Question about falloffs

[Ted in Pa.]

I hate having just one falloff. If I had 1 falloff and none the next day, is it okay to attempt a 2nd or 3rd falloff the third or 4th day? Or do I need to just count the first one as a take and plan accordingly?

 

[Burelka]

I read you should only mate them consecutively in a 24-48hr time frame because does can have two uterus. I would chalk it off and plan accordingly. Moving forward you can have them go at it a few times in the same day. I bring my does in to my bucks cage and within 10 minutes he's fallen off a half dozen times. Others I know bring their mating pare to a neutral space and leave them overnight to let 'nature take its course'. I personally like to witness the mating to ensure it is successful and also to make sure the doe is not in distress.

 

[Ted in Pa.]

I read you should only mate them consecutively in a 24-48hr time frame because does can have two uterus. I would chalk it off and plan accordingly. Moving forward you can have them go at it a few times in the same day. I bring my does in to my bucks cage and within 10 minutes he's fallen off a half dozen times. Others I know bring their mating pare to a neutral space and leave them overnight to let 'nature take its course'. I personally like to witness the mating to ensure it is successful and also to make sure the doe is not in distress.

Hi Burelka! Not sure if I already replied, but am still getting used to the new forum. Thanks for your input. I went with the one falloff. I too like to witness the event and my other rabbits have also gone at it like rabbits. lol But these newbie SF moms are a bit shy and have both gotten pretty nasty wih the buck on occasions. I wouldn't trust leaving them overnight with them. I may try a nuetral cage for both the buck and doe in the future. Thanks again for your help.

 

[Burelka]

Hi Burelka! Not sure if I already replied, but am still getting used to the new forum. Thanks for your input. I went with the one falloff. I too like to witness the event and my other rabbits have also gone at it like rabbits. lol But these newbie SF moms are a bit shy and have both gotten pretty nasty wih the buck on occasions. I wouldn't trust leaving them overnight with them. I may try a nuetral cage for both the buck and doe in the future. Thanks again for your help.

Good thinking, a neutral cage might be best. You can also swap them: put him in her cage and her in his so they get used to each other's scent. Then put him back in his cage with her and see if that helps.

 

[MsTemeraire]

I like to see 3 falloffs, if possible... I once read a study that the buck produces more sperm on the second mating. The third is just for luck

However on a few occasions I've had a doe that only allowed on falloff. One of these does then had a litter of 10! (That's a lot for a Dutch). And recently had a maiden doe who only allowed one mating - palpated her yesterday and she has taken.

 

[Albert]

We do a mating in the morning and then again in the early evening of the same day. If we get a single fall off (which has never proved positive so far) that's it. We let her see out the 31 days and what will be will be.

 

[MsTemeraire]

We do a mating in the morning and then again in the early evening of the same day. If we get a single fall off (which has never proved positive so far) that's it. We let her see out the 31 days and what will be will be.

I rarely get missed matings by doing the three.... it's three in a row at the same time. (A vigorous buck can manage that in about 20 mins). I don't usually try them again. Rabbits are induced ovulators, meaning the actual mating itself triggers the release of eggs, so more than one falloff is pretty much what they'd be expecting in the wild.... they'd probably be at it all day until one or the other has had enough....

 

[Ted in Pa.]

I like to see 3 falloffs, if possible... I once read a study that the buck produces more sperm on the second mating. The third is just for luck

However on a few occasions I've had a doe that only allowed on falloff. One of these does then had a litter of 10! (That's a lot for a Dutch). And recently had a maiden doe who only allowed one mating - palpated her yesterday and she has taken.

Yeah, on their last pregnancy, one had a single falloff and had 9. The other one had three falloffs and had 5 kits. Interesting to know about the second falloff. lol I like that. "The third is just for luck."

 

[Ted in Pa.]

We do a mating in the morning and then again in the early evening of the same day. If we get a single fall off (which has never proved positive so far) that's it. We let her see out the 31 days and what will be will be.

Yeah, I'm waiting it out. Both females had one falloff. Last pregnancy, one doe has 3 falloffs and had 5 kits, the other had one falloff and had 9 kits. All three are pretty new to the game. One productive pregnancy for each of the Silver Fox does and first couple times for the buck. My New Zealands and a California are old pros. They are getting older though.

 

[Ted in Pa.]

Well, I got lucky. The doe that had a single falloff and had nine last time, had 8 this time with a single falloff. The other doe that had a single falloff last time and had 5 had 3 this time. So, out of 4 single falloffs for 2 does, all 4 were successful.