Problem with breeding?

[CanucksStar#17]

I'm not sure where I should post this, so if this is not the place to post something like this please let me know!

In October of last year I bred one of my females that had never been bred before and she ended up not getting pregnant. So last month I decided to try breeding her again my buck who is 3-4 years old didn't really do what he was supposed to do, he was trying to breed her but he never fell off of her, she didn't like him very much and mostly ran away from him. I figured she wasn't ready so I decided to breed my other female, she has had one litter. He did the same thing tried breeding her but never fell off of her. After three or four tries with both rabbits I figured if they where going to get pregnant they would be pregnant. They were both unhappy with me by the end of it all.
Some people say that it is impossible for the females to get pregnant unless the males fall off of them but a friend of mine has never had one of her males fall off and has had lots of litters, so I'm not really sure if that is true or not. My male tries for a while and then just sits there for a long time until I give him a push and he will try again. What does that mean? I have had rabbits that are 7 years old that are still going strong. Is it the males fault or the females? I don't know yet if the females are pregnant or not they won't be due for another 2 weeks. But I tested them with the nail and half the time it says they are pregnant and the other half of the time it says they aren't, so I'm not sure how accurate the nail is this time. The nail is so far 100% accurate. Does anyone know what is going on with my rabbits?

 

[DBA]

Please explain the nail test, I've never heard of that before.

 

[cmfarm]

The male will only have a successful breeding if the female raises her rear end up for him to breed. The male will try regardless and sometimes it takes a little while before the female decides to lift. While a male doesn't have to necessarily fall off the female, it usually does happen as they scrunch up when they hit the mark and usually fall afterwards. Some bucks have better balance and can stay upright but if they don't hit the mark and scrunch up then it wasn't successful.

 

[Silver Cloud]

I would like to hear about the nail test also. I just bred 2 does last evening and it took 1 hour for 3 solid connections, and the doe would not allow it for the first 20 minutes even though she would go to a corner and lift teasing the buck. We stay and watch every minute until we get atleast 3 solid connections, most would say over kill for 3 but it's the way we do things. We find it takes a little some time for some does and others a matter of 15 to 20 minutes for 3 connections. Like I said it's just our way of doing things. <br /><br /> -- Mon Mar 16, 2015 10:12 am -- <br /><br /> Do you use Apple Cider Vinegar in your water?

 

[CanucksStar#17]

Ok I will try to explain the nail test. My sister has been using the nail test for the cows and goats for quite a few years now. What you do is you tie a ribbon or string to a nail, you then hold it above the hips of the animal. If the nail swings from hip to hip the animal is pregnant, if it goes up and down the spine the animal is not pregnant. It works for cows and even though I haven't tried it much on my rabbits so far it has been 100% accurate.

 

[macksmom98]

Do you put your Does in your lap to do this test? And how far along are they supposed to be? Has this test been accurate telling the difference even with false pregnancies or do you know?

-- Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:01 pm --

I did this and it swung hip to hip. Sounds like a wives tale to me but it sparked my interest enough to give it a try and see what happens. We are suspecting a false pregnancy in our female but the last week or so her belly is sagging, so I'm not for sure. I am new and so is she. Never was able to palpate her and have not felt any babies or visually seen kicks either. We are day 24 so not much longer to wait! She has been bred a second time 4 do as or so ago, which is why I was curious how far along they are supposed to be? Also, and news if wind or other weight of string/twine etc can play a factor, or is it really as easy as it sounds? <br /><br /> -- Tue Mar 17, 2015 3:01 pm -- <br /><br /> I did this and it swung hip to hip. Sounds like a wives tale to me but it sparked my interest enough to give it a try and see what happens. We are suspecting a false pregnancy in our female but the last week or so her belly is sagging, so I'm not for sure. I am new and so is she. Never was able to palpate her and have not felt any babies or visually seen kicks either. We are day 24 so not much longer to wait! She has been bred a second time 4 do as or so ago, which is why I was curious how far along they are supposed to be? Also, and news if wind or other weight of string/twine etc can play a factor, or is it really as easy as it sounds?

 

[CanucksStar#17]

I'm sorry for not replying earlier but the internet here is so slow I couldn't even get on this site.
The test is accurate for cows and goats so far on our farm. I haven't used it on my rabbits much yet so I'm not sure how accurate it is for rabbits. I'm not sure about the accuracy for false pregnancies. I have held them on my lap to do the test and I have also just done it with them in their cage, they shouldn't be moving though.
I'm not sure if the weight of the string would make a difference or not, we used to use ribbon until we lost that nail and now we are using some string that is knotted so I don't think weight would make a big difference. Wind would be a problem because it would make the nail move, so you have to have no breeze or anything that will make the nail move. Let me know if your rabbit has any babies.

 

[dangerbunny]

Some people have reported success with dowsing but I wouldn't rely on it as a diagnostic method. http://www.pendulums.com/how_it_works.htm

I think learning to palpate is a simple and effective skill that is worthwhile to learn.