breeding by moon phases?

[ohiogoatgirl]

i heard about this first on a facebook rabbit group. i just looked it up a bit but no one seems to give info about the facts behind it. so here are two links i found helpful a little:
http://www.sunniebunnierabbitry.com/Moon.html
http://www.calendar-365.com/moon/moon-phases.html

does anyone do this? anyone heard about this? anyone have good or bad things they have heard about it?

i am curious since there seems to be something like this for all animals now that i am looking it up. and alot of people garden by the moon.

i bred my dutch doe on feb 15. but i will be breeding my lionhead does on feb 21 unless they kindle before then (which its not looking as if they will). so i guess i will have to see how correct it goes for me.

thanks! :bunnyhop:

 

[Secuono]

Well, real calendars were by the moon, then modern weirdos changed it to "fit" their year...so...
free bump

 

[ottersatin]

I dunno,
I feel that whichever sex the kits are is nothing more than,
the luck of the draw! The Doe will produce
both X and Y chromosomes, while the Buck
will only produce Y chromosomes.
The kits get on Chromosome from each parent,
they will either get an X from the Doe and
a Y from the Buck OR, they will get a Y from each parent.
Whatever that may be will determine the sex of each individual kit.
I have never placed mush faith in breeding by trhe cycles of
the Moon, the Sun or the Stars.
Hey, if it works for, Whatever floats your Boat!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[MaggieJ]

You've got it backwards, Ottersatin... You and Henry VIII! In mammals, it is the male sperm that is either X (leading to female offspring) or Y (resulting in male offspring). The egg of the female is always X.

Planting and breeding by the moon is as old as agriculture. It has believers and detractors. Many of the things we do are the result of "ancient wisdom". The past century and a half has been so science-orientated that it is easy to dismiss ideas that worked for people for hundreds or thousands of years, just because we cannot connect the ideas to a rational, scientific explanation. We are just beginning to come full circle and see that there is often more than a grain of truth in what we have thought of as "old wives' tales".

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i just counted backwards for when the doe would have been bred for her current litter. so it would have been december 24 2011, which is a new moon. according to the moon phase breeding the litter should have given does. but from what i am seeing and guessing right now is that the litter is 3 bucks and 1 doe. (also granted i never sexed the runt that had died).
i had already planned on breeding the lionheads on the 21st so i'll just have to see how their litters turn out.
thanks

 

[squidpop]

I've only bred twice and each time it was on the full moon- one litter had 4 bucks and the other had 4 bucks and 2 does. Next time I'm going to breed on the new moon because I want a really nice doe.

 

[GypsyTinker]

Planting and breeding by the moon is as old as agriculture. It has believers and detractors. Many of the things we do are the result of "ancient wisdom". The past century and a half has been so science-orientated that it is easy to dismiss ideas that worked for people for hundreds or thousands of years, just because we cannot connect the ideas to a rational, scientific explanation. We are just beginning to come full circle and see that there is often more than a grain of truth in what we have thought of as "old wives' tales".

I'm glad this is being discussed. I have read some of the Foxfire series and it talks about planting by the signs. I don't fully understand it but what I have gleamed is that waxing moon and full moons are more fertile and moist. They say you get better yield when butchering on a waxing or full moon and my does seem more receptive then as well.

The rationality to me is that wild animals would be able to eat more and breed more when the nights are lit by the full moon. They would obviously harmonize with it.

I have been breeding on the waxing gibbous and they birth on the following full moon. I like it, the rabbits don't seem to mind it, but as far as getting specific genders, I have no idea. Just had 8 born live last night to a first time dam!

Take it for what it's worth, but nature has it's ways. The more we try to bend nature to our ways the more we fail.

 

[luvabunny]

I always try to breed on the full moon. Out of 5 litters this spring (some 50 bunnies produced) I have gotten exactly FIVE bucks. It's so bad that I'm actually looking for bucks elsewhere.

I don't know the theory, actuality, or mumbo jumbo behind it. All I know is that in a decade of raising bunnies, this has apparently helped me to produce does.

My experience only....

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

I have a FB buddy that does everything she can by the moon phases-- even to shearing her Angoras.. Hmm, Ar and NMArsha were recently bred on waxing phases of the current moon--

The moon phases for planting-- plant on dark phases for root growth, and light phases for above ground growth-- some of that is explained if you look up biodynamic farming--The moon and earth both exert forces that favor roots or above ground. so, If i understand correctly, when the moon is 'dark' it is helping to pull the roots into the earth ( this is when we get low tides) and when it is full, it helps pull the above ground portions Up and out of the earth (high tides)

 

[dangerbunny]

Interesting, last litter I had 7 kits with 2 males and 5 females, I bred her on a First Quarter moon.

 

[squidpop]

So are there any other theories besides moon phases to get gender you want. I read on a breeders daily blog that she had 6 consecutive litters of all buck's. It seems like that goes so much against the odds that it had to be something the rabbits where eating or not eating, or the moon cycles or something.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

Another theory would be pH of the doe at the time of breeding-- A more acid environment as the sperm travels would kill off the male swimmers ( the fattier female swimmers survive acidic conditions better) Some people have tried this with sheep by adding ACV to the drinking water. I do not think one would want the male to be drinking the same water, as that would expose the swimmers to an acidic environment for a longer period of time...

 

[squidpop]

Frosted Rabbits - that's really interesting and sounds like a fairly scientific theory. So, I'm going to try increasing the apple cider vinegar slightly next time.