Is this normal breeding behavior?

[Miss M]

I decided to breed our 6-month-old doe Squeak for the first time today. We put her in with Thumper, who has bred Squeak's mother a couple of times now. Thumper gave a couple of halfhearted tries and then didn't really pay much attention to her. After a bit, I decided to try her brother, Pinto (who needs a new home), instead.

So we put her in with Pinto, who has also never mated before... though he was trying at 14 weeks, and he was quite interested. He really tried to mate with Squeak, but she just wouldn't let him.

What I'm wondering, though, is if it is normal for a buck to chew bits of fur off a doe. I know I've seen Thumper hold Pearl by her fur, but I don't know that he actually severed the hairs. Pinto seemed to be yanking at Squeak's fur and bit it off a couple of times.

We didn't allow this to continue, and put her back in with Thumper (it went this way both this morning and tonight). Oddly enough, he was more interested after she had been in with Pinto. But I still didn't see any successful matings. I am hoping she was stimulated enough to have a false pregnancy, so she'll be more receptive in five weeks or so. Hopefully.

 

[ottersatin]

Miss M,
what breed of rabbit are we talking about?
6 months is too young in most breeds to breed the Doe.
A Buck of 14 weeks will mount Does and Bucks alike
as he is trying to prove his dominance.
Yes the Buck will sometimes pull fur from the Doe.
This is in an effort to try to hold on/control her.
It is not in my opinion a good idea to try and produce
a false pregnancy in any Doe. It just wastes time
in getting a real breeding Done.
Did you check your Doe and Buck before placing them together?
The Doe should be slightly swollen and Bright red to purple in color,
this means she will be receptive. If she is pale white and shriveled
she will NOT accept the Buck. The younger Buck was too young to be used.
As always JMPO.
Dennis, C.V.R.

 

[Miss M]

These are mutt bunnies that I am breeding for meat. I had read over and over that small-medium sized does were ready to breed at 6 months, and the bucks as well. All three rabbits involved are right around 5 pounds. (I know that's not normal meat rabbit size, but that's what I have for now.)

I wasn't trying for a false pregnancy, I've just read on here a number of times that if a doe wasn't very receptive, she may have been stimulated enough to have a false pregnancy and probably be more receptive next time.

I did not check the doe before putting them together; I admit I try not to mess with things in that area except for sexing.

 

[Anntann]

I've been finding that the first time I put the doe in with a buck (virgin doe) she's scared, timid, hides in the corner..doesnt' seem to matter HOW old she is. I leave the doe in long enough to see if buck continues to try...they seem to know if a doe is mature enough..they'll try a few times...and if there's no response, they go away and leave her alone. She relaxes. They sort of "court". I remove the doe, and when I examine her in a couple of days...she usually ready to breed. You might give her a try again after a couple of days.

a lot of the meat breeds just need to go to 8 or 9 months.

As to the chewing...I would think that's a frustration or dominance thing. I haven't seen it in any of my rabbits.

 

[MaggieJ]

My Jasper, the NZR, chews and pulls the fur... and yes, I think it is frustration when the doe is uncooperative. :shrug: It does not make him popular with the ladies!

 

[Miss M]

Dennis, I apologize if I sounded combative in my last post. I didn't mean to sound that way; I was just confused.

Thank you all for explaining the fur biting thing!

Since Squeak and Pinto are only ~5 lbs., is it reasonable to think they would be ready at 6 months? Or should I wait closer to 9? I waited until 9 months for Pearl, and she was uncooperative anyway, and had a false pregnancy. I bred her back, and she had a litter.

Thumper is probably a minilop, though I really have no idea, since we rescued him after someone set him "free". He's just under 5 lbs. Squeak and Pinto are from Thumper and Pearl. Pearl was sold to her previous owner at around 8 weeks as a Flemish giant. As she continued to grow, her new owner realized she couldn't be pure Flemish because of her body shape, and sold her to me as a Flemish cross, figuring Pearl would probably top out at around 9 lbs. I now wonder if she has any Flemish in her at all, and she topped out a little over 6 lbs. Oh, well. So Squeak and Pinto are from a probable minilop and a small possible Flemish cross. So that's the background.

 

[curlysue]

I breed most does about six months or a little older.If they are fully grown they are ready too breed.The breeds i raise are full grown at six months.Small breeds that are old enough too breed(at six Months) are Holland lops,mini rex,Dutch,polish,jersey woolies.Giant breeds like Flemish and french lops would need too be 9 months too a year.

 

[dandee]

this is interesting.. i was told by the breeder of my NZ's that they had to be 5-6mos. They are 9wks now. so, i guess i need to wait for 8-9mos??
Arghhh.. that seems so far away.. I want to do this like yesterday.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Go by weight for the bigger breeds,the closer to the mature weight they are then its ok!

 

[Anntann]

Dandee, I tried the first time with my NZ replacement doe when she was 6months. oh brother. that went poorly I should have known better because she was not as large as the adults..but since she was my first "raised from a baby to adult" NZ....:roll:

She's now 8 months old and as large as Mama-san, her mum. (that's BIG, btw.) So..she has a date with Sam when he's done with quarantine in a week. She's currently living next to him, and lays down next to him and they nose rub. So I figure she's not scared of him anymore

 

[Miss M]

Yeah... this is my first "raised from baby to adult" bunny as well. Well, along with Pinto.

 

[ottersatin]

No Miss M,
I am not offended in any way and I agree with Lauren,
that you should wait till they reach Senior Weight
or close to it. I do not breed my satins until they are at least eight pounds.
Senior weight is 9Lbs and over at eight months.
If they reach senior weight by 7 1/2 months I will breed them on occasion.
In your situation it is more important to check the genital area of both
the Buck and Doe before placing them together for breeding.
If the Doe is not ready she may fight the Buck, it the Buck is too young
he may be frightened and you might never get him to breed.
Always better to wait the extra weeks or month to assure the pair is ready
for the undertaking. Sometimes when a Doe is bred too early you risk the chance
of losing both the Dam and the litter. As always, JMPO.
I well understand your wanting to get them bred. I myself often wish I could
hurry a breeding along after seeing what might be produced by the mating of said pair.
All good things come to those who wait!
Dennis, C.V.R.

__________ Thu Aug 26, 2010 8:18 am __________

 

[MaggieJ]

There is this to be considered as well. It has been my experience that does that are a little more mature are likely to have better mothering skills. Immature does often have their kits on the wire, do not pull fur or do not feed them. It is sad to lose those first litters when an extra month or two might have allowed the doe the maturity to get her act together.

 

[Miss M]

Okay, I appreciate it. I had thought that she was not going to go beyond 5 lbs., because she's been that weight for a while now, and because her dam, Pearl, is only a little over 6 lbs. But perhaps she has a little growing to do yet. Because of the mutt nature of these rabbits, I'm not really sure what senior weight is for them. So simply waiting until they are 8-9 months old is probably the safe thing to do.

I didn't know that, either, Maggie. It makes sense.

Thank you both!

 

[dandee]

Thanks for the info!