my aggressive rabbit doe.

[kieno]

I have an aggressive doe like that. She hasn't even had a litter yet. We're on attempt 2 of breeding her. She pancakes with bucks, then mounts them. Of the does I bought, she's the biggest and fastest growing, so I really want those genetics. But she gets one more shot at kits until her story sounds a lot like Cassie's.

Even though I say I will send her to the slaughterhouse I don't mean it, I mean I named her, her name is gabbie, she used to hump my leg and jumps on my lap when I'm on the couch or jumps on the bed when I'm sleeping, she was my pet, I ate her kids and sold them out but I don't think I could eat her, I'm not sure if I encouraged her bad behaviour, I was told I spoil her rotten before she turned into a vampire.

 

[Bunnylady]

make her stay with buck for a few days

This can be a really, really bad idea. Some does may be OK with staying with the buck, but some can get tired of his pestering and turn on him. A friend of mine had a buck - um - Bobbitted by a cranky doe. I've also had bucks that were unnecessarily nasty to does; I only leave animals together when I am absolutely sure they will get along.

 

[kieno]

This can be a really, really bad idea. Some does may be OK with staying with the buck, but some can get tired of his pestering and turn on him. A friend of mine had a buck - um - Bobbitted by a cranky doe. I've also had bucks that were unnecessarily nasty to does; I only leave animals together when I am absolutely sure they will get along.

Trust me they will be fine, they won't do anything more or less than rabbits in the wild do. You should only worry about the same sex being together, I once saw a buck bite a younger buck leaving a huge bite mark on the back and then he kicked him and trampled him to death.

 

[Bunnylady]

make her stay with buck for a few days

Trust me they will be fine, they won't do anything more or less than rabbits in the wild do.

Excuse me? Do you not understand "Bobbitted?" Eh, probably before your time. OK, I will just say it - Thumbalina bit Sampson's penis OFF. Just like that, a gorgeous AFL buck became useless as a breeding animal (not fine as far as his owner was concerned, at any rate). One of my first Mini Rex bucks could not be left with a doe for more than a couple of minutes. The doe might be as cooperative as you please, but within a minute after breeding her, he'd be in her face, biting hard enough to draw blood. He was sweet as he could be with people, but I felt sorry for the does I bred to him. Opposite-sex rabbit pairs can be brutal to each other too; the big difference is that wild rabbits have acres and acres of space in which to run away from a rabbit when they don't get along, and we seldom have that kind of space in which to confine domestic rabbits. Trust me, I've seen some pretty nasty things in the 30+ years I've been breeding rabbits, but I usually prefer not to get too graphic about it.

 

[cassie]

Just a comment. Sometimes if you leave the doe with the buck she may attack and injure him. This is just something to be aware of.

 

[cassie]

I should have read bunnylady's post before I commented. That said, when I was raising rabbits, I had zero tolerance for does with bad temperaments, that were difficult to breed, or were poor mothers. These characteristics are all hereditary to one degree or another and I wasn't willing to deal with them. However, my rabbits were strictly for meat. I wasn't raising them for show.

 

[Zoomie]

@Bunnylady and @cassie have already made excellent comments. All I can do is chime in: I raised rabbits for about 12 years, for both show and to have meat for my family. I was constantly astonished at the ill-mannered rabbits other people would keep. I always told them, that kind tastes the best... There are LOTS of rabbits out there. LOTS. There is no need to tolerate being bitten and kicked for doing your best to take good care of your rabbit.

In my own rabbitry it was, 3 strikes and you are out. I always gave them a very good chance to learn and be better, but if that did not happen, well, let's just say I did not keep them. I used to tell people I would send them to bunny heaven. As a result, all my does were pleasant to handle and good mothers who did their level best to raise their litters.

The one thing I learned with rabbits: there is no way on Earth that you can keep all of them. NO way. There are just too many and they breed so successfully. It will cost you just as much time, energy and money, to keep a good, well-behaved, beautiful rabbit, as it will to keep a monster rabbit. So you may as well keep good ones. And whatever you do, DON'T give away or sell the monster to some unsuspecting innocent person.

 

[kieno]

Excuse me? Do you not understand "Bobbitted?" Eh, probably before your time. OK, I will just say it - Thumbalina bit Sampson's penis OFF. Just like that, a gorgeous AFL buck became useless as a breeding animal (not fine as far as his owner was concerned, at any rate). One of my first Mini Rex bucks could not be left with a doe for more than a couple of minutes. The doe might be as cooperative as you please, but within a minute after breeding her, he'd be in her face, biting hard enough to draw blood. He was sweet as he could be with people, but I felt sorry for the does I bred to him. Opposite-sex rabbit pairs can be brutal to each other too; the big difference is that wild rabbits have acres and acres of space in which to run away from a rabbit when they don't get along, and we seldom have that kind of space in which to confine domestic rabbits. Trust me, I've seen some pretty nasty things in the 30+ years I've been breeding rabbits, but I usually prefer not to get too graphic about it.

Wow, noted. But I was talking about does that don't want to get humped they went to do the humping. My rabbit didn't mate with buck until DAY 7. She would never get pregnant spending just a day, what should one do in such a case?

 

[cassie]

Wow, noted. But I was talking about does that don't want to get humped they went to do the humping. My rabbit didn't mate with buck until DAY 7. She would never get pregnant spending just a day, what should one do in such a case?

I know what I would do (and have done), but I don't think you would want to hear it. As someone else so clearly pointed out, there are LOTS of rabbits in this world and there is no point in putting up with or propagating problems.

 

[sourland]

I know what I would do (and have done), but I don't think you would want to hear it. As someone else so clearly pointed out, there are LOTS of rabbits in this world and there is no point in putting up with or propagating problems.

In any breeding program, "the more you tolerate, the more you will have to tolerate." Traits are inherited - both good and bad. This is simple, basic animal husbandry.