swore had fathered several litters and was a "proven buck" .. (my husband is a real sweetheart but had no idea at the time how to tell a buck from a doe)
When my husband brought "him" home I started laughing.. cause "he" was a "she"

Also some does just refuse to get bred... I've had a few like that (they ended up in the stew pot).. even if they are forced to be bred (by holding or A.I.) they usually end up being horrible mothers
It could also be that they are still immature.. a few California does that I had took longer to mature and refused to lift their behinds for the buck until after they were bred a few times

other things to consider... depending on how hot it is where you are.. the buck may be "heat sterile"
as soon as the weather cools down for about a month or so he should be back to normal... when it gets hot here I don't even bother to try getting ours to breed since the bucks go heat sterile pretty easily when the temps are really high

One other thing that can cause sterility in rabbits is if they were overdosed on ivomec
Ivermectin is "supposed" to be safe.. however I had bought several does that were dosed with ivomec at a young age.. they were bred over and over again by a proven buck and even after months and months of trying to get them to take they never became pregnant.. even though the buck fathered several litters with my proven does
Later on I found out that if a rabbit is dosed with ivermectin at too young of an age.. or if they are overdosed on it that it can cause fertility issues (usually sterility)

 

[animalsRawesome]

One other thing that can cause sterility in rabbits is if they were overdosed on ivomec
Ivermectin is "supposed" to be safe.. however I had bought several does that were dosed with ivomec at a young age.. they were bred over and over again by a proven buck and even after months and months of trying to get them to take they never became pregnant.. even though the buck fathered several litters with my proven does
Later on I found out that if a rabbit is dosed with ivermectin at too young of an age.. or if they are overdosed on it that it can cause fertility issues (usually sterility)

Very interesting. I did not know that Ivomec could cause sterility! Thank you for sharing your experience. In your experience, how young would you say was too young? And by overdosed do you mean a lot at one time (how much) or that they were given Ivomec too many times?

 

[yinepu]

Very interesting. I did not know that Ivomec could cause sterility! Thank you for sharing your experience. In your experience, how young would you say was too young? And by overdosed do you mean a lot at one time (how much) or that they were given Ivomec too many times?

too young would be before they are "mature".. granted you can dose them with small amounts and be ok with some since some bloodlines seem to be more tolerant of ivomec than others.
Overdosing would be both: too large of a dose..OR be too frequent of dosages.. basically if you need to dose them use the smallest dose possible and if you have problems with ear mites use something else if possible when they are still babies (I know of some breeders who use WD-40.. some use mineral oil or vegetable oil in the ears..)
think of it this way.. since ivermectin in large amounts will affect their reproductive organs it is better to use it once their reproductive organs are mature
If you're lucky you will have rabbits who are more tolerant of ivermectin and don't have to worry about it as much.. however there are a lot of rabbits who can't handle it.. and they are the ones who end up sterile

We butchered several of the does who had been overdosed as babies.. their reproductive organs were pretty much non existent even at 2 years of age.. the ovaries and uterus looked like something from very young, immature rabbits.. not like organs from 2 year old virgin does

 

[animalsRawesome]

Ok, Thanks!