breeding failures

[Rainey]

No kits yet for us this spring. Our 2 proven does were due to kindle Monday of last week and yesterday. Still have a young doe bred and due to kindle next week. We didn't get the fall litters we bred for last year, but didn't mind so much as the winter came early and hard and in some ways it was a relief not to have growing out kits into December. And we'd wondered if the beastly hot summer had left our buck heat sterile.

But this spring I'm more disappointed and trying to figure out what to do next. I know that the does can put on weight that interferes with conception even when they don't seem fat when you feel along their backbone and remember reading a post from michaels4gardens about putting the doe on a diet and rebreeding. Tried to search for it but wasn't sure which forum it would be in and didn't find it. Not sure how that would work for does that aren't being fed pellets and only get grain when they're feeding kits. This winter lasted long but didn't get bitterly cold so they didn't even get as much roots (sweet potato, parsnip, carrot) as usual. They've mostly just had hay, wheat grown into fodder, and dried willow. So don't know what to cut to bring down weight.

As for the buck, he produced several successful litters for us last spring and summer and, if the heat last summer made him sterile, he should have had time to recover before we started breeding late in the winter.

I want to try what we can do with the rabbits we have since starting over with new stock is also a gamble and more so for us as we don't feed pellets and would have to change them over slowly before breeding. When we started in 2014 we knew so little but we didn't have any trouble getting litters. Had a couple does since that had litters they didn't/couldn't feed but mostly were able to produce all the rabbits we wanted. Not sure where we went wrong or if our beginners' luck has just run out. Any suggestions welcome.

 

[MaggieJ]

You could try tweaking their diet to include more fresh foods that contain Vitamin A and Vitamin E. Dandelion greens are an excellent source of Vitamin A. Vitamin E is trickier since you don't want them eating more fattening foods. Perhaps wheat germ oil?

I'm in the middle doing income tax, so no time just now to research it for you, but a couple of google searches should give you the information you need.

I think you're wise to try sticking with the stock you have for the present. Transitioning new stock to natural foods is often a hassle.

:clover: :clover: :clover:

 

[michaels4gardens]

It happens,...
If the does aren't fat, you could try giving just a little grain for a week, and then rebreeding.. the increase in calories stimulates "reproduction".
If you have a young doe, and she has a litter , i guess it isn't the buck.

Another thing I have tried successfully [if the does don't want to breed] is letting the buck and doe out in a fenced yard for an hour or two, usually breeding happens within a half hour.
best of luck,
Michael

 

[Rainey]

It happens,...
If the does aren't fat, you could try giving just a little grain for a week, and then rebreeding.. the increase in calories stimulates "reproduction".
If you have a young doe, and she has a litter , i guess it isn't the buck.

Another thing I have tried successfully [if the does don't want to breed] is letting the buck and doe out in a fenced yard for an hour or two, usually breeding happens within a half hour.
best of luck,
Michael

We check along their backbones regularly and that's why we've fed fewer roots this winter, because that's what we cut back on whenever we think they're getting on the fat side. Now I need to decide whether we should be cutting back or adding grain--maybe try one doe each way.
I wasn't clear in my post, but it isn't that they're not willing to breed. We had more mounts with fall-offs than we've had other years when we got litters.

 

[MaggieJ]

Rainey, it sounds to me like your buck may be sterile. If you decide to buy a new one, you could buy one bag of pellets just for him and have rabbit pie when you have enough litters to choose a replacement from the youngsters.

At one point when I was without a viable buck, some kind RT members got me a really nice New Zealand Red. His genes really gave my meat mutts a boost, and when he began to ail, we replaced him with his son, Pudge, who was the best buck I ever bred.

