Breeding back

[Farm Girl]

How soon do you breed back after the last litter is weaned?

Also when do you wean your buns.
I've heard some people do it at 4 1/2 wks and some do it at 8. :?:

 

[xlt]

I actually don't wait until weaning... 14 day breed back...

4 week weaning...

Some people say this increases kit mortality and decreases the 8 week fryer weight, but I have not found this to be true for me in the relatively short time that I have been doing this.

One doe missed this past time on her fourteen day breed back.

 

[ottersatin]

I breed back when kits are four weeks old,
I wean at six weeks this gives the Dam two weeks
with no kits to bother her.
Of course I only do this if the Dam is in excellent condition.
I do not breed back month after month after month.
I don't want to burn out the Does before their time!
Everything in moderation, Moderation is the key!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Miss M]

From what I've read here and elsewhere, weaning at 4 weeks is possible, but comes with an increased chance of weaning enteritis. I'm weaning at 6 weeks, which decreases the chances of enteritis dramatically, as the kits continue nursing while they increase their intake of food. 8 provides even more opportunity for a smooth transition.

All of this information is second-hand, as I am only into my second round of kits.

Breeding back I'm not as clear on. I've read plenty, I just can't remember what I've read. For this reason, I bred back Pearl when I removed her kits at 6 weeks. I did not breed back Squeak, though, since I want to space the litters about 3 weeks now. So I will breed her back in another week and a half, and I will breed Fluffy three weeks later.

This works out to about 5 litters each per year, which I believe I've read is reasonable for year-round breeding, which depends on a lack of heat sterility in the bucks. :mrgreen:

 

[xlt]

At four weeks, my kits are eating A LOT of solid food already, otherwise I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it that early... may not work with everyone's animals.

Heat sterility is a primary issue for me, being in El Paso, TX... have to make hay while the sun (isn't) shining (as much) .

 

[Jack]

depends on your production cycle and your expectation, a commercial doe is started at ~6mo, and bred the 2nd day after kindling (that's what happens in nature) and in the stew pot by 3 years, she abandons the kits a day or two before she kindles again, most wait 14 days so that the kits are weened and moved out before she kindles. Others wait to 30 day, and even other 6 weeks, with the kits out at 4week, so the doe rest for 2 weeks, but then it's what you are wanting, max meat, go 2nd day, and watch the grow out cage when you shift them out.

 

[Miss M]

At four weeks, my kits are eating A LOT of solid food already, otherwise I wouldn't feel comfortable doing it that early... may not work with everyone's animals.

Heat sterility is a primary issue for me, being in El Paso, TX... have to make hay while the sun (isn't) shining (as much) .

Good point... I may need to rethink my timetable... I think it is probably heat sterility I was dealing with last summer, but I'm not sure. Still, it might be better for me to get as much breeding done aside from summer as possible, if I can find room for the meat!

 

[PhoenixFarm]

I cannot see breeding back less than 2 weeks after kindling. Lactation is very hard on an animal- as those of us who breastfed our own babies know! As for weaning,I tried to let momma handle it herself. If she is pregnant, and kits are still nursing, she will dry up enough that the kits will wean themselves, and then the does body will reset for a fresh lactation period. One time, someone who shall not be named, let a couple of his buddies kids play with one of my mommas and her babies. They also helped themselves to another rabbit to play with. e told me this a couple days later-- I thought nothing of it. Then, one day,I wondered why momma looked just a tad thinner, as she had been regaining her chunky figure very nicely. I opened up the nest box to her cage, and there was a new litter smack dab in the middle,older brothers and sisters avoiding stepping on the little ones just as carefully as Momma did. Nature handled things perfectly for her..

 

[ladysown]

my routine varies. sometimes at 5 weeks, sometimes at 10 weeks post kindle. Depends on the doe, depends on my needs.

 

[randtrabbitry]

I was set on a 2 week breed back up tell a month ago now im staggering it based on litter size and if they had a litter close together for the last 2 times. So it goes from 2 weeks to 4 weeks. And i wean from 4 weeks to 5 weeks.

 

[Farm Girl]

Thanks everybody, now I have an idea of when to breed back (sort of)

 

[herosshamy]

If you are ready for breeding doe, take it to the male in the cage. Never pass the buck Doe's cage. Keep a calendar and accurate records of the breed as fawns. The latter were for pregnancies between 10 and 14 days after the first test production.

 

[pfaubush]

I somehow missed this post, but I'm on the same schedule as xlt. I breed back at 14 days, nestbox out at 21 (though I've heard 14 is better) and weaned at 4 weeks. I only do this with the commercial side of my operation. I have a couple of does that I am working on experimental breedings with that get bred back at 28 days.

 

[Farm Girl]

I'm thinking of doing a 6wk weaning and a 5wk breed back.
As long as they are in good condition.