Can’t get bucks to mate

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Toughiemama

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Oct 10, 2022
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I have New Zealands, 2 bucks and 2 does. I had a successful breeding in the spring and 2 large litters. Then it got hot (I’m in TX) and we had an extremely hot summer. Any attempts over the summer failed. They did the mounts and fall-offs, but no pregnancies.
It has now cooled off, and now the bucks just won’t even try. They just lay by the does when I put them in and do nothing.

What can I do?? I am getting so frustrated, as I’m just starting out and these 2 pairs are my sole source to get more rabbits for now.
 
heat sterility takes time for bucks to recover from. It's a real thing.

I would remove the bucks from the does (no sight, no smell) for at least two weeks (month is better) and then reintroduce them WHEN the does are very good and ready to breed.
 
heat sterility takes time for bucks to recover from. It's a real thing.

I would remove the bucks from the does (no sight, no smell) for at least two weeks (month is better) and then reintroduce them WHEN the does are very good and ready to breed.
Oh interesting. I’ll give that a try. Thanks!!
 
Maybe try putting them in a different area like a run or table breeding. Sometimes a change of scenery helps. My bucks are usually raring to go, or switch buck houses where they smell the other buck and the competition. I don’t usually do that, but I know when I tried to switch buck out in my community they’d get all hot and bothered that another male had been there and try to mark every where and show the ladies who was the bigger man!
 
Yes, the heat sterility is definitely a thing. Once you get five days in a row over 85 degrees F, or three in a row over 90, the bucks are often sterile for the next 6-8 weeks. Once the season progresses towards winter, many rabbits choose not to breed, nature's way of avoiding cold winter babies. And some bucks are just so laid back, they just don't care. I loved the gentle Champagne d' Argent rabbits, but the bucks just had no interest in breeding, so frustrating.

A few things I tried to help the situation: 1) After an attempted breeding, leave the buck in the doe's pen, and take the doe to the buck pen. It gives them a chance to smell the other animal's scent overnight and hopefully get in the mood. Then, take the doe to the buck (who is in her original cage), and try again. Whether it works or not, I return the buck to his original cage.

2) Try for at least 14 hours of broad-spectrum lighting, to simulate the arrival of spring.

3) Did the rabbits gain weight over the non-breeding summer? If so, additional exercise may help the issue.

4) Check the doe's vulva. While rabbits are induced ovulators, they release eggs as a result of breeding, instead of having heat cycles like most pets, farm animals (and people); there is also a mini receptiveness cycle, about three days or so. When the vulva (the 'slit' beneath the anus when you flip the doe over) is pale and thin, she's really not in the mood. If it is very dark purplish red, she's probably just past 'the mood'. But if it is gently pink/purplish, a bit swollen, and moist, she's more likely to be receptive. Bucks are often not interested in non-receptive does.

5) Bucks can be easily discouraged by aggressive does. If you have a timid buck and an aggressive doe, you may need to wait until her cycle shows a moist somewhat purplish pink vulva, so it is more likely she is indeed receptive and not just domineering or grumpy, and then hold her for breeding so she doesn't attack the buck right away. Some bucks prefer the aggressive does, and get excited by the challenge and chase; but others are totally cowed by the experience and refuse to even try to breed.

I like Rosey1's suggestion to try switching buck houses, and see if the smell of the competition would put them more into the mood. I may try that. Sometimes it just takes time for the buck to get back in the 'mood'. I also like RabbitsoftheCreek's suggestion to let them run around together in a safe location for a period of time. I've never tried Ladysown method of separation for two to four weeks, very interesting. It's good to have a variety of tricks in your arsenal when dealing with recalcitrant breeders.
 
I like the neutral area system. I have a hallway in the barn that can be closed off, so the space is 20-30 square feet. I put both rabbits there, with food, water, and some places for the doe to hide--either in a box or behind stuff. Usually, the doe does hide and the buck is pacing around. A few days later the two are lying around together, mutual grooming etc.

My rabbits don't seem to be aggressive, and there has never been a fight from what I could tell. The system has always resulted in kits, even in the summer.
 
I know several breeders that have beaten heat sterility by getting the bucks down onto cool ground. One changed her system to a colony in an old chicken building with concrete floors. The bucks were able to sprawl out on the cool concrete, and bred all summer. The bucks were allowed free access to the does for breeding, which ended up being similar to MnCanary's neutral area system. It worked for her.

The other breeder has her rabbits in an outside rabbit habitat, with cool shade as well as pasture. The bucks find cool soil to rest in, and again, were able to breed all summer.
 

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