My doe rabbit won’t breed

[Sparrowsong98]

You said the doe was over two. Has she ever bred before? Sometimes if you do not start breeding young, the females cannot breed anymore.

 

[Emmaxx]

I was going to mention the age thing. It's not really advisable to start this late either, I think age can cause problems if she were to conceive, but that is less likely. I think they instinctively know there's not much point from a reproductive sense, so 'why waste the effort trying' comes to mind, but it does sound like she is presenting herself and he's trying....

Try giving spinach for a few days before hand if you do try again, something to do with zinc and it affecting their sex drive, I'd have to look it up for anything more specific than that but I know it did the trick with mine!

 

[Emmaxx]

I was going to mention the age thing. It's not really advisable to start this late either, I think age can cause problems if she were to conceive, but that is less likely. I think they instinctively know there's not much point from a reproductive sense, so 'why waste the effort trying' comes to mind, but it does sound like she is presenting herself and he's trying....

Try giving spinach for a few days before hand if you do try again, something to do with zinc and it affecting their sex drive, I'd have to look it up for anything more specific than that but I know it did the trick with mine!

Eta: I would seriously think about whether you want to try again though, and read up on what affects her age could have on a pregnancy, especially if it would be her first.

 

[cassie]

Not all bucks fall down. Most of mine didn't.

 

[Chickens 4Ever]

You said the doe was over two. Has she ever bred before? Sometimes if you do not start breeding young, the females cannot breed anymore.

I’m not sure if she ever bred I got her from a pet store

 

[Chickens 4Ever]

Ok. Help. I just tried to breed her and she was growling a lot and bit me. Now I’m rlly scared she could be pregnant and I’ve been messing with her too much

 

[cassie]

It's OK. Just try to figure out when to give her a nest box. If you give it to soon, she may use it for a toilet. If too late, you will lose the litter. The worst that will happen if you give the box too early is that you will have to clean it. I think you can deal with that. The fact that she growled and bit you may well mean she is pregnant. I would go ahead and give her a box before long and beyond that leave her alone as much as possible.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Ok, so...
Growling rabbits are just cranky. I've had rabbit growl when I walk past the cage. These rabbits were super chill the rest of the time. She could just be feeling defensive or even hormonal. Rabbits experience false pregnancies VERY easily. Could she be preggo? Sure! But that's hardly a definitive sign, she's just telling you she wants to be left alone.

What kind of rabbits are these? You got her from a pet store; I'm assuming she may be a dwarf (under 5lbs). If she is, breeding her could be very risky. Rabbits that are very small should usually be bred in their first year (preferably around 6 months) because they can actually develop fused hip bones and fail to deliver the kits. A larger rabbit may have trouble being bred later in life because the fat tissue in rabbits builds up around organs, not in muscles, and it can constrict their uterus and prevent a healthy pregnancy. Also, many new moms fail to care for their litters. It can take up to three litters before they get it right.

Second, why are you breeding? If you are breeding for a pet market, well, I can't really stop you. But keep in mind that rabbits are the third most abused and abandoned animals in the US. They are often seen as fodder for children to learn how to do chores and then get neglected badly. A certain percentage will go on to feed reptiles no matter how you try to make sure it doesn't happen (those snakes need to eat too). Which is not to say don't do it but that there are better ways to breed for the pet market. By choosing rabbits that have desirable qualities and breeding for show and health for example you both produce healthier babies with a purpose, a broader range of future homes, and sometimes some mis-marked pet rabbits that are still healthy and happy. Having worked in a pet store and now having bred rabbits for half a decade I can definitively say that many pet store rabbits have serious problems you don't want to breed into your bunnies.
If you are breeding for some silly reason like "so she can have a litter", or "to show my kids life" with no plans for the offspring, well, I have some rather impolite suggestions for you. If you don't want to breed, I strongly suggest you get your rabbits, especially the female, fixed. Female rabbits have a 90% incidence of fatal reproductive cancers by age 6 regardless of whether or not they've had a litter. A fixed rabbit can live a decade or more.

If after you have reviewed everything, compared your rabbits to their breed standard, decided and researched your market, etc and still want to go through with it... You can try a few things.

Instead of bringing the doe to the buck, bring them both to a large neutral area (like a room in your house). They may be willing to breed away from their cages. (If you're not already, always bring the doe to the buck).
You can try to "flush" your rabbits with food, giving them some extra greens, hay and pellets in the week leading up to breeding.
Pick a cool day and try it at dusk or dawn. Rabbits are most active at these times.
You can try leaving them together for a while. Sometimes my boys like to groom the ladies and nose around for a while before getting down and dirty. This carries some risk of injury to the rabbits so don't leave them totally unsupervised, but breeding in the first place carries that risk.
Make sure the doe is receptive by making sure her vulva is moist and pink when exposed.
Place the buck on the doe in the correct position manually a few times, or possibly lift the doe yourself.
Try breeding once a day for 3-4 days.
Move their cages near one another, or away from one another if they are already close.
Try a different doe or buck.
Check for injures/deformations to genitalia especially on the buck and double check gender. More than one professional/experienced breeder has been hit by the gender swap fairy in their lives.

 

[cassie]

ChocolateMouse gave you a lot better advice than I did. My experience with rabbits was very narrow. I bred and sold them for meat, period. I didn't have any dealings with the pet market, nor, with a couple exceptions, did I keep any rabbits for pets. I never had much in the way of breeding problems either. Those that didn't breed went in the pot. Most people don't do that with pets.

 

[Emmaxx]