Breeding question?

[lereg15]

I have read that bucks aren't ideal to mate until about 6 mos. That being said, the bucks I bought lived in the same cage at 13 weeks, but I have them in separate cages now, for about 2 weeks. I tried to put them in the same pen but they tried to mate with each other and then started biting, at that point I took one out. The pen I put them in is an 8x4 pen that I made for them to be able to get out and be in my yard to forage for about 30 min a day. Beings that they are trying to mate with each other, would that mean they would actually be able to do the deed now? I plan on possibly buying 2 breeding age does this weekend and wondered if any success come out of putting them together yet.

 

[Susie570]

Buck's will fight, even when young. Baby rabbits start displaying mounting behavior at around 6 weeks, but are to young to breed. Buck's from the same litter MAY get along with each other, for a while, as long as they are not separated. Eventually, they are likely to fight and may try to castrate each other. :x So, it's better to keep them separated.

 

[lereg15]

Yeah, I found that out!! I was hoping they'd still be ok with each other, but I was wrong. Oops. At least I was right there with them when they started it all, to break them up!!

 

[Zass]

Bucks can "do the deed" whenever their boy-bits(testicles) have descended. That can happen any time from 2 to 6 months, depending on breed, line, and individual development.

 

[akane]

I'll start trying to breed a buck around 3months, maybe 4 for larger breeds. The only reason not to use a young buck is that they may not have the confidence and drive for pushier does and that might make them timid for awhile. Other than that they just need practice no matter what age you start using them. As long as the testicles are mature and descended they could potentially produce offspring.

If you want to house rabbits together you should never separate them. Once separated they will want to fight out the dominance status when reintroduced. They don't just remember where they were at last time. If you attempt to reintroduce it needs to be permanent in a large pen. Every time you take them apart and put them together they will repeat the need to sort out dominance and it may actually get worse each time because they won't feel like things were settled last time. It is possible to maintain a colony of breeding rabbits but there's some tricks to it and sometimes certain rabbits just do not work in a colony no matter what.

 

[lereg15]

I'll start trying to breed a buck around 3months, maybe 4 for larger breeds. The only reason not to use a young buck is that they may not have the confidence and drive for pushier does and that might make them timid for awhile. Other than that they just need practice no matter what age you start using them. As long as the testicles are mature and descended they could potentially produce offspring.

If you want to house rabbits together you should never separate them. Once separated they will want to fight out the dominance status when reintroduced. They don't just remember where they were at last time. If you attempt to reintroduce it needs to be permanent in a large pen. Every time you take them apart and put them together they will repeat the need to sort out dominance and it may actually get worse each time because they won't feel like things were settled last time. It is possible to maintain a colony of breeding rabbits but there's some tricks to it and sometimes certain rabbits just do not work in a colony no matter what.

Thanks! I guess if I end up getting the does this weekend, I'll try it out and see what happens. I've read that the bucks can 'suck in' their testicles and that sometimes they can be hard to see, but I'll try to find them later on today.

The whole pen thing was wishful thinking. They are caged right next to each other, and they don't ever seem to pay attention to each other. I figured that I'd try and see what happens. I don't have to room to have a colony, so I will just do the cages and hutches for now.