feeding does

[SUNSET]

Hello everyone,

I am a newbie. I have 3 does and 1 buck. Right now I have 3 litters. They are about 4 weeks, 2.5 weeks and almost 1 week old. They all had litters of 7-9 kits. So far, only 1 was lost. All others are doing very well.

I am holding off on rebreeding so I can get all 3 does bred at the same time (within a few days of each other).

So my question is about feeding the does. I have read to feed them as much as they want when they are pregnant. I also read to feed them as much as they want when they have kits not yet weaned. I am planning on using a somewhat aggressive breeding schedule and doing future rebreeds around 2 weeks after kindling. But doesn't that mean they are basically always eating as much as they want? They will always be pregnant or nursing new kits. I know excessive fat can lead to poor reproduction and potentially lower success rate but maybe that does not apply when they are still nursing?

I am kinda confused now....

Thanks in advance!

 

[TwoAcreDream]

I have read to feed them as much as they want when they are pregnant. I am planning on using a somewhat aggressive breeding schedule and doing future rebreeds around 2 weeks after kindling. But doesn't that mean they are basically always eating as much as they want? They will always be pregnant or nursing new kits.

Can you share why you are breeding them at 2 weeks after kindling ?
I would think you would wear the does out real fast. They will need
feed in front of them all the time. Check the percentage of protein
on the feed label.

The soonest I would breed any doe back that has just kindled and has
babies to nurse would be 5 weeks, and that would be her having had a small
litter. Nursing takes a lot out of a animal. And then add making new babies inside of
her puts a big drain on her system. So if you breed back at 2
weeks, her current litter will leave her at 6 weeks, actually a few
days quicker than that, so she can prepare a new nest. And you want her
to do this year round ?

 

[grumpy]

Maximizing production does sacrifice the health of your breeding does.
I've known producers that breed back at 11 days post kindling.
But, they've got to have triple the amount of cage space and are
replacing their brood-stock on an annual basis. Sometimes sooner.

Does shouldn't have full feed while they're pregnant. Keep their
ration at a normal portion. Once they kindle, add just a little to
their daily feed. Not much, or they'll over-produce milk and end up
with mastitis problems. 3 to 5 days post-kindling you can increase them
to full feed with no worries. Once bred back, the doe will begin to
dry up prior to kindling again. The youngsters are weaned earlier
than normal because of the absence of milk from their mother.

Depending upon the condition of the doe determines when I breed
a doe back. I have no hard and fast rules saying they "must" be
bred by such and such a day, or date. I've got 6 to 7 does kindling
every week as a general rule. Sometimes more, sometimes less.

grumpy.

 

[dayna]

I need to start weighing my feed and come up with a scoop system. All my rabbits are on free feed at this point and I know they shouldn't be.

 

[SUNSET]

thanks! The guy who got me into raising rabbits for meat recommends and uses this aggressive breeding schedule. He did say it is harder on the does and you have to replace them more frequently but it maximizes output efficiency.

I am just learning. I may not actually use that schedule. I just want to get them synched up for the next round of breeding instead of staggering them.

 

[3mina]

My does wouldn't ever synch for me

 

[GBov]

My does wouldn't ever synch for me

Yeh :roll: me either!

What are you going to do with all your offspring?

 

[akane]

A good line of rabbits will handle that schedule and constant free feeding just fine. That's what I've been doing for 5 years. I had a 4year old creme d'argent with a little NZ that was pregnant constantly for 4 years because I never took her out of colony and she was nutso tearing down barriers and humping everything if she wasn't allowed access to a buck. She had about 8 kits every 4 weeks. I free fed my colonies and most of my caged rabbits. The only fat rabbit I had was a mini rex doe who was kept in a cage and was the only kit so she got fed excessively by her mom. She always had trouble with her weight. I sold or butchered everything that got fat or skinny on a very high production breeding schedule. None of them wore out early. They all produced large litters for 3-5 years. I'm still doing it with the netherlands and mini rex I brought to the house.

 

[TwoAcreDream]

Akane, how many does did you do this with ?