Stress affect breedability in Doe

[Green2Rabbits]

Does the stress of having kits in the same cage as the doe for 12 weeks cause the doe to not be "in the mood?"

I know nutrients plays a big part so I'm going to start feeding spinach and light affects breeding being in WI the days are starting to get shorter.
Besides that could it be the kits or that I am trying to breed her nightly?

I put my doe in the bucks cage for 10 mins and she makes the noise a few times then runs in his hide. If I remove the hide she just goes and backs in a corner all while giving me the look.
She appears healthy with her ears up like usual.
Btw she is a few months under a year old so it's not age.

 

[golden rabbitry]

I would remove the babies at 6-8 weeks. Some males try to breed by 10 weeks so it isn't smart keeping them together. If that is the case, she might be pregnant from her son....not sure. I would definitely remove the babies.

 

[Green2Rabbits]

Oh wow I was thinking I had closer to 3 months! Thanks this weekend I was going to send them off to freezer camp anyway but I will definitely separate them just in case.

I hope that's not the reason she is refusing to breed...

Thanks!

 

[golden rabbitry]

I'm not sure if they are fertile, but depending on the buck, they might try and mount by 10 weeks.

 

[Green2Rabbits]

I'm not sure if they are fertile, but depending on the buck, they might try and mount by 10 weeks.

Thanks I separated them yesterday night. I was off on the age I double checked and I guess there 10 weeks old but still. I noticed a female mounting a female I double checked and it was a girl but glad you told me to separate. Thanks!

 

[golden rabbitry]

also just check if their testicles dropped, easiest way to see if they are to old

 

[Preitler]

I seperate the bucks at 12 weeks, would do that at 10 weeks with small breeds. The girls stay with the moms for 16-20 weeks. I wish that would reduce their breedability, since I had a tiny problem with accidential litters this year.... :wr_facedesk:

Mine have rather big, structured hutches and are out grazing most of the day, so stress level might not be comparable to a cage where they can see each other all the time.

I don't relay on seeing testicles, they can pull them in pretty well and at that age you could see them too late - if you see them it's high time to seperate though.

 

[Green2Rabbits]

also just check if their testicles dropped, easiest way to see if they are to old

Didn't even think about that. Thanks. <br /><br /> __________ Sat Oct 10, 2020 5:49 am __________ <br /><br />

I seperate the bucks at 12 weeks, would do that at 10 weeks with small breeds. The girls stay with the moms for 16-20 weeks. I wish that would reduce their breedability, since I had a tiny problem with accidential litters this year.... :wr_facedesk:/quote]
My doe is a Satin and New Zealand cross. She only weighs a little over 8 pounds. So medium sized.....I guess.

Mine have rather big, structured hutches and are out grazing most of the day, so stress level might not be comparable to a cage where they can see each other all the time.

That would be a nice setup to have. Luckily she outwardly doesn't seem overly stressed since I never see her nip at the kits or anything but I'm sure she will be glad they are gone.

I don't relay on seeing testicles, they can pull them in pretty well and at that age you could see them too late - if you see them it's high time to seperate though.

Yeah I'm not going to count on that since I didn't notice I had a buck in a different cage instead of a doe. Half the time I see them it's actually dark out so I'm mainly using battery powered lights. Better safe than sorry they will be separated by 10ish weeks now on.
Thanks

 

[hotzcatz]

FWIW, one of the does here is a day overdue and they're usually pretty much on schedule. I know they bred, they'd both had haircuts and he had at least one fall off. I'd noted it as at 8:20 pm, so it's even a more accurate schedule than usual. She had started making a nest really early, like about at day ten and now she's not pulled wool or built much more of a nest and she should have had them yesterday. As far as I can figure, it's a seasonal thing. Usually they don't want to breed in late fall or have very many litters in the fall and winter even though as hutch rabbits there's no lack of food.

