Things you wish you knew before breeding rabbits

[NatJ]

Do your cages have trays to catch droppings? If so, dump them frequently, before they get full.

D) You must know what to look for when you put them together
E) Only leave them in there with each other for about 30-60 minute sessions for 3 days in a row (Write down the days when you put them together, and mark 28 days later from the 1st day. That is typically when she will kindle, but some don not kindle until day 29-31)

When I bred rabbits, I watched, and then took her back to her own cage. It usually took less than 5 minutes.

One time, one day was usually enough to get a nice big litter (6 to 10 bunnies).

And kindling almost always happened during the night between days 30 and 31.

the rabbits try to tip them over...You can get bowls that attach to the wire of the cage, and dog food stands work just as well.

Or really big bowls. I'm thinking 1/3 gallon per bowl and up. I almost never had rabbits tip those.

But do be careful not to have a bowl that is too tall, when you have young bunnies. They need to be able to drink without falling in. (My bowls were probably around 4 inches deep, and I never had a problem with this.)

Cages:
Most cages have wire bottoms. Although this is controversial, my opinion is that wire bottoms should be avoided.
The reason for the wire is so that poop can fall to were it can be easily cleaned.

If you are raising meat rabbits, I would strongly recommend a wire floor, at least where they sit to eat their food. That's where most of the pooping also happens.

I personally think its easier to litter train rabbits

Have you litter trained young bunnies, or just adult rabbits?

A litter of 8 bunnies produces an enormous amount of droppings, and they often get butchered around 8 weeks old. Unless they litter train themselves like cats, the "accidents" would require a LOT of cleaning!

(No, I have not tried to litter train a rabbit. But I have raised rabbits for meat.)

A good quality wire floor will not hurt the feet of the growing bunnies, although the mother is enough heavier that she should certainly have a place to get off the wire.

Rabbits do not have paw pads like cats and dogs, they only have thin fur and delicate skin.

Or thick fur.
Meat rabbits are often selected to have especially thick fur on the bottoms of their feet, for exactly this reason. It's easier overall to breed rabbits that CAN live safely on wire floors, instead of trying to keep solid floors clean.

 

[MadamContrary]

Do your cages have trays to catch droppings? If so, dump them frequently, before they get full.


When I bred rabbits, I watched, and then took her back to her own cage. It usually took less than 5 minutes.

One time, one day was usually enough to get a nice big litter (6 to 10 bunnies).

And kindling almost always happened during the night between days 30 and 31.


Or really big bowls. I'm thinking 1/3 gallon per bowl and up. I almost never had rabbits tip those.

But do be careful not to have a bowl that is too tall, when you have young bunnies. They need to be able to drink without falling in. (My bowls were probably around 4 inches deep, and I never had a problem with this.)


If you are raising meat rabbits, I would strongly recommend a wire floor, at least where they sit to eat their food. That's where most of the pooping also happens.


Have you litter trained young bunnies, or just adult rabbits?

A litter of 8 bunnies produces an enormous amount of droppings, and they often get butchered around 8 weeks old. Unless they litter train themselves like cats, the "accidents" would require a LOT of cleaning!

(No, I have not tried to litter train a rabbit. But I have raised rabbits for meat.)

A good quality wire floor will not hurt the feet of the growing bunnies, although the mother is enough heavier that she should certainly have a place to get off the wire.



Or thick fur.
Meat rabbits are often selected to have especially thick fur on the bottoms of their feet, for exactly this reason. It's easier overall to breed rabbits that CAN live safely on wire floors, instead of trying to keep solid floors clean.

Thank you for the meat production perspective. Very useful information.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you for the meat production perspective. Very useful information.

It's possible to breed a doe when her litter is 2 weeks old, wean them at 4 weeks, and she gives birth again when the litter is 6 1/2 weeks old

But the doe needs to have free-choice pellets, with a higher-than-usual level of nutrition.

And, what I consider a bigger problem: you MUST have a cage available to move the older litter into! Do not plan to butcher some other rabbits "next week" to free up a cage "just a few days late."

Weaning the bunnies at 4 weeks isn't a big deal, if they are eating pellets well. Just move them all to another cage, and keep feeding the same familiar food. Maybe leave one with the doe for a few more days, to help her milk dry up more gradually, then move it in with the rest of the litter.

I sometimes did rebreed the doe really early, because I lived somewhere with a really short summer. So I would try for several litters in quick succession, and then the doe got a good long rest over the winter. In a climate with a longer breeding season, you would want to make sure the doe gets a longer time between litters, or a break at some point.

