HELP FELLOW RABBIT BREEDERS!

[TheHappyHen21]

I had an accident lasnight and im still in shock.



I have a long rabbit cage my bf made me last summer that has 6 individual cages in it and the roof lifts up all at once. For the 1st time ever, I left the cage top open.

NEVER ever have I done that.


WELL, I have 4 does in there and 2 bucks at the end of the cage. 2 does are already bred and the other two I was gonna wait another month as there 8 months old and I like to wait till about 10 months old. I got home from work around 5 and I saw the cage door wide open! I started freaking out cause I was worried my rabbits escaped as I paid good time and money on them So I found the two boys, each in one of my young does cages! So I know they must of rebred my other two does also.. One buck is a 8 month old and the other is only 16 weeks old.


I need someone else's take on this, I just feel like a bad owner now cause I was in a hurry before work.. Ive raised rabbits since I was 16 and now im 25..

 

[cassie]

I'm no rabbit expert but I have had other animals get bred at very young ages. No, I'm not proud of it but accidents happen. I once had a goat kid get bred at three months. I had no idea until she kidded. Anyway, the young mother and her baby turned out fine. The key is to feed the young females very well so they can both grow and feed their babies. Watch so they don't get too fat, though. Hope this helps.

 

[TheHappyHen21]

Thank u, just makes me nervous a lil lol

 

[Wyandottes7]

Your rabbits should be fine. Six to eight months old is often considered an opportune time to breed (though some people wait longer with the larger breeds like Flemish Giants) . Some people breed does as young as four or five months old with success. The youngest doe I've bred was five months old and she went on to have a perfect litter of seven. She was an American Sable, which is a pretty large breed. Usually I breed later, around a year old, but that is only because I show my rabbits and their condition falls apart after pregnancy. I think my rabbits would breed more easily if they were the more ideal 6-8 month old range, before they become fatter and set in their ways.