Lets Talk About Breeding Rabbits!

[Shelly_WNC]

Oh those pictures of the babies are adorable!!!! Your definately making me what to bred. It's a lot of work though isn't it?

It's only been three days with my new bunnies and looks like I need to clean their 30X36 drip pan almost every day - yucky stuff. Then my Doe is scared to death of me right now so as soon as I take her out of the cage she pees everywhere and then sits in it - yikes.

 

[Dutchgirl]

We had one litter, a mostly-Rex-but-with-some-Satin-mixed-in litter.

There were six kits, the mother was fine. The only bad thing about it was that we had them in my room, and Abby (the mother) leapt up on the bed numerous times to escape from the bunnies. There were droppings all over the bed and, once or twice, she peed on the pillow.

But it was well worth it! Six kits, as I said before: Blackberry, Pipkin, Acorn, Strawberry, Dandelion, and Hazel, the only remaining rabbit. We named them all from Watership Down, which we had been reading together at the time.

 

[Shelly_WNC]

Quote:
OMG that is funny (or not) - hopped in bed with you - LOL

Congrats on your wonderful kits they are going to be adorable, I do love the names.

I wanted to wait before breeding my new bunnies but I might not be able to. I let the Doe and Buck out together so I could move their cages from the living room into the office (it's cooler in there for them) and the Buck 'tried' to mate. I'm not sure if he was successfull or not. he was funny - he kept tiring himself out and sometimes didn't look like he knew what he was doing ( he is 2 years old though).

So how do you KNOW if the buck successfully mated with the Doe?

 

[RabbitMage]

Usually the bucks will make a noise (a grunt or something-I had one that would scream I kid you not) and fall over backwards. You can also check the doe's vulva after breeding to see if he left anything there.

If all else fails, try palpating her in about 16 days and see if you feel babies.

 

[reliant601]

I've been having NO luck of getting my rabbits bred.

But I am hoping and crossing my fingers spring will change that!

1. I would like to get several chickens and 2. Get NZ rabbits

 

[dewey]

Quote:
What breed do you have now, and what type of breeding issues were there? Maybe we could help.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
I do. I breed Thriantas for show, pet and rabbit jumping. I also breed Silver Fox for show and meat.

I made a new website about a month ago for my rabbits, lots of pictures there: www.haikuheritage.weebly.com

Do the Thriantas come in colors other than red? Those are some very red rabbits!

 

[shelleyd2008]

I bred my rabbits for the first time a few days ago (1-30). They are both fairly young so I'm hoping it took

Dad is about a year old and mom is 7-8 months. I have no idea what breeds they are. Dad looks like a chinchilla and mom looks like a Havana. But it's hard telling, we bought them locally and there aren't many known in this area for breeding pure anythings!

At least we should have some 'Easter bunnies' to sell, so that will help.

I'd love to get some mini-rexes again, I miss mine so much! They are just the sweetest little bunnies!

As for what we do with our rabbits? They were supposed to be just pets, but they were also supposed to both be girls. So since we ended up with one of each sex, my son (their 'owner') decided he wanted to let them have babies

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:
I have had a hard time getting my 3 does bred also. I've had them almost 6 months and was having NO luck. I was getting to my wits end trying everything... table top, doe in bucks cage, free run on the ground outside... nothing was working... Finally I "helped" each breeding by scruffing the doe with one hand and pulling the tail gently up over her back with the other (all done gently) that way I was "presenting" her for the male. This worked with all three and now 2 out of 3 are breeding themselves. I only had to do this the first time. Hope this helps!


* ETA: I'm sure you've heard this before but I just want to reiterate that breeding mixed breed rabbits "for fun" or "for easter" really isn't a good idea... people get enthralled with a cute new little bunny for easter and then get bored/ tired/ sick of it whatever, very quickly... there are a lot of rabbits at the animal shelters looking for homes. If you DO want to breed... breed for a reason; purebreds for the kids in 4H, meat etc...

 

[dewey]

Quote:
I have had a hard time getting my 3 does bred also. I've had them almost 6 months and was having NO luck. I was getting to my wits end trying everything... table top, doe in bucks cage, free run on the ground outside... nothing was working... Finally I "helped" each breeding by scruffing the doe with one hand and pulling the tail gently up over her back with the other (all done gently) that way I was "presenting" her for the male. This worked with all three and now 2 out of 3 are breeding themselves. I only had to do this the first time...

I follow the same manual practice for each breeding. I cradle the doe belly up, check the vulva for color, do a quick manual stimulation, and she's ready for the buck. Takes 2 seconds. I put both on a table and assist if needed....a buck might need guidence, and, if needed, positioning them both, doe first, while holding the doe's tail aside until he he's in position...sometimes the bucks need a little movement encouragement. (If it doesn't happen quickly, say, within in 2 quick mounting attempts or so, you can try with another buck.) Works like a charm.