 

[MadamContrary]

It's possible to breed a doe when her litter is 2 weeks old, wean them at 4 weeks, and she gives birth again when the litter is 6 1/2 weeks old

But the doe needs to have free-choice pellets, with a higher-than-usual level of nutrition.

And, what I consider a bigger problem: you MUST have a cage available to move the older litter into! Do not plan to butcher some other rabbits "next week" to free up a cage "just a few days late."

Weaning the bunnies at 4 weeks isn't a big deal, if they are eating pellets well. Just move them all to another cage, and keep feeding the same familiar food. Maybe leave one with the doe for a few more days, to help her milk dry up more gradually, then move it in with the rest of the litter.

I sometimes did rebreed the doe really early, because I lived somewhere with a really short summer. So I would try for several litters in quick succession, and then the doe got a good long rest over the winter. In a climate with a longer breeding season, you would want to make sure the doe gets a longer time between litters, or a break at some point.

Very good consideration. I'm in a hot, subtropical climate so I'll need to focus my breeding during the cooler part of the year, I need to figure out exactly how long that window is and plan accordingly. I've only been breeding birds, and I can manipulate breeding time-frames by adding supplemental lighting. This is exactly why I started this thread, there's lots of elements I haven't considered yet.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Don't let your does get fat. Healthy weight is good, fat is not. It makes breeding harder to be successful.

Also, know that sometimes, especially in new mothers and stressful births, the does may eat kits. It's not the best feeling when you realize that there were more kits than what you can count.

Make the wire around the birthing cages as small as you can. We have had kits fall out accidentally and fall prey to the mice and chickens.

Does may birth on the wire, not the box. If that happens, rub your hands on the fur in the box so you don't smell as humany before moving the kits to the box. While chickens and birds can't smell a human touching their babies, rabbits will and it could cause her to leave the kits

 

[LizzzyJo]

Huge amounts of space for each rabbit including an outdoor grass run gives back 10 fold in fewer illnesses/fur issues/sanitation problems/ aggression, etc etc etc.

Standard cage sizes are just so small IMHO.

Also, try twice with a bad mom before rehoming.

 

[gtaus]

So many good comments already, that I won't bother to repeat them.

In my case, I had the idea of raising rabbits for meat like I did when I was a young child. But now I am married.

Turns out that Dear Wife refused to eat rabbit, or even cook it. In her mind, a rabbit is a pet. So that whole project was a bust in the end.

I ended up moving on to getting chickens. First with meat chickens, but now laying hens. Dear Wife loves chicken eggs and meat. I treat my backyard flock more as farm animals. So that has been a successful endeavor for me.

Before you start breeding rabbits, know your end game, is what I suggest.

 

[LizzzyJo]

Have you picked out a breed (or multiple)?

I mostly know about pet rabbits, but here's som basic care.

Diet:

Adult rabbits should have unlimited access to fresh Timothy hay at all times. Hay should make up 80% of their diet, and it is crucial for digestion and helps to keep their ever growing teeth down. Lots of people like the brand Oxbow, but if you're going to have a large rabbitry I recommend buying in bulk from a ocal farm, or ordering it in bulk.

For pet rabbits, the recommend about of pellets is ¼ cup a day, less for rabbits weighing under 4 pounds but no more for larger rabbits.
If these will be meat rabbits you may want to feed unlimited pellets though. If you plan on showing rabbits or keeping any as pets they will be much healthier with limited pellets.

Most pet rabbits get about a handle of fresh spring mix veggies for breakfast and dinner. This is when the pellets are limited.
Avoid iceberg lettuce.
You can feed fresh greens and herbs as a treat if you choose not to feed them as part of ther meals. Always introduce new food in small amount, and very slowly to avoid upset stomachs.

Pregnant or mama does, as well as babies should have unlimited Alfalfa hay and pellets. Alfalfa is higher in protein and calcium, which babies need to grow strong and healthy, and moms will need to stay healthy during and after birth. But Alfalfa should not be give to adult rabbits (who aren't mama does), except for as a special treat in small quantities.

Rabbits under the age of 8 weeks should not have any greens or treats. Just milk, pellets, and hay. Some say it's even best to wait until after 6 months to feed greens, but in most cases young rabbits (over 8 weeks) do fine when the greens and treats are very slowly introduced in small portions.

Water:
Some adult rabbits will drink up to as much as a large dog, and provide plenty of fresh water is very important. Especially in the Texas heat.
Most people simply use water bottles, but I recommend avoiding those.
The small nozzles don't allow enough water through, so dehydration is a big risk. Those nozzles are also a pain to clean, and are just about impossible to keep sanitized. Not to mention how unnatural they are, especially considering the angle they have to drink from.

