I have a colony with 3 does and one buck. Two does have had litters in the past month and look as though they're about to kindle again. My third doe seems to be refusing to mate. So my question is, should I take the buck out for a while, or just leave him in the colony and let the rabbits regulate their breeding schedule? :?
Do I leave my buck in or take him out?
- Thread starter DanaYares
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SMR
Well-known member
I don't have a colony, but I would think they'd need a break eventually. He'll keep breeding and rebreeding other wise which can be very hard on does. Maybe some one else can be more helpful.
home*sweet*home
Well-known member
I had my buck in my colony and they all did great. He did not rebreed the does until 4 weeks. They had kits 8 weeks apart, BUT I could not stand not knowing when they would kindle, so I pulled him out.
The does will give themselves breaks eventually if they need to. If they lose too much condition or are not ready for more kits they will refuse to breed, fail to impregnate, and have smaller litters if it does happen. You'll suddenly find kit production drops to a litter here or there for a couple months and then there is an explosion again. However the buck will continue to be annoying trying to breed those does if they are not getting pregnant so it is still often best to give them a break if you don't have a lot of does in a lot of space to spread the buck's attention. You can pull the buck for 4-6weeks and reset everyone's breeding schedule to what you want it to be once or twice a year. The buck usually goes sterile for awhile in summer and in northern climates the does tend to not impregnate for a month or 2 in winter so fall and spring are a good time to reset breeding schedules after they've ended up taking breaks due to climate anyway.
Also watch the condition of your does. On good feed they should have no trouble maintaining condition and so they may just keep breeding with a litter every 5 weeks of large size with no trouble and no sign of stress for an entire year or more. Others will start to get scrawny and need supplements like black oil sunflower seeds or pulled from the colony for a break. Tends to be more of a problem with does under 1 year of age and then they maintain weight better as 1-3year olds. If you are really after the best production possible it might be best to cull the does who go through scrawny stages and need extra care. I don't have older does so I don't know at what point it starts to become stressful again or they stop breeding after being on such a frequent schedule during their lives.
Also watch the condition of your does. On good feed they should have no trouble maintaining condition and so they may just keep breeding with a litter every 5 weeks of large size with no trouble and no sign of stress for an entire year or more. Others will start to get scrawny and need supplements like black oil sunflower seeds or pulled from the colony for a break. Tends to be more of a problem with does under 1 year of age and then they maintain weight better as 1-3year olds. If you are really after the best production possible it might be best to cull the does who go through scrawny stages and need extra care. I don't have older does so I don't know at what point it starts to become stressful again or they stop breeding after being on such a frequent schedule during their lives.
