Breeding schedule

[Cottie]

How long should I wait? I want 5 litters from each of my does each year.

Sad to say...Minnow, who has never been very nice, will be the test subject to see if my girls can birth NZW babies. Mrs Howell has become quite the sweet heart and is a doting mother.

I can't breed her until the current litter is weaned and moved. My NZWs will be well out of the 30 day quarantine period by then, but I want to give extra time in case they develop something on day 40.

She kindled on June 17. I plan on having the kits weaned at 8 weeks, so I should be good to breed her again on August 17. That's over 2 months of quarantine.

My question is, to get 5 litters per year, do I breed her again 28 days after she kindles the next litter? Breed on 8/17, kindle on 9/17 (approx obviously), breed again on 10/15? Then she would kindle roughly the same time the previous litter is weaned.

Or is this a really bad idea all around? Should I not even try to breed my 5lb mutts to NZWs?

 

[JessiL]

I found this rebreeding schedule on someone's blog somewhere... unfortunately I did not keep track of where so I can't properly give credit where credit is due. Anyway, here's what I copied to a word file:

LITTERS A YEAR-
4 Kindle litter- Rebreed 60 days after kindling- Wean kits at 60 days- Kindle next litter 91 days
5 Kindle litter- Rebreed 42 days after kindling- Wean kits at 56 days- Kindle next litter 73 days
6 Kindle litter- Rebreed 28 days after kindling- Wean kits at 42 days- Kindle next litter 59 days
7 Kindle litter- Rebreed 21 days after kindling- Wean kits at 35 days- Kindle next litter 52 days
8 Kindle litter- Rebreed 14 days after kindling- Wean kits at 28 days- Kindle next litter 45 days
4 to 6 litters a year are more likely with a natural feeding program, 6 to 8 litters a year will require more management and the need for a high protein production pellet.


Hope this helps!
I can't help with any informed feedback about breeding smaller meat mutts to full-sized NZs. Hopefully someone else will chime in.
-Jessi

 

[Ivory]

For five litters a year they need to kindle about every two and a half months.

Breed when kits are 6 weeks old.

 

[Andrei]

Your location makes it harder for 5 per year.
Unless you keep her in the house in the winter .......
If you go the natural way take out the winter months and then divide by 3.
Even then you need to give her a special diet to keep her from collapsing on the third litter.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

Your location makes it harder for 5 per year.
Unless you keep her in the house in the winter .......
If you go the natural way take out the winter months and then divide by 3.
Even then you need to give her a special diet to keep her from collapsing on the third litter.

I have to ask.. What would the special diet be

 

[Andrei]

The special diet would be turky pellets.
Predigested high protein with minerals added and antibiotics.

 

[Dood]

I am in Southern Ontario and have litters all year. But my rabbits are in a barn heated to 32' to prevent their water from freezing and with 8 hours of fluorescent light.

I ve bred a 6 pound doe to a 9 pound buck. The kits tended to be on the small side and rarely got to 6 pounds in 16 weeks. A 4 pound buck on a 12 pound doe however surprised me and the kits were almost as big as their purebred AmChin cousins

I'd breed once the kits are weaned at 4 weeks, if the doe is in good condition, and try for 6 litters a year to factor in that one or two may not get pregnant or you could loose a few kits.

I highly recommend you only let your does feed 6-8 kits/litter to keep them in good form and supplement with a high protein food as others suggested.

 

[Cottie]

I found this rebreeding schedule on someone's blog somewhere... unfortunately I did not keep track of where so I can't properly give credit where credit is due. Anyway, here's what I copied to a word file:

That's exactly the chart I was looking for last night! :lol: Thanks!

Your location makes it harder for 5 per year.
Unless you keep her in the house in the winter .......
If you go the natural way take out the winter months and then divide by 3.
Even then you need to give her a special diet to keep her from collapsing on the third litter.

This is a good point, since we're moving them outside. Wouldn't I only lose one breeding over the winter, though? I've only seen cautions against it being too hot to breed. I obviously wouldn't want kits when we're going through a -20F spell, but I'm not sure why a cool weather animal would be unable to breed at 10 to 40 degrees (the majority of our winter).

 

[SyP]

I have tried feeding my rabbits special feed and I always run into the same problem, they won't eat it, seems my rabbits have a hanker'n for nothing but alphafa. Most of them won't even eat a carrot or a apple and will just even scrape out whole seed feeds from there feeders. There is also somthing else to consiter and thats the fact that one of the reasons I started raiseing rabbits was to get away from all the artificial ingredients that can be feed to some of the animals that are processed for meat in the stores.
:zombiebun:

On the subject of breeding scheduels, I know most people like to plan out all these days in advance and try to figure out how many rabbits they will be able to breed, but in reality things are not always that simple. I breed my does on a every 2 month scheduel meaning after the kits are 4 weeks old I breed the doe again, but there are some things to take in consiteration, like heat, cold, wieght of the doe, age of the doe, available space and the general health of the doe. Last year I had one of my does come down with mastitis, with 2 breasts missing and swollen black and blue there was no way I was going to re-breed her, I had to give her a brake until she healed and came back to her regular wieght.

