Rabbits

[KristaJ]

I am new to breeding rabbits I had doe to have babies on May 19th but none of them lived. How long do i need to wait to breed her again?

 

[Stephanie_VA]

After an unsuccessful breeding, the doe can be rebred immediately.

 

[KristaJ]

Thank you. She had one liter last year and they all did good. I just don't know what happened this time.

 

[Bunnylady]

I've been breeding rabbits for over 30 years, and still, sometimes I don't know what happened.Just one of the reasons that I say, "anyone who believes in the saying 'breeds like rabbits' has never tried it."

Better luck next time!

 

[Stephanie_VA]

I've been keeping American Blues for meat for almost 4 years. I've had missed litters several times. I just re-breed them and mark it on the calendar. I've got one doe that I've not yet gotten a successful litter from. Frustrating. One of them was my fault. I mismarked my calendar and had her down for kindling a week later. So, no nestbox preparations had been made yet. And now she had a litter just a few days ago. She was 3 days early, so I hadn't yet given her a nestbox. Those were all dead too. I'll try one more time before culling. Last year, I had a doe that I really wanted to keep. She had one litter of 14. However, she never made a nest or cared for her kits at all. After 3 failed attempts I had to cull her. It happens.

 

[featherhead007]

I've been breeding rabbits for over 30 years, and still, sometimes I don't know what happened.Just one of the reasons that I say, "anyone who believes in the saying 'breeds like rabbits' has never tried it."

Better luck next time!

That's kinda like saying, "Don't count your chickens before they hatch" Huh?

 

[kmom08]

Try not to handle your females too much after being bred, it can stress the doe. That's one thing I found. Also sometimes if their cage is too close to the buck it'll stress her out. I always kept a divider between them and the buck when they were expecting and put the nest box in about a week before they were due.

Each day after the nest box is in place put in a handfull of Timothy and sweet Bermuda or something similar and when she's ready she'll start building a nest, that's when I would put more hay in until she had it completed. They are pretty quick and quite skilled at building a nest, mine always make a tunnel style nest.
I also feed a little bit of calf manna towards the end of pregnancy and while nursing, just sprinkle a little bit on top of the regular feed, a little goes a long way.
You could breed her again now, but when she has a successful litter I would wait until the kits are about 4-6 weeks before breeding again she can have a break in between litters. I only lost one entire litter, and had to foster to another mother twice. I keep the females on the same breeding scedule. Good luck and best wishes for the next litter.