Questions about breeding

spooled · Feb 16, 2017

Hi everyone,
I have some question about breeding. Last week I bred 4 does. All have had about 4 litters before. I have 2 bucks, but 1 is much better at his job than the other. The plan was to do 2 does in the am, one with each buck, and 2 does in the evening. Only 1 of the 4 was willing to breed. The other 3 would lay flat or stand up in the corner. The buck was worn out and he just couldn't get it done. After about 30 minutes of trying, I took her out and put her in with the buck that had the easy time with his doe. He did all he could, but the result was the same. When the second buck got worn out, I put her back in with the original buck and he was able to make it work 1 time only. After that I decided to give the bucks a couple days to rest and tried to breed the other does. I know 1 was successful, but not real sure on the second. The last go round was a breeze with the bucks falling off 6 or seven times with each doe. My questions are what causes this? What do you do when this happens? Do you try again the next day? The next week? I hate not being sure. I would appreciate any input.

macksmom98 · Feb 16, 2017

Rabbits do not always want to breed like rabbits, unfortunately. Most of mine have a window of readiness every 3 weeks or so. This is not a period cycle, but just a time of the month they are more receptive to be bred. To see when this is for your buns, you want to check the color of their vulva. Very light, flesh colored is not very ready, bright red is peak readiness, and dark purple is almost too late,. I will try mine a few days in a row, and if no one takes then I rest them a couple of days and try again. There are other things that I have found to help, mostly a little ACV in their water to level out their hormones and breeding in an exercise pen. I am not sure why it works, but it sure seem to around here. As far as knowing for sure if they took, I would say the 2 with 6 fall offs are a pretty sure bet, as are any where you actually saw a fall off. That is not always the case, but a great indicator that there will be babies on the way! I did once have a buck who fell off everything in the first 5 seconds, even when they didn't lift. He was missing his mark but just so stimulated that it still looked normal. We realized after several false pregnancies that his fall offs were fake, and sold him to a good pet home. There can be all different circumstances but this is what I have learned. When it comes to breeding, my buns continue to surprise me. I have a post on here now about how my FEMALE fell off. Best of luck to you!

LittleFluffyBunnies · Feb 17, 2017

macksmom98 has very good advice. I also know certain of my does hate overcast weather and won't breed unless it's sunny. Rabbits also prefer to breed in the morning or evening. If my doe is not cooperating, I wait until later in the day, or the next day. In between that time, I place an item of the buck's into her cage so she gets used to his scent, and that has seemed to help. Also, some rabbits won't breed for lack of vitamins A and E. Since spinach contains both, I feed a handful of spinach to my does and bucks daily for a week before breeding to be sure they have enough.

macksmom98 · Feb 17, 2017

Ah we also use those breeding times, morning or evening. If you do breed in the evening, you will usually mark the pregnancy starting the next day, and count to 31 for possible due date. Every time I have bred in the evening and used that date, they went late. We are in South TX so its sunny often, but I am sure that would make a difference!

Zass · Feb 19, 2017

My buns also like breeding during morning or evening hours, when the weather is nice. Basically, when I'm feeling frisky, there is a good chance they will be too.