4 months too young to breed Belgian Hare doe?

[BC Belgians]

My junior Belgian Hare doe will be 4 moths old in 10 days. She has reached adult size and weight and is probably starting to put on too much weight. I am concerned that she will be overweight by the time I had planned to breed her, which - as I understand - might put her life at risk at kindling.

She lives colony style in a large stall with my senior doe (her mother) and the senior doe's litter. They have unlimited access to grass hay and get their 15% pellets topped up once per day. I don't feed grains or fruit, but a few sunflower seeds to get them back into their stall after exercise in the yard. In short, restricting feed intake would be complicated for me.

Should I breed her sooner than later or is that a big no-no?

-- Wed Jul 16, 2014 7:39 am --

Was this a stupid question? :dig-hole:

 

[Zass]

Honestly, it's really up to you. Some people breed as early as they can, and others wait longer. Does who wait too long are sometimes a real pain to get bred. There may even be some benefits to breeding early.

If she's senior weight and acting like she'd like to be bred, I don't see any reason not to give it a try.

 

[BC Belgians]

Thank you Zass. I had a hunch I should just follow my instincts on this. As you can tell, I am pretty new to raising rabbits and didn't want to end up doing something that was frowned upon when I should just alter my management practices instead. I know other livestock species are often receptive to being bred when they are not physically ready, which sometimes causes harm to the dam or compromises the offspring. I did not bred this doe's mother until she was 10 months old, for various reasons, but then again the mother wasn't bred or raised by me and grew up in a hutch on restricted feed and may have taken longer to develop.

I am not pursuing the showing of my rabbits right now, but want to grow my herd first. I do want to register my rabbits, however, and I wonder if breeding the doe before 6 months would in some way compromise this?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Does that are bred young usually do better than their older counterparts. They seem to have better instincts and make a nice nest, pull fur, and kindle no problem.

I know other livestock species are often receptive to being bred when they are not physically ready, which sometimes causes harm to the dam or compromises the offspring.

My young does actually put on weight and size when raising their first litters.

I do want to register my rabbits, however, and I wonder if breeding the doe before 6 months would in some way compromise this?

No.

 

[BC Belgians]

Terrific! Thank you. Now I am getting excited. She is a beautiful doe.

I have had numerous problems with her mother ... the one I bred at 10 months old. Her gestation is 34 days and at the first litter she had one live kit in a poorly built nest, and then four dead babies the next day.

Next litter, two out of six babies were dead. I was so disappointed. She is a good mom, but dead babies every time is upsetting. We will see what she does this third time around.

Here are my two gals with the current litter of four boys!

 

[Sagebrush]

Those are some beautiful Hares. I hope she has a really good, healthy litter for you this time. No DOA allowed!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I have had numerous problems with her mother ... the one I bred at 10 months old.

That is too bad. Logically, you would think that an older, more mature doe would do better than a youngster, but the opposite seems to be true with rabbits.

Here are my two gals with the current litter of four boys!

Gorgeous animals!

They are living in style, too, I see.

 

[3mina]

I'm thinking very hard about breeding my newest keeper doe soon otherwise I'll have to wait til spring and that's just too long.

 

[BC Belgians]

I'll post here to let everyone know how it goes. I was going to breed this doe back to her sire, but just got news that someone might have another nice buck for my rabbitry ... to further the cause. He won't be arriving until mid August ... so until then I have to find a way to keep her from getting fatter. Might have to cut out those yummy Sunflower seeds. I put her on the scale yesterday ... 8.4 lbs. at 14 weeks old ... oops.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I was going to breed this doe back to her sire, but just got news that someone might have another nice buck for my rabbitry ... to further the cause. He won't be arriving until mid August

It is recommended that new rabbits be quarantined for a 30 day period, which puts you at mid September for breeding her.

Why not breed her to her sire now, and then to the other buck in late September or October? That way you can compare litter outcomes. Your lines may or may not cross well with the lines the coming buck is from.

 

[BC Belgians]

Duh ... :slap: ... quarantine OF COURSE! I've only been raising livestock for the past decade and keep a closed flock of chickens and sheep for a reason. I guess I got so excited about this buck that I forgot about the important stuff.

So ... a little line breeding and then we will compare results. Great idea! <br /><br /> -- Sat Jul 19, 2014 9:39 am -- <br /><br /> Just found out from the breeder of my original pair that Belgian Hare does don't conceive until 9-10 months old. :shrug:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Just found out from the breeder of my original pair that Belgian Hare does don't conceive until 9-10 months old. :shrug:

Well, it can't hurt to try. Check her vent- if it is dark pink or purple she should be receptive.

 

[squidpop]

Your hares are such cool looking rabbits! Somewhere there is a really good thread on here where someone bred does really young, at 4-5 months and kept records, and then she compared the litter sizes and death rates to her previous records of when she breed does that where 6+ months. It turned out that the 4-5 month old does did everything better, they had larger healthier litters, better milk production, less stuck kits etc...