Buck died....

[Kevin S.]

Well, I had not been able to get my does bred. Last month after the does once again came up not expecting, I tried to re breed them. I put my older mature doe in with him, but he showed no interest in her at first. He started to act a bit interested, but as soon as he started sniffing her she attacked him. He just went back to being un interested. Tried to put them together again with basically the same results. A couple days later when I checked on them in the morning he was dead.

Could he have been sick and she knew it?

This was my first and only buck, so this has set me back a bit. Going to have to find another buck, and start over. I'm not upset over it, as there wasn't really any emotional attachment. It's more just being upset at the setback. This buck was a bit hard to find to start with, so now I have to start looking again.....

 

[ottersatin]

That's sad,
but maybe it is all for the better.
If you were closer to N.Y.S. I would be glad
to help you out with a Buck.
I hope you find a replacement soon.
Dennis, C.V.R. ldtimer:

 

[MaggieJ]

It's certainly possible that if he was ill that was the cause of the breeding problems. Rabbits, being prey animals, hide illness very well. What seems like sudden death can sometimes be the result of a long-term problem with no visible symptoms. If bucks are hard to come by in your area, you might want to consider keeping a back-up. This can be a promising youngster from one of your first litters.

 

[kotapony]

She may have known, and his lack of persistence probably didn't help either. I feel for you, though. I lost one of my two does a few weeks back. She was only 6 months old, but must have been sick for a while without showing it. She'd been with the buck 3 weeks but wasn't bred when she died. My second doe had a litter right on time at 30 days, so I know it was nothing with the buck. I'm left with one buck and one doe so I'm at least not totally shut down, but when you only have two losing one really hurts.

Hopefully you find a new buck soon - it stinks you're out of commission till then.

 

[Frosted Rabbits]

In the wild, females will not breed to unhealthy males. There is an ability to recognize kinship- which helps keep too much dangerous inbreeding from happening (until man kills off the trophy bucks)- and it is now actually thought that many females in different species can tell how healthy the males immune system is-- so yes, a sick buck could be refused by a perfectly healthy doe- Ihope your doe is healthy, and not hiding the same malady--
now, back to the breeding pen for my crew...

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

hm... very interesting... "the mom gene" ;D my mom always said that mothers naturally know those things. i'll have to tell her that scientists are thinking she may be right. hee hee!

 

[Kevin S.]

It's certainly possible that if he was ill that was the cause of the breeding problems. Rabbits, being prey animals, hide illness very well. What seems like sudden death can sometimes be the result of a long-term problem with no visible symptoms. If bucks are hard to come by in your area, you might want to consider keeping a back-up. This can be a promising youngster from one of your first litters.

I was planning to basicaly this. I was going to keep a good looking doe from the first litter, and then try to find a Cali buck. I think 5 rabbits is the most I can get away with having on a permanent basis so 3 does and two bucks was the plan.

Oh well, I kept them all alive through the insanely hot summer, and was looking forward to some reward for my efforts, lol, I guess that I will get a bit more experience maintaining them for now, while I hunt for a buck. Thanks all.

 

[LilFish_JWQueen(:]

yeah i agree she might have known or she was jus an aggressive doe..i wouldnt leve a buck with that doe over night again.
Hope you find another buck!

 

[Kevin S.]

yeah i agree she might have known or she was jus an aggressive doe..i wouldnt leve a buck with that doe over night again.
Hope you find another buck!

Unless she just turned aggressive, then she wasn't. I had bred her a couple times before to him, and she was always fairly easy going about it. She never took, and we assumed it was due to the heat.

Maybe this last time she got aggressive because he wasn't being succesfull? lol jk.