Should I?????

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Bandits Bunny Farm

Bandits Bunny Farm

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So I have this mini rex doe who's almost 4 years old, and she's disabled in 2 feet. When I got her last year, after she had the litter she was pregnant with, I decided not to breed her again. Well, about a month and a half ago, she got pregnant, and had a beautiful litter of 4, and it seems like she really enjoys having babies around, so im wondering if I should keep breeding her, because she's definitely happier having babies. So I thought I'd try to get an experts opinion
 
She had sore hocks when I first got her... like badly infected, and now she has these weird bulges on her left front and right back paws (I think) we took her to a vet and she said that it was probably from a past injury (broken bone or something) that the original owner never took care of.
 
I would never breed a rabbit prone to sore hocks and especially not a rex ! - it is believed to be inheritable and I wouldn't want any offspring to suffer from it.
 
Well I tend to think that its donnected to the injury, because none her babies have had it yet. We kept the rew doe from her last litter and she never had it, and we had her until she was 6mo... then she decided to dig out of her hutch and the dogs chased her and she died
 
I agree with Dood. I used to raise Rex rabbits. Only had one that ever had problems with sore hocks but it always flared up when she was pregnant. Between the pain, the risk of infection, the risk of passing the poor genetics to the offspring... I'd retire her and give her a nice flat board to rest on.
 
Well the question is should I?? NO you shouldn't! even if it is not genetic she has a injury and the extra weight of a litter could cause further harm. Personally i might keep one of her doelings with her and retire that girl.:)
 
generally breeding rabbits that are in less than optimal health is not a good thing.

bulges in legs.
proven sore hocks/feet.

these are factors that speak against breeding a rabbit.
 
As a Rex breeder, I do my best to breed out rabbits with sore hocks in my breeding program. All my rabbits are on wire, and some get sore hocks as early as six mos, some take 3-4 years, others never. None of my Minis ever had them, nor the Silver Fox (so it's not the wire).

A bun that develops issues between birth to a year is out. A My latest doe is over 18 mos and is just now getting some callous, and that's a pretty good time, but I watch her kits. Usually those that take longer or never develop them have wider, shorter feet, better bone and most important-- better fur quality.
 
Ok. So my new doe, Blaze, since she's not a purebred and I'm not going to breed her, will be roommates with Curly. They'll get along fine. I'll move her in when Curly's babies are gone. Curly is not aggressive AT ALL, so they'll get along just fine
 
How long have you had Blaze? It is best to quarantine new rabbits for at least 30 days before introducing them to your existing herd of rabbits.

Just because Curly is not aggressive doesn't mean that Blaze isn't- so I would be very hesitant to put them in the same cage.
 
When you have babies are you always able to find good homes for them, or do something useful with them (eat them)? I don't eat my rabbits so I try to breed very sparingly knowing that it is hard to find good homes for the babies, and everytime my baby rabbits get a home some other baby rabbit doesn't. So, if you don't have a really good reason to breed, like for food or because you want to keep a special line of rabbits going, then I just wouldn't breed her.
 
I know. I'm going to use Blaze to bring to schools and convalescent homes and hospitals. I'm not letting her brothers and sisters go until their 8 weeks at least. shes a mix, so I'm not going to breed her since I only breed purebred. she'll kinda just be a "service rabbit" not a breeder, so she shall house with Curly
 

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