Another pair that was supposed to be breeding has been chastely cohabitating as far as I can see. Neither one seems particularly interested in the other. The buck is a pretty soft breeder, but this is almost total non-interest. Soon as the doe with ten kits is shifted to a bigger space in the next few days, then the doe hanging with the buck can stay in the nesting hutch for a month, although I don't think she's gonna need it as a nesting hutch. The current kits are probably the last ones until next spring.

 

[Green2Rabbits]

As far as I can figure, it's a seasonal thing. Usually they don't want to breed in late fall or have very many litters in the fall and winter even though as hutch rabbits there's no lack of food....... The current kits are probably the last ones until next spring.

Good to know I am afraid of that. I still will try the car ride trick to get her in the mood. And your in the warm weather I thought that'd be different or longer at least.

Yeah I'm trying her mainly with my calmer breeder. Since she snorts at him he just pretty much ignores her since in the past she just runs and warns him. Trial and error i guess.
Thanks

 

[Zass]

Mine tend to have less interest in breeding during the fall when they are moulting, but do well in winter if I introduce them during the morning or evening on nice clear sunshiny days.

 

[Green2Rabbits]

Mine tend to have less interest in breeding during the fall when they are moulting, but do well in winter if I introduce them during the morning or evening on nice clear sunshiny days.

Good to know! Hope mine is like that. So a sunny morning perfect. I'll try that to. Thanks!

 

[michaels4gardens]

judging a does readiness..[and my opinion]
I always look at the color of the vagina .
If it is pale and shunken, there is less chance she will lift,
less chance of pregnancy, less chance of a big litter.
So I will wait 2 days and look again.
If it is a little swollen, and a little red or purple colored, or has purple streaks inside,
there is a much greater chance of her lifting, and of a "good sized litter".

 

[Green2Rabbits]

judging a does readiness..[and my opinion]
I always look at the color of the vagina .
If it is pale and shunken, there is less chance she will lift,
less chance of pregnancy, less chance of a big litter.
So I will wait 2 days and look again.
If it is a little swollen, and a little red or purple colored, or has purple streaks inside,
there is a much greater chance of her lifting, and of a "good sized litter".

Okay great thanks. I know I heard of this and she was shrunken and pale for a LONG time. Then I started to feed her spinach and BOSS and it was slightly larger and more of a red purple. I looked at the post of the perfect time and she wasn't quite there yet. Now she is pulling fur so maybe she is pregnant or at least a false pregnancy which explains a lot.
Thanks

 

[hotzcatz]

If she's pulling fur, she may already have been pregnant. A doe won't breed when she's pregnant, so that would be another reason for not breeding. Did she have a litter?

The doe we had here who was a day late didn't have her litter so I'm thinking the buck was heat sterile. He will be shooting blanks for a couple of months now if that was the case. Which is a pity, he's a buck I want some offspring from since he seems to have an 'extra fluffy' gene. Extra fluffy in angoras is a good thing.

Now is a good time to start setting up for next year's litters. Around here, they get busy starting in January when the days start getting longer. So this two month hiatus is a good time to refurbish hutches, sort the herd to see who should be bred, get the does and bucks into condition, etc., etc.

 

[Green2Rabbits]

If she's pulling fur, she may already have been pregnant. A doe won't breed when she's pregnant, so that would be another reason for not breeding. Did she have a litter?.

Right she didn't pull fur till recently. No no kits no blood or anything so I'm thinking she thought she was pregnant from the many attempts where she didn't lift and the buck didn't fall off. I'm going to give her tonight with the box but it's been 6 days since she pulled fur and I added the nest box blocking her hide entrance. I want her comfortable if she isn't going to have kits so I'll remove the nest box letting her back in her hide.

The days were in the 50s to 60s during the attempted breeding so I think it was all her that didn't make it happen. Nice maybe an ice pack would help with your sterile buck....if cooling would cure that.

I know who should breed just need my female to lift and my other to get older lol. I should add a drain to my gutters since any liquid will freeze come a month from now. I learned a lot from my first hutch design. Yeah my bucks are a but skinny so I'm giving them more food so winter isn't a problem but not so much they get fat and lazy.
Thanks for the ideas. I bet it was nutritional and that it's a false pregnancy.