Question on breeding...

[Bun]

Hi I have always loved mini lop and would love to get a male and female so I can have the experience of breeding them :bunnyhop:
If I get a male and female lop at 8 weeks and bring them up together (obviously from different litters) are they still likely to want to mate? Or will the male mate the female at to Young of an age? Or do they no when the times right haha?

 

[Fireclaws bunnbutts]

Rabbits should not be bred until at least 6 months old.


8 weeks is literally a baby. The male will start 'trying' at 9-10 weeks, but letting the female get pregnant that young would most definitely kill her.

That being said, rabbits don't have a heat cycles like a cat or dog, they can pretty much mate at any time, so long as the females in the mood. In addition, females can get pregnant immediately after giving birth, so males and females should not be kept together unless they're being bred.

 

[Zass]

Some females can be bred successfully as early as 4 months old. I have yet to see any medical research that counter-indicates breeding before 6 months (or before 8 months, as I've also seen quoted as the minimum age.)

Instead of a set age, I go by how close a doe is to senior weight, and her own signs of readiness. I like mine to be at least 80% of their adult size. There are breeders with different preferences though. The method I use certainly isn't the only successful way to determine breeding age.

I don't see any reason why a pair kept together wouldn't eventually mate.
Unfortunately, leaving a doe and buck together during kindling can be very poroblematic.
A pregnant doe can become aggressive towards a buck she was previously receptive to. She could main him, or even castrate him.
Does can get pregnant the day after kindling, and potentially produce a litter every 31 days. I've heard that bucks can annoyingly try to breed females WHILE they are attempting to give birth, and disturb the nest in the process.

Some rabbits can manage to raise litters while caged together, but there is a lot can go wrong. For those reasons, almost every breeder I've ever met confines breeding bucks separately from their does.

 

[Dood]

I agree with Zass and would add that you should not house rabbits togeather in a cage unless one is neutered - the male will harass the female and so he will leave her alone she may decide to castrate him herself

If kept in a large colony pen with lots of hiding spots you could keep a male with a female but as Zass mentioned you cannot control breeding

 

[Bun]

Thank you for your replies this has really helped me, I will re-think what I am going to do