Question about breeding interval.

[beamer]

I've had 3 litters from each of my does now with pretty good luck. I've been weaning the kits @ 8 weeks. A week after the kits have been weaned I have the does bred again. I don't really have a good reason for doing it this way other than I thought it might be a good idea to wait a week after weaning in case the doe is stressed from having her little ones taken away. I'm curious though if this is a reasonable program or if there is a better system. These are Californians raised for our own consumption. So I'm not trying to operate a high production rabbitry. Just want to be efficient but not push them too hard. . Seems like I'm always questioning myself. Lol

 

[Zinnia]

I thought this was an interesting read. http://www.admani.com/Rabbit/Rabbit%20Reproduction.htm

This time around, I had planned to breed back when the kits are 6 weeks old. But, now I'm not so sure. Mine are outside in a pseudo-colony setting. And we're getting some seriously cold weather.... They manage, but I don't know if I can handle the stress!

 

[katiebear]

I just checked out that web site...Lots of good info.. Thanks Zinnia.
I was just thinking about going for the next group of breeding too..so very timely!

 

[3mina]

My does wean at four weeks so I don't make them deal with the kits longer than five weeks and since I can't breed year round (I get less than eight hours of daylight during the winter & the rabbitry is outdoors, without power) my does are bred back within a week of kindling usually

 

[Zass]

Breed back time really depends on how many kits one wants from each doe/year. I have more does here than I really need to feed a family 4, and sometimes they have big litters, so I don't have any pressing reasons to breed back before 8 weeks. Most of my girls actually do nurse that long, and longer, if I let them. If I had an empty freezer however... I know they can be bred back much earlier.

 

[beamer]

Thanks Zinnia. That article was exactly the info I was looking for. Looks like I can easily get another litter a year. I stress about the cold too. And then I go check on them and they seem perfectly comfortable.

 

[michaels4gardens]

I like to re-breed at 5 weeks, ween at 8 weeks

 

[Comet007]

There are so many different answers to this question! It really depends on what your needs are production wise. The more intensive the breeding schedule, generally, the shorter the usefulness of the doe. So a commercial breeder who breeds back their does at one week post-kindling might replace their does each year, but someone who breeds back at 9 weeks (like you described) might keep the doe until she is much older and starts to have less optimal litters.

We breed back at 25 days, and remove the kits to the grow out cages at five weeks. It seems to work well for us, and is actually producing more meat than we really need, so we eat a LOT of rabbit right now. We recently bred four does (Thanksgiving week) and all four got pregnant, so the limited light didn't seem to stop ours from producing.