Water bowls work much better. You can even get some with water jugs attached to refill them automatically. The problem that most people have with this is that the rabbits try to tip them over, and get hay and things in their water.
There's an easy solution for that though. You can get bowls that attach to the wire of the cage, and dog food stands work just as well.
Though rabbits would still be able to get stuff in the bowls (though not nearly as easily), by the time that they get dirty the probably just need fresh water anyways.

Enrichment:
Rabbits are very smart animals, and to keep them healthy and happy it's important to have a few toys to keep their brain stimulated. Not only do toys help with that, but they also prevent the rabbit from getting overgrown teeth, which is very painful. Rabbits that don't have things to chew often destroy anything they can get their teeth on.
Toys don't have to be expensive, as its easy to make DIY toys out of things such as cardboard, paper bags, and paper towel tubes. Hay and pellets can be stuffed in them too.
Pinecones make great toys as well, just be sure to put them in boiling water first to be sure there aren't any insects on that that could harm your rabbits.

Hides:
Since rabbits are prey animals, the need spaces the can hide in to feel safe and protected. Cardboard boxes work great for this. Just cut a hole (or two, since rabbits like multiple entrances) in a box with as little tape and ink as you can get. If you have the space (though if they're strictly for meat this may not matter) cat tunnels are great hides and offers enrichment too.

Cages:
Most cages have wire bottoms. Although this is controversial, my opinion is that wire bottoms should be avoided.
The reason for the wire is so that poop can fall to were it can be easily cleaned. I personally think its easier to litter train rabbits, especially considering the issues with wire.
Rabbits do not have paw pads like cats and dogs, they only have thin fur and delicate skin. The wire is painful and uncomfortable to lay on all the time, and can even cause bumble foot.
Be sure to at least have an area where the rabbits can get off the wire if it is not completely covered.

(Assuming these are outdoor rabbits)
You'll also want to keep the cages in the shade or inside a larger structure such as a barn or shed to keep them out of the heat. Thouhh rabbutscan tolerate the cold, they can easily die of heat stroke.
Another thing to keep in mind is that rabbits often die of a heart attack. Predators that may try to get to them could make them go into shock, even if they don't attack.
And just like a chicken coop, you'll want to predator proof the cages so nothing can get in (or out).

I'm not sure what you're cages look like or how you can set everything up, but with rabbits, its always better to go bigger. If possible, I highly recommend adding a (predator proof) run so the rabbits can exercise like they're meant to. They'll be a lot happier and healthier, ad may be easier to handle when they don't have s much pent-up energy.

A few other things to know:

If you chose to use litter boxes, be sure to get cat sized boxes so that they can turn all the way around. Pelleted pine litter works great. Just avoid cat litter since it have clay, which can be fatal is ingested. Put the box in th corner of the cage, and fill it up with hay. Put any poop in there, and clean the pee, and they should catch on quickly.

You'll also need to groom them some. Rabbits molt during spring and fall, and during this time they often end up swallowing a lot of hair while grooming. Simply using a comb (Rabbit Hair Buster or curry comb) will help a lot.
Rabbits can't regurgitate, so when they ingest too much hair it can bloc everything up which can cause them to go in GI stasis and die.
They'll also need nails trimmed every month or so. Small dog clippers work great for this.

If you're keeping them outside, you should know about RDHV2. A deadly and highly contagious disease among both wild and domestic rabbits.
The House Rabbit Society has some great info on this.

Hopefully this will help you, and good luck!
Also, sorry for the super long reply, lol.

Preach!

 

[NatJ]

Make the wire around the birthing cages as small as you can. We have had kits fall out accidentally and fall prey to the mice and chickens.

The meat-type ones can go right through 1" wire mesh when they are born, but 1/2" wire mesh is enough to keep them in (and it only needs to go a few inches up the sides to make a difference.)

Does may birth on the wire, not the box. If that happens, rub your hands on the fur in the box so you don't smell as humany before moving the kits to the box. While chickens and birds can't smell a human touching their babies, rabbits will and it could cause her to leave the kits

I've read this type of advice many times, but I never had a problem with the does I had. I could put kits back in the nestbox, or handled them to count and look at them, with no trouble.

Maybe some does are fussier than others?

 

[JacinLarkwell]

The meat-type ones can go right through 1" wire mesh when they are born, but 1/2" wire mesh is enough to keep them in (and it only needs to go a few inches up the sides to make a difference.)


I've read this type of advice many times, but I never had a problem with the does I had. I could put kits back in the nestbox, or handled them to count and look at them, with no trouble.
Maybe some does are fussier than others?

Could be. I had one doe that was certifiably nuts. Made nice kits though so she stayed