Breeding Questions

[Autumnarcher]

I bred my NZ Red doe on May 3rd. She had been living wild on my neighbors farm, and was recaptured. Shes a good looking healthy doe, about 1 1/2 yrs old. I put her in with my red buck,who wasted no time hopping on. I had them in cages next to each other for a few days prior to their first date. The book I have says to put her back in with him about 8 hrs later, which I did. She backed into the corner, so he hopped on her head and went to work! After I got done laughing, I reached in and spun her around, and he hopped on again.

My book said to put her in a week later and see how she responds to him, as a way to gauge if she took or not. He hopped right on and brd her again, but as he finished, she wasnttoo happy, growling like crazy at him. I checked her again,and again no semen on her. My buck is a year old, and full of energy. Hes constantly running around, jumping and spinning in mid air in his cage, and devours his food.

Since this was my first time breeding my rabbits, I wasnt sure what to expect. Does this sound normal, or should I just wait it out to see if she took?

 

[Miss M]

If I'm not mistaken, the part in the book about putting her in with the buck a week later is wrong. She could actually end up with a double pregnancy, as the doe's uterus has two long "horns". Pregnancy can occur in either or in both. She could be a week pregnant in one, and then conceive in the other.

This typically ends in the loss of both litters.

Don't feel bad, you're just starting out, and I can guarantee you that none of us got it all right when we started!

It is possible that she kept her tail down when you put her in there a week later, and he wasn't able to actually breed her. :clover: So go ahead and give her a nesting box 28 days from her first breeding, and hopefully she'll give you a nice, warm, wiggly box full of popples. :razz:

I put my does in again 8 - 12 hours later, too. It's so hot here a lot of the time, that I want to make sure to have the best chance possible to have a productive breeding. I try to do the first breeding at night, and the next in the morning, so it isn't hot in between.

 

[ottersatin]

There are lots of books on the market.
it is my opinion that much of the information
is not always correct. One must do a lot of reading,
pay close attention and after proper assessment separate
the "Wheat from the Chaff". Experience is a great teacher
but can at times be costly.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[curlysue]

Many times i test breed after two weeks.i have only had the double pregnancy thing once.

 

[skysthelimit]

A lot of times when I put them back in for a second breeding session (8 hrs later) they refuse to breed, so I pretty much stopped doing that. I've had a litter of seven from ONE single mating, not one session but he was on her only once.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

I have rabbits that will breed even tho they are pregnant. So putting them back in a week later dont alsways work

 

[trinityoaks]

What book are you reading?

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Bob Bennet suggests test breeding 7-10 days after initial service in his book, and makes no mention of the possibility of dual horn pregnancies.

EDIT:

***This is in response to TrinityOaks question above- that the information may have been found in Bob Bennet's book.***

I am not suggesting that the technique should be used!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Bob Bennet suggests test breeding 7-10 days after initial service in his book, and makes no mention of the possibility of dual horn pregnancies.

Bob Bennett also suggests regularly feeding antibiotics with the food... :roll: You cannot always trust what you read in a book. I just take what works for me, and leave the rest alone. :mrgreen:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Yes, he does indeed. Mr. Bennet also comes from an era that considered antibiotics to be almost magical, and considered their usage the "responsible" way to manage disease. But God gave us brains so that we could think for ourselves- and question practices that are not logical. (Although in our case Sistah, he only gave us the one to share... good thing it has a high capacity!)

And MaggieJ and Midnightcoder gave us RT! WOOT!

Edit: He suggests it so you don't "lose" that 20 days with an unbred doe. Too risky for me- I've never done it.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Yes, he does indeed. Mr. Bennet also comes from an era that considered antibiotics to be almost magical, and considered their usage the "responsible" way to manage disease. But God gave us brains so that we could think for ourselves- and question practices that are not logical. (Although in our case Sistah, he only gave us the one to share... good thing it has a high capacity!)

And MaggieJ and Midnightcoder gave us RT! WOOT!

Edit: He suggests it so you don't "lose" that 20 days with an unbred doe. Too risky for me- I've never done it.

Me neither, at least not intentionally! I *did* rebreed Big Mama that one time, thinking she had missed....two weeks later she dropped a litter of six on the wire in the middle of her current litter of 6wk old kits!

 

[rittert3]

My book says to that a doe will refuse a buck a 16 days if she took, but I just feel her stomach at 16 days and I can tell. It also mentions the possiblity of double pregnancy. I table breed. 2 breeding then I bring them back in 2 hours and I try to get 2 more breedings, sometimes only get 1 more though.