Age of your oldest breeding does

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

Thanks! I appreciate everyone’s input. We will try to breed her either this fall or next spring and it sounds like she should be able to get pregnant, barring no other issues. Our goal is to get one doe from her for our breeding program.

 

[Jackrabbit]

I usually retire mine (REX) at about 2-4 years.

 

[Tommy]

Ha! I have a pedigree that says the ancestors had up to 6 legs! ;-)

Too funny!LOL. When you breed siblings you are not only passing on desired traits but any recessive (hidden) traits. A human example is hemophilia (excessive bleeding) is a recessive trait. In the European nobility a few hundred years ago the genes for hemophilia began to recirculate repeatedly. Eventually hemophilia began to show up regularly. The Hapsburg royal family had children in every generation with hemophilia.

My recommendation is to not breed siblings. If you still want to do this make sure you inspect all the siblings (not just the two you want to breed) and record anything good or bad. You should do the same for parents. The list will give you some idea what you can expect in their kits. A couple negative things to look for is eye issues like infections, malocclusions, the split penis, any other genital problems and temperment.

To me it is also a moral problem.

Tommy

 

[hotzcatz]

Thanks! I appreciate everyone’s input. We will try to breed her either this fall or next spring and it sounds like she should be able to get pregnant, barring no other issues. Our goal is to get one doe from her for our breeding program.

If she hasn't had a litter before, she may have trouble getting pregnant. Which is why folks talk about a 'proven' doe. Usually, when there is a doe in the breeding herd, I try to get her bred before she's a year and a half but before two by preference. But, every rabbit is different, just breed her and see if it takes.
I've had a six year old doe have a first time litter, although that wasn't a planned litter. I'd put a pair of young does in with the doe herd and then went on a long vacation. Came back to find out the sex change fairy had made a visit. Out of ten does the young buck was with, the only one who had a litter was the six year old doe. Maybe the rest of them didn't like the buck, or maybe he only liked the one doe.

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

If she hasn't had a litter before, she may have trouble getting pregnant. Which is why folks talk about a 'proven' doe. Usually, when there is a doe in the breeding herd, I try to get her bred before she's a year and a half but before two by preference. But, every rabbit is different, just breed her and see if it takes.
I've had a six year old doe have a first time litter, although that wasn't a planned litter. I'd put a pair of young does in with the doe herd and then went on a long vacation. Came back to find out the sex change fairy had made a visit. Out of ten does the young buck was with, the only one who had a litter was the six year old doe. Maybe the rest of them didn't like the buck, or maybe he only liked the one doe.

Good to know!

With the particular doe in question, she is proven and apparently had some large litters in the past (14 kits in one litter).

 

[Tommy]

Thanks! I appreciate everyone’s input. We will try to breed her either this fall or next spring and it sounds like she should be able to get pregnant, barring no other issues. Our goal is to get one doe from her for our breeding program.

If you haven’t tried it already, try breeding her at different times. I have a proven doe that wouldn’t take any male I had. I gave her a week off and fed her a little extra and a few black oil sunflower seeds. Then I got a dawn and she took him readily just like she had been. I think it probably it had more to do with temperatures than time of day.

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

If you haven’t tried it already, try breeding her at different times. I have a proven doe that wouldn’t take any male I had. I gave her a week off and fed her a little extra and a few black oil sunflower seeds. Then I got a dawn and she took him readily just like she had been. I think it probably it had more to do with temperatures than time of day.

Thanks for the suggestion. We will try that.