Chaos

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Chaos

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Hi! I'm new to raising rabbits. I have a pedigreed Silver Fox buck and 2 does mixed New Zealand & Silver Fox. All rabbits are as new to this as I am and things just aren't foollowing the rule book,!
Website does not like tablets!

My bunnies refused to breed I thought. Buck humped everything in sight but never had a fall off. My black doe had unexpected litter but didn't have a nesting box, lost all of them. I put her back in with buck, normal breeding but she was in pain.
Put her back in her own caĝe and she had 3 more kits! She also passed odorless milky yellow urine or maybe uterine discharge so she's on medication.
Tan doe refuses to breed. I gave her a nesting box just in case but all she did was throw all nesting material out of her cage. When I put her in with buck he jumps up and does a small pirouette, spraying either urine or seven the whole time. She just refuses him. I think I'll try putting them together in rabbit tractor, totally new and neutral ground, and see what happens.
All suggestions are welcome.
Also, I've never participated in this sort of online group before so please forgive any faux pas.

Rabbits are in 8 x 20' building within orchard fence. 2 large grow out cages and 3 smaller ones for individuals. I'll run a fan on hot days.
 

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Last edited:
Chaos said:
Hi! I'm new to raising rabbits. I have a pedigreed Silver Fox buck and 2 does mixed New Zealand & Silver Fox. All rabbits are as new to this as I am and things just aren't foollowing the rule book,!
Click to expand...
Welcome to the forum! A good place to explore,read,and ask questions.
 
Yes there is a rule book. Written in backwardsmirror script and language unknown. Also useless as cagebedding. So write your own, rabbits can't read anyway so writing instructions for them on what they should do is pretty pointless.
 
RABBITGIRLFORTHEWIN said:
Welcome! What do you need help with? I own Silver Foxs too!
Click to expand...
My buck is pedigreed. My does may be New Zealand, SF, or cross of those. I think tan doe is a cross, black doe is probably pure bred but no pedigree.
Vet said she's 8 lbs at 7 months old.
I'm having trouble getting tan doe to breed
 
What does the tan doe do/not do? Race along the walls of the cage at breakneck speed? Chase the buck? Mesh with the cage in a corner and hide? Just lay there and not lift?
And what do her parts look like? Clean? dark pink/purple or almost white?
 
tambayo said:
What does the tan doe do/not do? Race along the walls of the cage at breakneck speed? Chase the buck? Mesh with the cage in a corner and hide? Just lay there and not lift?
And what do her parts look like? Clean? dark pink/purple or almost white?
Click to expand...
All of the above behaviors. She appears clean pink and moist, not dark
 
So, in a way, while gross, the buck spraying her with urine is him singing Barry White's "let's get it on" to her. He is clearly ready to do his job and she is young and scared. If her cage can be near his for a week or two where she can see and smell him that may help. I would just keep putting them together about 10 minutes a day every other day or so until she sees him with resignation instead of panic. In time she will accept him, she is just young and shy lol. I would not leave them together for extended periods, because they can hurt each other--in the wild she would run away, but in a cage she might opt to fight.
 
No, sorry, I did not mean young as in age really. That wasn't fair. 7 months is old enough to breed.

I meant "sweet shy young thing" a little tongue in cheek. Some does are ready to go at 5 months, some stay "young in the head" a little longer. Patience and persistence wins the day! Just keep repetitively offering her to the buck. I have some does who are about the same age and about as unenthusiastic--I just keep trying and eventually the penny will drop and everyone will get pregnant.

If not, then it is possible she really can't get pregnant, but that is extremely unlikely. More likely is that she just needs more time to get used to the idea, but she can't become familiar with the concept of breeding if you never take her to the buck (which is what happens with mine, I get busy and then weeks have gone by instead of the few days I intended to wait) so little and often will usually work eventually.
 
I did once have a doe that just never got used to it--she would panic and try to climb the walls of the cage every time. After 2 litters I just gave up on her. Ain't nobody got time for that. I sold her on, bred, with big warnings and the hope that she might like a different buck better. If not, she may have become stew.
 
The odorless milky yellow urine is a sign of too much calcium in the diet. It's not a big deal if it only happens occasionally, but if it happens often they can have problems with their teeth and nails. If it is happening often, check your alfalfa content in their hay, you might need to mix in more grasses to counteract it.

Just in case you haven't encountered it yet, red urine that looks almost like blood is also normal if it's occasional. It's something to do with a type of plant that can be found in hay, and is harmless.

Fall off counts guarantee a pregnancy in healthy does but much like humans, any fun-times (that involve the proper end of the doe) can cause pregnancy -even if they pull-out. Any time I have two together, I ensure that a nesting box is provided at appropriate time even if I'm sure it didn't take. Whether or not a first time mother uses the kindle box, is a different issue entirely.
 

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