 

[Rainey]

Today the 3rd doe we'd bred was due. The first 2 that failed to kindle had had litters before but this one was on her first breeding. Wasn't expecting anything after the failures, hadn't seen any haystaching. In fact since it was a cold wet day my daughter went down to see our Amish neighbors about buying a buck. The man who does the rabbits wasn't there so she came home without one and then at the evening feeding time, she came in hollering that we had kits. Kittery (I name the does for towns in Maine starting at A and working through the alphabet and this seemed an apt name for the producer of our first litter this year)
So now I know that our buck isn't sterile. Wonder if he was sterile from the heat at the end of last summer if it could have just taken a few breedings for him to start producing live sperm? Or if the two proven does had just put on fat internally, where it is hard to feel it, that made them not breed. Casco has been rebred after she failed to kindle and would be due in 3 weeks.
For now, I'm just thankful to have a litter and will have to wait and see what happens next and figure out what changes we want to make going forward.

 

[MaggieJ]

That's progress! You know now it isn't the buck. Kittery is younger than your other two does, right? That supports the theory of internal fat in the other two, but doesn't confirm it. I'd definitely be looking at the female kits in Kittery's litter for ones promising enough to grow out as future breeders.

Wonder if he was sterile from the heat at the end of last summer if it could have just taken a few breedings for him to start producing live sperm?

This is quite possible. Or it could have been a combination of that and internal fat in the does. You'll know more in three weeks time, I guess. Be sure to let us know the outcome.

 

[Rainey]

Talked to our Amish neighbor this morning and they also had lots of attempted breedings that failed from late last summer until mid to late winter. He hadn't heard of heat sterility--and I hadn't thought it was something we really needed to worry about here on the eastern shore of Lake Ontario.
Not sure what to do if this summer stays as warm as long as last. We've tried the frozen bottles and the rabbits just acted terrified of them and cowered as far away as they could get from them.
For now just enjoying this first litter of the year and this young doe being a great mother first time around.

 

[shazza]

in texas we just dealt with the heat sterility and learned not to expect kits from around may to late december. it's one of the reasons i sought out the a&m rabbits as they are more heat-hardy, and from them i could get kits as late as early july. some breeders i knew kept their bucks in air-conditioned sheds. i would be surprised if your bucks are still sterile over the winter. i would put my money on internal fat or feed issues. i've also had some trouble getting a couple does bred this year (an older one and a virgin,) and at least in the virgin's case i'm pretty sure she was just fat. i can get a better/richer feed here and everyone's gotten chunky ;p she did finally get pregnant but she only had two kits on her first litter. hoping for more next time!

 

[MaggieJ]

Rainy, heat sterility was not usually a big issue here, and since you're not far from us as the crow flies, I doubt it will be an ongoing problem for you. You could try putting a few ceramic tiles or granite (like you would use for posh countertops) in the freezer and giving one to your buck on really hot days. Even if he won't rest on it, it will cool the cage. We did use a box fan for our colony occasionally, directing it only at one half so the rabbits could find their own level of comfort. We ran a heavy-duty extension cord from the workshop. In a pinch, could you bring your buck indoors to a cooler spot? Or give him a hutch in deep shade? Just a few off-the-cuff ideas.

 

[michaels4gardens]

in texas we just dealt with the heat sterility and learned not to expect kits from around may to late december. it's one of the reasons i sought out the a&m rabbits as they are more heat-hardy, and from them i could get kits as late as early july. some breeders i knew kept their bucks in air-conditioned sheds. i would be surprised if your bucks are still sterile over the winter. i would put my money on internal fat or feed issues. i've also had some trouble getting a couple does bred this year (an older one and a virgin,) and at least in the virgin's case i'm pretty sure she was just fat. i can get a better/richer feed here and everyone's gotten chunky ;p she did finally get pregnant but she only had two kits on her first litter. hoping for more next time!

I have lived and raised rabbits in some very hot places.. in N.Ca it was not uncommon to see 120+ summer temps. [had a building with big "swamp coolers" on it]
I have found that individual bucks, have wide differences in heat tolerance.[and heat sterility]
In Florida, I did not breed after the first of April [and then still had sick does from time to time]
In November I resumed breeding..
I often had trouble getting does pregnant again after a few months "off".[ Even though they were fed mostly greens and grass hay, through the hot summer] ... I have found, ... that when you give the does a break from breeding .. it is just something to expect...