Rabbit Breeding

[Almond goose]

I had my Dutch doe 1st-time mom give birth to her kits yesterday but none made it and my black mini rex had her 3 today but none of hers made it because they were born on the wire half of the problem is its cold where we live at the moment. I would like to be able to show JR. rabbits at the fair but I'm not sure how long to wait to re-breed the 2 but I don't know how long to wait and don't want to stress the animals out too much. Any advice would be great.

 

[Wyandottes7]

If your does don't look like they had a hard time giving birth, it would be fine for you to re-breed as early as tomorrow. Many breeders like to re-breed almost immediately after unsuccessful litters, since the does are generally very receptive. I personally have re-bred does just a few days after their missed/dead litters with good results. It doesn't seem to stress them out or harm the next litters at all.

Good luck with your future litters! Cold weather can make breeding rabbits very frustrating.

 

[Almond goose]

Thank you Wyandottes7

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I would breed them when you know it will be warm enough outside for the kits to survive. I personally would wait a month or two.

 

[Bunnylady]

When is your fair?

Dutch and Mini Rex have a minimum weight for juniors (1.5 and 2 lbs, respectively), so you need to have your babies at least that big before the fair. At a guess, they'd need to be at least 10 weeks old by fair time, so that means you would probably need to breed your does at least 4 months before the fair. If that doesn't allow you to wait until warmer weather, you need to make extra effort to keep the kits warm when the does kindle. If I have does due during cool weather, I move doe, nest box, and all into my hall closet - I call it my "maternity ward." Disturbing the doe at that time may put her at an increased risk of making a mess of things, but hey, these girls already messed up once, so this would at least give the babies a chance to survive long enough for you to find them and correct the doe's mistake.

 

[Athena2344]

Hello, i have a breeding pair of half Flemish, and half Giant Checkered rabbits. They are both outside on our porch in two story hutches. The enclosed wooden part of both of their hutches both have a wire cage opening which i covered with cloth to keep it warm. My doe had a litter of 5 this past Tuesday, and all of them are alive and flourishing. To guarantee i have no drafts around the nesting box, i draped 3 towels around the top of her hutch. What kind of materials did she have in her nesting box? How big is the nesting box? if she doesnt feel comfortable enough in, that could be why she didnt have her kits in there. How big is her cage?

 

[Bunnylady]

A single Checkered Giant/Flemish kit probably weighs as much as all three of those Mini Rex babies put together. Mass often is part of the problem, since the litters have to keep themselves warm.

I see people in far colder climates than mine talking about successful winter litters, and I don't know of any reason they would need to lie about it, so I have to believe it is possible. I just know that I can't manage it; I've had does kindle in wooden boxes that were stuffed with hay and the doe pulled plenty of fur, cleaned and nursed the litter, and still, they lost them - even in draft-free bulidings . For me, anything below about 50° F is risky; I started taking them inside when I felt like I simply couldn't bear to look at one more dead litter. Some folks use warming plates or heat lamps; if you go that route, be careful to keep cords where the rabbits can't reach them to minimize the electrocution/fire hazard.

 

[Athena2344]

Really? wow, that is nuts, here in san antonio our weather is bipolar right now, its dipped down to 32 degrees a coupla times since they have been born. When i first put in her nesting box ( metal; big enough for a hen to get in and lay), i put in cedar shavings up to the lip of the box. remembering that she adds hair to it, i took one handful out. She then added timothy hay, dry grass, and cut up socks to it, as well as some hair on 1/26, she then finished pulling her hair and had the kits 1/30, they are super cute, and are as big as my hand and only 6 days old, with a decent covering of peach fuzz

 

[Athena2344]

A single Checkered Giant/Flemish kit probably weighs as much as all three of those Mini Rex babies put together. Mass often is part of the problem, since the litters have to keep themselves warm.

I see people in far colder climates than mine talking about successful winter litters, and I don't know of any reason they would need to lie about it, so I have to believe it is possible. I just know that I can't manage it; I've had does kindle in wooden boxes that were stuffed with hay and the doe pulled plenty of fur, cleaned and nursed the litter, and still, they lost them - even in draft-free bulidings . For me, anything below about 50° F is risky; I started taking them inside when I felt like I simply couldn't bear to look at one more dead litter. Some folks use warming plates or heat lamps; if you go that route, be careful to keep cords where the rabbits can't reach them to minimize the electrocution/fire hazard.

Finally picked up a kitchen scale yesterday, and weighed them last night, 3 were 12oz, the runt was 11oz, and the biggest was 12.5oz. I also had to expand mom's pen, as the kits are using the ramp, eating timothy hay, treats and drinking water, starting Friday night. They are 3 weeks old tomorrow, I can't wait to see how big they are at 6 weeks when i sell them

 

[Bunnylady]

Check your local regulations - in my state, it is illegal to sell a rabbit that is younger than 8 weeks.