unwilling doe Rabbit

[sherrihargrove]

I am so frustrated my new zealand doe doesn't seem interested in breeding. she is close to going to freezer camp. I got these animals for meat for my family but this girl is testing my patients to their limits. She is almost a year old as is the buck i got at the same time. What gives? I just started this week putting them together every other day still nothing, I going in the morning to get raspberry tea and try this next. But her luck is running out. Any suggestions?

 

[cassie]

I have a good recipe for older rabbits. If you want it let me know. Bunnylady may have some suggestions you could try before using mine.

 

[Bunnylady]

Rabbit does do not do "heat" like some other animals do, but they do experience hormonal peaks and valleys. A doe at her hormonal peak is more likely to breed readily. Most does won't breed when their hormone levels are low, and if they do, they are more likely to "miss."

Before taking the doe to the buck, turn her over, and check the color of her vent. Press on the front of it, and expose a bit of the tissue lining it. The color you are hoping to see is a bright, cherry red, though some does never get past a sort of deep rose color. A doe like that is right at her hormonal peak, and will typically breed and conceive a nice litter. If the vent color is pale pink, you would most likely be wasting your time and hers. A dark purplish color indicates that the hormonal peak has passed, and though she might breed, the litter may be small.

A doe that is too fat may not be interested in breeding, because fat has its own hormones, and they can mask the fluctuations that normally inspire reproductive behavior. The usual time to start breeding is 6 to 8 months of age; the longer the doe goes before being bred, the likelier she is to get fat enough to not want to breed (a lot of people who breed small pet breeds have this problem; they breed a couple of litters, let the doe take a break for the summer, and can never get her to breed again). If your doe seems butterball fat, you may want to reduce her weight a bit and see if that can get her interested.

When all else fails. I have tried colony breeding - putting a buck in with a few does and leaving them together. I prefer to have at least 3 does when I do this, because a buck can pester one doe so much that she will turn on him, and that can be brutal. Likewise, I monitor doe interactions, and am prepared to remove a doe if she just can't get along with the others. Someone gave me a NZ doe that two different breeders hadn't managed to get to breed, that gave me nice litters when dealt with this way.

Hope that helped!

 

[sherrihargrove]

sounds like a plan i will try this but I only have 2 does. Do I put them all together at once?

 

[DutchBunny03]

No, probably not. If each rabbit has its own hutch, you should take the doe to the buck, but not vice versa. Does can ve very territorial, and may attack the buck if he enters her space.