At my wits end here

[lostcreekrabbits]

Ok, so tonite I brought a FG/NZW doe to our new buck's cage to try and get her bred, the lady I bought her from said she might have been bred for about a week when we bought her but that was almost 30 days ago. So I figure that if there's no kits by now then she's obviously not pregnant, however when I put her in with MochaBear she stamped her foot a few times and then just sits there, tail tucked while he tries to get the job done, I guess I'm not sure what to do because she did exactly the same thing when put in with our other buck :x

also, I brought our 6 mo. old NZW doe in to MochaBear as well and all she did was growl and snap at him with her tail end tucked into a corner of the cage

I'm at my wits end here and any input at all would be most gratefully appreciated

Thanks, Jake

 

[ladysown]

she's just not ready to breed.

Did you check either of them for signs of readiness?

If they are a pale pink then don't bother.

Most does will show some sign of readiness... a perking of the ears. chasing your hand, growling at a neighbour, wagging their tail and such like.

Does that immediately park themselves in a corner and plant themselves butt down are simply not in the mood.

which you means you check them and try them another time.

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree with Ladysown. Where did we get the idea that they are always ready to breed?

In addition, if you have only given her 30 days since she was last with a buck, she may be pregnant. Average gestation for rabbits is 30-31 days, but they can kindle as late as Day 36.

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

It's been between 35-37 days since she was with her last buck, I didn't check the FG doe but the NZW doe was dark red so I figured she was ready to go

 

[MaggieJ]

In that case, try her again. You may just not have been patient enough. Some does like to play hard to get. Watch her tail. If she is twitching it when she is with the buck, she is likely to breed given time.

Another thing you can try is putting them into a neutral area such as an exercise pen. Sometimes the doe will feel less threatened on neutral ground.

 

[5dognightfarm]

Raspberry tea

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

Raspberry tea

for reals? like Raspberry Nestea or the hot stuff steeped and cooled down?

I can just imagine what the neighbors will think when I'm outside having a tea party with my rabbits :lol:

 

[fuzzy9]

Can I ask, didn't you just purchase the buck? I recall a post not more than a week ago where you welcomed the buck, and said he was in quarantine due to a eye cold. Quite possibly the does sense something you don't??? I had a buck one time, that came in with some does we purchased, they were all in quarantine (we quarantine everyone for at least 6 weeks here). The does would not breed with him at all!! Turns out, a week later, the buck became ill, in pain, and had to be culled.

Just a thought.

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

Yeah we've had him for a week, the lady we bought him from had been treating him for a while already and within a few days of buying him I could see no irritation or discharge of any kind so we decided to give him a few more days

 

[hoodat]

A buck sprays to let the does know he's available. Put her in a cage as close as possible where she can smell his spray. That often gets them in the mood. it's the rabbit equivalant of a candlelight dinner with fine wine and romantic music. :mrgreen:

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

A buck sprays to let the does know he's available. Put her in a cage as close as possible where she can smell his spray. That often gets them in the mood. it's the rabbit equivalant of a candlelight dinner with fine wine and romantic music. :mrgreen:

That's really got me fuzzled then, because my NZW doe is housed about 10" away from The General (who I tried to breed her to today) and he sprays like a tagger with a case of Krylon, and when I put her in with him she was whining and growling loudly and running wildly around the cage and continued to whine for about 10 minutes after we took her out of his cage

 

[RabbitPhotoGirl]

My does do the same, they run circles around the buck and then will cower in a corner to catch their breath which is normally when the buck gets them. My parents say it is normal, and I was worried once about the buck becoming dizzy from basically spinning in a circle while trying to get the doe. IF you really want to breed your doe and know she is ready then you can do the force breeding which is holding the doe still and letting the buck do his job.

Could always set their cages right by each other and let them get to know each other that way and then try again. That worked for me one time, seemed the does that I had by the buck were more willing to breed with him than avoid him. I just have the cages sitting right next to each other with the side wire touching so they can sniff at each other and such. They simply may need more time to get to know each other.

 

[ladysown]

actually this

A buck sprays to let the does know he's available. Put her in a cage as close as possible where she can smell his spray. That often gets them in the mood.

hasn't been proven to be effective with rabbits. I just read an article on it somewhere.

It can help young rabbits mature, but it doesn't necessarily help them to get in the mood (unlike swine and other such critters).

The best thing to do is just to keep trying and with young does, sometimes you just have to let them run and be crazy and then lightly touch their head to get them to chill out a bit.

now what can help with a freaked out young doe is to switch buck and doe cages for a couple days. Gets them used to the scent and so they aren't as alarmed when they first meet him.

 

[5dognightfarm]

Raspberry tea

for reals? like Raspberry Nestea or the hot stuff steeped and cooled down?

I can just imagine what the neighbors will think when I'm outside having a tea party with my rabbits :lol:

Fo shizzle, yo. I mix up some Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger, chill it, and give it to them the day before I want them to get down with the buck. It works great. I just give it to them in place of their water. I guess any raspberry tea would do, so long as its actual raspberry and not just faux flavoring.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

my Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger is MINE!!! It aint getting shared with NO DOE!!!
but hmm, perhaps the used tea leaves....

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

Awright, Thanks Cait, I actually found some squirreled away at the house here

 

[5dognightfarm]

my Celestial Seasonings Raspberry Zinger is MINE!!! It aint getting shared with NO DOE!!!
but hmm, perhaps the used tea leaves....

LOL! :lol:

I love it too, its one of my favorites.

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

Thanks Cait!
Raspberry tea works like Gangbusters, I gave some to the NZW doe this morning and noticed about half an hour ago she was acting pretty twitterpated so I put her in with The General, and she immediately flipped her tail up and assumed the position

 

[5dognightfarm]

Wow, that's great! I didn't know it worked that fast! Lol.

 

[lostcreekrabbits]

when I put the tea in with her she chugged a ton of it
Also having a little bit of a buck standoff in the barn now LOL
General with stomp and growl then Kenny ROgers will stomp and then Mocha Bear will stomp LOL