Bottom line: Even though some of us raise rabbits for meat, either for sale or our own consumption, I think it is important that we also respect them and be thankfull we have the opportunity to be able to raise what I consiter to be the best meat in the world. :respect:

 

[Dood]

I'm not sure why a cool weather animal would be unable to breed at 10 to 40 degrees (the majority of our winter).

Because it is not natural.

Hours of daylight and temperature affect animals reproductive cycle regardless of whether they have enough food or body condition to support offspring.

Other things to consider
- a nursing doe drinks a lot - licking ice is not going to meet the need and her milk production will suffer.
- sperm is delicate and can die from being too cold, just as easily as if too hot, your bucks fertility will be reduced

Even in my barn with heat and light my winter litters tend to be on the small side.

 

[stone soup farm]

I found this rebreeding schedule on someone's blog somewhere... unfortunately I did not keep track of where so I can't properly give credit where credit is due. Anyway, here's what I copied to a word file:

-Jessi

That probably came from Raise and Shine rabbitry. I have seen it posted there anyway. Great place for information and I call him my rabbit "guru".<br /><br />__________ Thu Jul 04, 2013 4:22 pm __________<br /><br />FYI I do re-breeding between 5 and 7 weeks. I usually wean at 6 weeks. But I do live where the weather between 30-70 degrees. Not usually lower or higher, and if so not for long.

 

[AnnClaire]

Hi RJ,

I rebreed anywhere from 48 hours after kindling up to a week ... I do have an abbreviated breeding season ... for example, I am shut down for the summer right now and my youngest litters are 6 weeks and they were 30 days after I normally shut down (late, cool spring).

I only breed if the doe is still in good condition, and with my breed back schedule, I also wean at 4 weeks. I believe I avoid weaning enteritis because of starting the kits with oats (steamed, rolled, cracked, groats, etc.) and giving them access to adult poops. Mostly I raise them in the house, so I bring in a couple of poops and put some in the water (ever wonder why rabbits poop in their water crocks?) and give some near the hay rack.

If your rabbits are always going to stay in a cage, you might want to consider my opinion on a doe building a "poop pancake" in her cage. I don't really know how they do it suspended 3' above the ground, but I have watched a doe use her hocks to smush her poops into a pancake When the babies start coming out of the nest box, I have observed them make their way straight over to the poop pancake and start nibbling/licking.

This is just my own opinion/observations and plenty of folks disagree with me, and the ARA in your area would probably take extreme offense at a poop pancake

 

[MaggieJ]

The special diet would be turky pellets.
Predigested high protein with minerals added and antibiotics.

If your turkey pellets are anything like these* they are not suitable for rabbits. Rabbits are herbivores and should not be fed animal products. Rabbits should also NOT be given antibiotics as preventative measures. Their digestive systems can be compromised by feeding antibiotics.

* http://www.riverina.com.au/website/file ... icated.pdf

Wheat, maize, sorghum, bran and pollard, a combination of
protein meals (cottonseed meal, soybean meal, sunflower
meal, bloodmeal, meatmeal), vegetable / animal oil, limestone, sodium bicarbonate, salt, choline chloride, amino acids, mould inhibitor, dinitolmide, Riverina vitamin & mineral premix.

 

[Ivory]

Y'no Maggie, I never thought about that.

Some of my rabbits share pens with chickens. All my rabbits LOVE the chicken feed, and seem to do well on it.

I'm sure it must contain similar ingredients to turkey feed.

 

[MaggieJ]

One of the reasons I quit feeding pellets was because I had a choice of only two brands nearby. One the rabbits disliked and the other (I found out) contained animal tallow. The rabbits had been eating it for some time and seemed to be doing fine on it, but I am picky about things like that. Maybe too picky. :roll:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Even then you need to give her a special diet to keep her from collapsing on the third litter.

I have to ask.. What would the special diet be

I don't doubt that turkey pellets would put weight on rabbits. Both antibiotics and meat products are fed to commercial livestock to promote rapid weight gain. It is not a healthful approach in my opinion- think Mad Cow disease!- but it works. :roll:

Most of us raise our own meat to avoid those types of feeding practices. I, for one, would not feed it to my rabbits.

I feed alfalfa hay and grains, and have no problem getting more than three litters a year out of my does.

 

[AnnClaire]

One of the reasons I quit feeding pellets was because I had a choice of only two brands nearby. One the rabbits disliked and the other (I found out) contained animal tallow. The rabbits had been eating it for some time and seemed to be doing fine on it, but I am picky about things like that. Maybe too picky. :roll:

Nah, Maggie, you can never be "too picky" when it comes to what your animals eat ... "garbage in, garbage out" is so true in livestock.

 

[Cottie]

Thanks for all the discussion and useful info!

I think I'm going to breed them two does again on Sunday, assuming the weather cools as much as it's supposed to. The current litters are just about 5 weeks old, so I'll plan on weaning at 8 weeks.