Heat Sterility in Bucks.

[Ramjet]

I bred two does on 8-28 , neither had litters , bred two does to the same buck (my only buck) on 9-12 , my palpating skills are .... bad but I don't believe they took either tho I could be wrong.


I assume the issue is due to the heat , its had been in the upper 90's for three months prior to those attempted breedings. The does are healthy , not overweight so shouldn't be a problem. Three of them are first timers tho ....

Now its in the mid 80's during the day and mid 70's at night .... has it cooled off enough ?!

I have six does but don't want more than two litters at a time as I just don't have the space for more than that. But I do like to breed them two at a time just in case I need a foster.
My plan was to breed one first timer and one experienced doe at a time , with three weeks between each pair as I have the space for them that way.


I've read I should breed him several times to get him back in working order. How many & how often ....

I don't have the option of bringing him in the house , my wife would literally shoot me & him .... Should I give him ice bottles in this weather , even tho its not terribly hot ?? The cages are well covered and probably not more than 82 in the daytime for the past couple weeks.

Would regulating the temps with ice bottles or other measures affect his ability to tolerate the heat in the future ?! This line seems to handle the heat pretty well as I haven't lost a single rabbit this summer from the heat .... but he's obviously shooting blanks.

Whats the best case / worst case scenario's as far as how long it takes him to stop shooting blanks.


I hate this Texas heat ..... :angry:

 

[Miss M]

I have read that right around 94* is the threshold at which a buck can start going heat sterile. It's supposed to hold that temp or higher for some time, several days in a row, I think. It's been a while since I read up on it.

The temps should be fine for him, now. He shouldn't need ice bottles or anything. Even in 94* weather, ice bottles are far from a guarantee. If he's like a lot of my rabbits (when I used ice bottles), he'll lie down on the opposite side of the cage. :roll:

I'm not sure how many breedings it takes to flush out the dead sperm and get live. What I would do is breed two does, letting him fall off at least three times each, and then repeat the breedings 8 - 10 hours later. I would think that should get rid of all of the dead, and give the does some live stuff to work with. Hopefully. <br /><br /> -- Mon Sep 29, 2014 11:34 pm -- <br /><br /> I just saw a Florida 4H page that says 85*. :shock: Maybe it depends on the rabbit.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I have found that anything over 90 degrees temp [where the rabbit lives ]is bad for fertility , when I lived in N. Ca., and Florida, -I put old carpet over the rabbit shed, and let it hang down over the sides quite a bit, and had a drip system ,[ hooked up with the other animal cooling sprinklers, on a thermostat], that kept it all cool., -- and-- having over weight rabbits, or pregnant does over 90 deg can be life threatening. JMHO- I also found that rabbits like to get next to 2 liter ice bottles, but stay away from 1 liter bottles, -- go figure...

 

[Miss M]

For me, it was 2-liter bottles my rabbits were avoiding. :roll:

 

[Ramjet]

Yesterday I palpated the two does that had been bred two weeks prior & felt nothing (not that my palpating skills are reliable) .... So I decided to breed two of the six .... but none of my experienced does were receptive so I went ahead with two first timers , both of which were ready & willing to the point of mounting him .... head first of course.
One of them is a massive Cali / Altex / Rex cross , damn near twice his size which is almost comical to watch. " :x Hey , get off me , you are doing it wrong!!" " :? I don't care , we are doing it this way!!"

After the initial shock of being assaulted by the girls .... he bred both of them 6 times each over the course of two sessions spread over 4 hours ..... Now we wait opcorn:

I haven't had a litter since January .... I can hardly wait!

 

[Miss M]

:clover: :clover: :clover:

 

[majorv]

I hate the Texas heat too! The only way we can breed to show at convention is to bring the buck and doe in the house for a couple of weeks and then breed inside. We ended up having a litter of 4 born inside because it was too hot to chance kindling outside. If you can't keep your outside rabbits in a climate controlled building (or inside) it's very difficult to get litters in our summers, and if you do you can easily lose the doe during kindling. With convention being in Ft Worth that's the only reason we went to those lengths to have rabbits ready to show.

 

[Joe n TN]

I have one due today and one due on Saturday. OBTW, I am in Austin, Texas now. I don't think either took, but we shall see. I too hate the Texas heat!

Has anyone else had a little yet? What breeds do you guys have?

Joe

 

[katiebear]

I am in Az. The heat here is brutal. :evil: It finally got down to the 90 's the middle of last month. My mutts come from arizona stock so I started breeding after "clearing out my bucks". Only one doe was responsive then. She is looking and acting pregnant is due the 13th :mrgreen: . Then I bread two more does a week later. I'm not sure if they took but I will let everyone know what happens.
I bread in October last year and got litters out of both does. Four out of a first timer and eleven out of my big flemish doe.
My bunnies are kept under a shaded area, kind of like how people do their horse shades with shade screen on all four sides large fan and misters. It has only gotten hot enough for ice bottles on two days.On the hottest days, It is usually under 90 in the bunny house. It is only that warm when it is 105 to 110 in the sun.

 

[Joe n TN]

One doe was due Wednesday and she has always had her litters on exactly day 31 so she was bred again today. Temperature hit 90 yesterday. The average has been in the high 80's for about two weeks and today a cool front moved in. The temperature this morning was 65F at my house. I hope she takes this time.

My second doe was due this yesterday. She has never been more than one day off so she will be rebred on Monday if she does not kindle. Oh the summer rabbit woes...

Joe

 

[michaels4gardens]

When I was in N.Ca, it was not uncommon to have 120 deg days [near Red Bluff Ca,] I raised rabbits in an insulated building with a set of big swamp coolers on it. It worked great, but-- I had lots of sad people come over to tell me about loosing rabbits, sick rabbits, and no litters . -when they were trying to keep them cool enough outside.
wish you the best...

 

[Ramjet]

Cold front blowing in ... hopefully it stays cool. Still haven't had a litter tho two does are due 10-29.

I'll likely breed two more next week that way I can maximize my free space.

 

[Miss M]

Second cool front of the season came through yesterday. It's been really nice out today, and it's supposed to be good tomorrow. We have a litter due any moment now.

 

[katiebear]

Well...The doe I used to clear out the heat blanks..The one who never lifts....had three on the wire. I blame myself. I didn't think the bucks were viable, there was no lifting , no falling off.
The kits looked like they may have been stuck because they were pretty torn up. I'm so sick about this. ..
I have put out nest boxes in all the doe cages. Please don't count on heat sterility.
Any suggestions on when I should breed her? I had bread another doe when I found the dead ones. Was thinking tomorrow. ..




Its 10 pm here and the doe has built a beautiful nest and pulled fur.....I am praying that she has at least one just for her sake. I have ano6ther doe who has built a nest and pulled fur also so I may be able to foster a kit or two. Will let everybunny know how it comes out... <br /><br /> -- Thu Oct 16, 2014 11:26 am -- <br /><br /> Doe # two had three kitts all alive lively and well fed. Re-bread doe # 1 this am. very receptive..for a change... three covers should be no problems this time.....