judging a buck's readiness to breed

[Rainey]

The threads on judging a doe's readiness and sexing kits were so helpful. Any advice on how to tell when a buck is ready to breed. The jr buck we kept back isn't quite 6 months old but he weighs more now than either of his parents. We wanted to start breeding a bit earlier this year to take advantage of lush spring forage. Is there any way to tell if he is ready short of putting one of the does in with him?

(if ignorance is bliss, I should be pretty happy)

 

[FourRingCircus]

Pretty sure if testicles are visible, then he's ready. They tend to mature sooner than does. Give him a try! He'll need some time to work on his "aim" anyway :lol:

 

[MamaSheepdog]

:yeahthat:

Once they have dropped testicles they are pretty good to go.

If you know that a particular doe is usually a willing breeder, try him with her first. If possible, avoid putting him with the more aggressive does until he has a bred a couple that are cooperative.

People have had young bucks get so bullied by a doe that they will never try to breed afterwards- this behavior is also seen in dogs and equines- so ensuring that their "first date" is pleasant is a good idea.

 

[Rainey]

Pretty sure if testicles are visible, then he's ready. They tend to mature sooner than does. Give him a try! He'll need some time to work on his "aim" anyway :lol:

Thanks for the reply but I am pretty thoroughly confused. I'm pretty sure I've read somewhere that does reach sexual maturity earlier than bucks within a given breed or line. I'm visually impaired but my son and daughter who work with the rabbits say that they don't see testicles on the jr buck--and then that they've never seen them on the buck we've been using who has sired a litter every time he's gone near a doe, even when we thought no fall off, not pregnant. The proven buck is a full SF and we've noticed that as the mutts have a higher percentage of SF it is harder to sex the youngsters with the longer fur. I searched testicles in the breeding forum and read all the relevant posts. Seems like some others have trouble finding the testicles and several posts mentioned that they may be retracted due to cold or stress. It is cold here now--right around freezing, not nearly as cold as it can get. And we don't handle our rabbits a lot so being picked up likely causes some stress. I also noticed posts that mention spraying as a sign of sexual maturity. I've always been pleased that our buck wasn't a sprayer and that he always produced kits but those times when we thought there hadn't been a successful breeding and put the doe back with him later she'd growl and he'd immediately back off. But now I wonder. Is it a sign of a lack of virility if a buck doesn't spray or if the testicles are often retracted? And how do I know if the young buck is ready given what dismal failures we've been at seeing the testicles of the proven buck?
Oh, yes, also want to thank all the posts that used the word testicles instead of bits or parts or whatever--made searching easier

 

[oakhollow]

Don't worry about the lack of spraying - it's actually a blessing. I've had wonderful litters out those who did little to no spraying. The swimmers don't make them spray!

Most likely, at about 6 months, he is ready. He is likely retracting due to the cold and stress (ask any guy, it's instinctive to protect the family jewels). I would go ahead and try him out on an easy doe. You also could try looking up through the bottom of the cage, that would allow him to be a little more relaxed. Or try to find the "empty" sacks when you have him flipped.

 

[FourRingCircus]

Don't worry about the lack of spraying - it's actually a blessing. I've had wonderful litters out those who did little to no spraying. The swimmers don't make them spray!

Most likely, at about 6 months, he is ready. He is likely retracting due to the cold and stress (ask any guy, it's instinctive to protect the family jewels). I would go ahead and try him out on an easy doe. You also could try looking up through the bottom of the cage, that would allow him to be a little more relaxed. Or try to find the "empty" sacks when you have him flipped.

Through the bottom of a wire cage is definitely and easier way to see - sometimes more than you anticipated! :lol: I had one younger buck attempting to breed and bent over to pick something up... glanced up to see all kinds of things flying everywhere! :lol: How they don't seriously injure themselves on a regular basis amazes me.

 

[Rainey]

An update. Yesterday we put in the proven doe that has the mildest disposition (none of them bad-tempered--culled that) and the first time the buck backed into the corner under his bucket, then started chasing her around after he'd thought it over for a bit. She growled at him and we took her out, mindful of the advice not to let him get attacked. Again in the evening, same thing. She was somewhat pink, acceptable but not great on the doe readiness scale. And this morning when we tried her with our old buck she jumped up into his bucket facing out and wouldn't come out to play. Checked her again and saw she was paler, not darker.
So put her back into her cage and checked the other proven doe. She was bright pink bordering on purple. Put her in with the new buck (Beau), he didn't retreat into any corners, she lifted, he covered, one fall off. When he tried for another time she growled and we took her out. Think we'll give her another try this afternoon but hoping for a litter anyway. We've had good-sized litters with just one fall-off.
I feel like we're headed toward spring!