Breeding Older Does

Hi all,

Here's a question for you. I know that it's typically seen as not a good idea to breed a doe that hasn't had a litter in a few years. There is a slew of things that could possibly go wrong, and in my mind I've always seen it as a no-no because of the possible risks.

That being said, I have a friend who just bred a doe that hasn't had a litter in two years and she had a perfectly healthy litter. A litter of two (to be expected with older does), but healthy all the same.

I currently have a doe that is in perfect condition, she's even at a good weight for her age. She's 5. I know that does that have been kept in production may have smaller litters at this age, but it's certainly not too old for a litter. She was always a wonderful mother before I retired her. I was stupid enough to not keep any of her kits and she has the best coat in my herd as far as texture AND production.

I didn't think another litter would be possible with how long it's been, but maybe some of you have more experience in this area. I haven't bred very many old does, and not any that haven't produced in so long.

Have any of you done it with success? I'd love just one more litter from her, but if the risk is too great I won't chance it.

Thanks in advance!

So, interesting question.
I had two does. Neither of them have had a litter in at least 6 months, possibly as long as 18 months. I bred them both, to proven bucks. One doe has yet to kindle. The second doe, died during kindling. The doe that passed appeared to have bled internally, starting about day 29 of her pregnancy. She then passed on day 31, after giving birth to one kit. I stopped breeding the other doe, who tends to be on the heavy side. I would rather I just placed her at this point. I don't want to take the chance personally.

The two main concerns for breeding older does is 1. if they get out of shape. Older does have a tendency to get fat, especially if they have not been bred recently, and fat does have more problems in/after kindling. 2. if their low fertility makes a smaller litter. Smaller litters tend to have more problems in birth (as the kits grow larger before birth), so if you were to breed in older doe, try breeding her to your most fertile buck or doing other things to increase fertility.

I didn't breed one of my does for more than 1 1/2 years because she had massive troubles with runny eyes, then at about 5yo she accidentially met the buck and had a litter of 5 (1 DOA), pretty much normal - she always had either 5 or 6.
She had gotten pretty fat in her time off, wasn't sure she was pregnant until the kits were there.

The bonus was that the moment she was pregnant her eyes got better, fur grew back on her face, and it is still ok one year later, I kept one of her daughters with her because I think grooming keeps the eye troubles in check, and I prefer keeping them in pairs anyway (yeah, right, one more rabbit... :roll: )

She does get a lot of exercise, since I stopped breeding her she had the garden for herself all the time I'm at work, has to graze a good part of her food, that may be a positive factor.

I would still breed her if I hadn't too many does, *sigh*.

I just had the same situation with a four year old. I gave her a lot of time in the excersize pen then got a litter of four and rebred as soon as I seperated them and got six. She burned off some of that fat in the first round and I expect that she'll be back to being a good producer.

I have bred old does and had no real problems. I do try to have a younger doe bred for the same time though in case of problems. Worked really well once, the old doe had 2 and the young had 13. Old doe to the rescue, she fostered 5 of them so the younger doe could cope! :lol: