Age of sexual maturity

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

I’d like to know from experienced breeders what is the youngest age you’ve had successful breeding? (For meat breeds.) I’d like to know from personal experience - not from something you’ve heard or read. I’ve read that meat breeds take 5-6 months and yet our 9 week old Rex-chinchilla crosses were humping and chasing each other today. It sure looked like sexual behavior but according to the materials I’ve read, they should be way to young.

And at what age do you typically separate bucks and does?

Thank you!

 

[RabbitsOfTheCreek]

I always separate them the moment I know for sure all of their genders

 

[Alaska Satin]

I’d like to know from experienced breeders what is the youngest age you’ve had successful breeding? (For meat breeds.) I’d like to know from personal experience - not from something you’ve heard or read. I’ve read that meat breeds take 5-6 months and yet our 9 week old Rex-chinchilla crosses were humping and chasing each other today. It sure looked like sexual behavior but according to the materials I’ve read, they should be way to young.

And at what age do you typically separate bucks and does?

Thank you!

That humping behavior is both sexual and social - it's a dominance behavior. You'll see does doing it as well as bucks.

As for 9 weeks being too young, theoretically rabbits can breed at 12 weeks. I do know that a 12-week-old buck can sire kits - it happened in my barn last summer (by mistake!). The youngest doe I've ever had pregnant - again, a mistake - was 18 weeks old. Twelve weeks old is the latest I separate my grow-outs.

For breeding purposes, I wait until my Satins are 6 months old (does) and 5-6 months (bucks). If rabbits are bred too young it could possibly stunt them; by 6 months the rabbits have attained close to their full size. If they have not, I wait a little longer to breed them.

 

[Olbunny]

Our limit is 12 weeks. Identifying the sex should be fairly accurate earlier on. We don't, like a crowded grow out pen. Too much commotion. We have several grow out pens so easier on the rabbits if they are not crowded or have their minds on sex.

 

[Preitler]

I seperate at about 12 weeks, the youngest of my does(9-10lbs meat mixes) that ever got pragnant was about 14 weeks at the time, the male culprit was the same age .

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

That is super helpful. Thank you everyone.

Rabbitsofthecreek, when do you separate? What age?