some breeding help

I have a registered chocolate buck that's 2 years old, a registered chocolate doe that's 1 year old, and a broken castor doe that's 5 months. How do I know when the does are ready to try breeding? It makes me nervous to just stick a doe in the buck's cage and cross my fingers that they don't try to kill each other. Also I just got them over the weekend so how long should I let them settle in? I'd like a litter this fall but it's cold here by Nov. If not then I'll have to wait until March of next year to try breeding. The enclosed porch they are on does get a little heat or ac from the house and I can run a space heater in winter but it's still going to be close to half a year before I can have kits if I don't breed them soon.

first off...what breed are they?

the year old should be able to be breed immediately. Turn her over and look at her genital region. If her vent is dark red/purple she'd receptive.

The five month old...depends on her breed.

and you can breed through the winter. I do it here in Ontario all the time.

I'd give them about a week to settle in and then breed the year-old doe, assuming all is well. The five-month old could probably be bred in mid to late September for an October litter. In a sheltered place like an enclosed porch you should be able to breed in all but the most bitter winter weather even with very little additional heat.

They are mini rex and it gets to -20F sometimes -30 in winter here. I was told not to breed them when it's below 50F and we get snow by november.

Not to breed them when it is below 50 degrees Fahrenheit???

That is overly cautious, to say the least. Your climate sounds a bit colder than here in Ontario, but in an enclosed porch you should definitely be okay with does kindling at least into early November. The year I had my rabbits in our mostly unheated front porch, I bred them right through the winter with absolutely no problems.

Hon, you're in Iowa? I wouldn't worry about the breeding until late November, sothey kindle in December. Just keep them out of hte WIND and make sure they have nest boxes, and they'll be fine. The rex has wonderfully warm wool, and should be able to keep the kits toasty warm. If necessary, you can take the nestbox into the house.

Devon has mini-rex, doesn't she? Maybe she can provide insight into the "below 50F" thing.

Hi! 50F is an absolute ideal temp. for any rabbit, thats about 10C I know rabbits do best in the 10- 15C range. Both those does are old enough to breed now. The winter is a lot more challenging though and you do need extra care then,however its not impossible. Depending on the severity of cold you may want to keep nestboxes in the house till they are fully furred and just take them out to nurse once or twice a day. You can add extra heat (but don't overheat) if you are able. Lots of hay or straw for the nest, plus the doe will eat a lot more hay then to keep warm. We had a lot of sucessful litters this past Jan. Feb. and did take some of the litters inside for a while but not all, plus we added extra heat to the rabbit house. I think that rabbits will have more problems breeding the hotter it gets and we don't really breed during the hotter months because of it.

I didn't notice any darkening of the doe's genitals but with an experienced doe and buck I decided to try it today. I put the chocolate doe in with him while I was doing rabbit chores. He mounted her probably more than a dozen times before I was finished cleaning, feeding, and watering. Although several of those times were her head. When he did get the right end she lifted her tail for him. When they started getting interested in the hay instead I pulled her out. She was wet around her genitals so I'm hoping he got it right a few times. I'm going to put her with him again this evening after I get home from class. Then there's the waiting. At least it's better than breeding my horses. I have to wait months just to ultrasound and then 11 months for a foal.<br /><br />__________ Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:39 pm __________<br /><br />I put the doe back in with the buck and she was not as eager for breeding this time. I did see them have one good mating and then left for about 10mins. When I came back she was grunting constantly and hopping away so I returned her to her cage. We'll see what happens in a month.

It's pretty typical for does to be less eager on the second session. I've always figured if the first session went well, this is natural enough... She's already ovulated. From what you describe, I think she is likely pregnant. When a doe lifts her tail for the buck, it is easy for him to hit the target. Did the buck fall off when he was successful?

He fell off several times. The one time I saw them mate in the evening seemed to be the best. He thumped, grunted, and if she hadn't flattened down on her belly he would have taken the doe over sideways with him. He was the founding buck for the rabbitry of the person I bought him from so he knows what he's doing. My young does just need to behave as well as the one I bred yesterday. The next oldest doe that I mentioned previously has enough attitude for 5 rabbits so hopefully she doesn't cause problems.

wheeee....you've got a pregnant doe, I'd bet money on it. Only takes ONE "thumped grunted, fell over" and he's pumped in the semen!

Anntann":cvflqgh2 said:

wheeee....you've got a pregnant doe, I'd bet money on it. Only takes ONE "thumped grunted, fell over" and he's pumped in the semen!

Click to expand...

:lol: I'm sorry but that really did make me laugh!

I think I'm going to die of impatience before Twix kindles!!! :explode:

Oh, trust you me, I KNOW that feeling, lol.

Well 1 week to go to find out if Twix just decided to be extra prepared by making her nest last week or if it's a false pregnancy. It was quite hot out around the time I bred them so Mocha may have been sterile. Crossing fingers for our first kits. Otherwise I have to wait until the 28th for Amako to potentially kindle.

Fingers crossed that Twix has "buns in her oven".

So Twix is due today and so far nothing. She made a good nest a few weeks ago but hasn't done anything with it in the past week. I don't feel any kits either. Just checked on her and scratched her back to have her lift and grunt at me. I'm pretty confident she isn't bred. I think I'll put her back with Mocha tomorrow night unless a surprise happens while I'm gone today.

New questions though. Twix did make a nice nest in the box. It's completely clean, grass hay packed down well, and a ring of fur in the back. Could I just leave it sit and give it back to her in a month? If my first time does fail to make a nest could I put kits in that one in the cage or would the smell of another doe's fur turn them off? Is November too late for a first time doe to kindle? We are actually getting 50s at night here already. :/ I may move the 3x6' cage in to the spare room again (that's where I had guinea pigs before) and keep either a doe or grow out kits inside so we have little bunnies to play with and the cold wouldn't be an issue. Then the other 2 I probably won't breed again until Feb.<br /><br />__________ Fri Sep 10, 2010 3:43 pm __________<br /><br />I got home after my calc test and just checked on Twix. I was ready to put her in with Mocha again if there were no kits and while I was checking the nest box I looked up to find her whole hayloft full of fur. Now I don't know what to do.... I guess wait longer to see if she'll kindle. The hayloft is not an ideal bunny nest though. I will probably have to relocate them if she decides to have them there.

hopefully you´ll get babies and she was just trying out the nest making before..

come on Twix.. show us the babies!!!..lol

Akane, if she is just due today, it would be a mistake to put her with the buck at present. Not all does kindle right on schedule! Give here a few more days. The fact that she is pulling fur at this point is a good indicator that kits are likely on the way.

I wasn't going to rebreed her just because she hadn't kindled on the day she was due. One of my horses has foaled 3 weeks late without fail so far and I don't think I've had a single animal give birth the day it was due. It was because she made a nest so early that it was thought she may have a false pregnancy, the lack of feeling any kits or any change in the doe, and her increasing lack of interest in her nest the closer she got to her due date which all seemed to point to unsuccessful breeding. Plus putting her with the buck would give an idea whether she was bred or not and another thread with a late doe who kindled after being put back in with a buck brought up the topic of birth being triggered by mating/sex if the animal/person is past their due date. Then Twix randomly decided to finally act like she was pregnant at the last moment.

Back to waiting...