Well, I bought 6 American Blue rabbits in early August, doe, buck, and 4 juveniles from their first litter. The previous owner had gotten the doe and buck as meat rabbits. When bred, the doe had 9 kits in her first litter, of which 5 survived. (The previous owner had a hard time reconciling slaughter after she had handled the kits for a couple months. That was why she sold them to me.) I assumed the high mortality was from lack of experience on the part of the doe. But, I had high hopes since 9 for a first litter seemed pretty good to me after all that I've read. So, after getting them all settled in and waiting for several weeks to get them acclimated to their new surroundings, I bred the doe again. Or tried to. She wasn't very cooperative. She grunted and whined at the buck and kept squatting down to refuse his ardor. So, I tried again the following day. She acted the same. But, I had read about tabling since the day before, and decided to try it. I wasn't certain that it had taken. After waiting for 31 days, nothing. So, I decided to try again. I put her in the bucks cage this past Tuesday. She whined and cried at me, and grunted at the buck. Again, I reached in and held her in position so the buck could do his thing. But, I don't think this breeding was successful either. I'll know in a few weeks.
When I got the rabbits from the previous owner, I asked her if she had given any of them a name. She said no. But then, she added that she had began calling the doe "the bitch" because of her extreme dislike for being handled at all. It seems that every time she had tried reaching into the doe's cage the doe charged at her. She does the same to me often. All the other rabbits took to me very well in just a few days. So much so that the buck usually comes to the door of the cage when he see me and waits till I reach in to stroke him, (he especially likes scratching behind the ears). But, the doe still gets defensive, and extremely so. I am beginning to question if her temperament is what was responsible for the high mortality in her first litter. After all that has happened thus far, I have just about decided that if the doe doesn't kindle this time around that she'll be heading for the stewpot. I still have two of her daughters, which will be breeding age in another 6 weeks or so, and they have little problem with being handled. As long as they respond positively to the buck, they'll do just fine. I can't afford to feed rabbits which can't deliver.
Thoughts or comments?
When I got the rabbits from the previous owner, I asked her if she had given any of them a name. She said no. But then, she added that she had began calling the doe "the bitch" because of her extreme dislike for being handled at all. It seems that every time she had tried reaching into the doe's cage the doe charged at her. She does the same to me often. All the other rabbits took to me very well in just a few days. So much so that the buck usually comes to the door of the cage when he see me and waits till I reach in to stroke him, (he especially likes scratching behind the ears). But, the doe still gets defensive, and extremely so. I am beginning to question if her temperament is what was responsible for the high mortality in her first litter. After all that has happened thus far, I have just about decided that if the doe doesn't kindle this time around that she'll be heading for the stewpot. I still have two of her daughters, which will be breeding age in another 6 weeks or so, and they have little problem with being handled. As long as they respond positively to the buck, they'll do just fine. I can't afford to feed rabbits which can't deliver.
Thoughts or comments?
