Temperature and breeding

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Brus

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Apr 25, 2014
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Location
Calgary, Alberta
Hi all :)

long time lurker here, just recently made an account as i have embarked on a meat rabbit adventure.

I am living in Calgary, Alberta and we get a wide range of temperatures up here depending on the season, and i have a few questions.

First off a shout out to Grumpy, Mama Sheep Dog, MaggieJ, Ladysown, Miss M, and several others whose screen names i have forgotten, your experience shared on this forum has been invaluable, i have spent roughly 100-120 hours already leafing through the topics, and many of my newb questions have been answered.

However as a new rabbit keeper, i find that i am battling lots of hearsay and opinion, mostly from those that are critical of "internet researchers" as they often confuse us with "instant internet experts" though my reading i have discovered plenty, but above all i have learned how little i know.

One of the biggest things that still remain unanswered for me are regarding low temperature and how they affect rabbits breeding/fertility.

I have heard that cold temperatures affect bucks in particular, specifically any temperature below -20*c makes them temporally sterile, i have not read any evidence that this is the case in any papers or forums, is there any truth to this?

I am aware that the amount of light the rabbits receive can affect fertility, due to this fact i am planning on keeping my buck inside during the shorter winter hours, the thing i am concerned with is if it is a bad idea to bring does in from below 0*c temperatures briefly for mating, then return them to their hutches, will the sudden temperature shift from cold to warm and back to cold overly stress the does?

Thanks
 
Cold does not make rabbits sterile. Heat does. Bucks also don't have breeding problems from light. The only reason you can't breed in the winter is that the does may not be in condition and the kits may freeze. All the factors aren't entirely known on why does go out of condition in winter. Some say light and others say they've bred rabbits in near complete darkness. Some think temp, some think it's a seasonal thing that can affect many animals. They seem to sense the time of year and go off breeding. Especially common in poultry. You can find some breeders though that have worked towards rabbits producing all winter. We got to the point most of ours could breed all winter through subzero temps. We sometimes get down to -40 (which is the same in F or C) but we didn't usually breed for kits during the coldest parts of Jan.

Now heat is a problem. Bucks will go sterile in the summer and does are more sensitive to heat stroke while pregnant. They will abort litters to save themselves if possible but sometimes the doe still doesn't make it. Up north is not as big of issue as the more southern parts of the US but it still can be a problem in the hottest parts of the summer. Many do not breed from June to Aug.
 
Thanks akane :)

This explains why i have not been able to find any information regarding cold temperatures, it did seem a little illogical, considering that rabbits are particularly cold hardy.

The lucky thing is that here our summers rarely get above 35*c, and as we are a fairly dry climate any shade is usually 10*c cooler.

In that case it might be a better idea to bring all the rabbits inside during our coldest months.

thanks for the help :D
 
Hi Brus!

:welcomewagon:

Brus":1k3tuhro said:
First off a shout out to Grumpy, Mama Sheep Dog, MaggieJ, Ladysown, Miss M, and several others whose screen names i have forgotten, your experience shared on this forum has been invaluable, i have spent roughly 100-120 hours already leafing through the topics, and many of my newb questions have been answered.

I'm glad you finally decided to join us! :p I myself did a lot of independent research before finding RabbitTalk, but have learned far more here than all other sources combined!

Brus":1k3tuhro said:
One of the biggest things that still remain unanswered for me are regarding low temperature and how they affect rabbits breeding/fertility.

Living in California, I have no experience with the low temperatures you do, but we do get down to the teens in Fahrenheit. I have successfully bred in the winter with no supplemental heat or light.

Brus":1k3tuhro said:
I have heard that cold temperatures affect bucks in particular, specifically any temperature below -20*c makes them temporally sterile

My logical take on the "bucks go sterile at low temperatures" is that it can't be true. Rabbits can retract their testicles when frightened or cold, so the sperm would remain at body temperature and be protected. Maybe the reason people claim buck sterility is really the fault of the does' decreased fertility in the winter. :?
 
Thanks Mamasheepdog :p

i must say it is very nice when the stuff i have heard seems groundless and then turn out to be wrong, you can expect to see more questions appearing in other topics over the next few days.
 
35C is well over high enough to make a buck sterile and cause heat stroke in rabbits. Anything over about 27C has a risk. A small one at the lower end but possible in some circumstances. Over about 30C is probably the point at which people often start putting ice bottles in the cage. Someone once posted pics of a buck who had plopped his genitals over a bottle of ice. :lol:
 
Yeah, i have read about heat sterility and heat stroke, i have 2L (1/2 gal) pop bottles full of water that i swap out and distribute in the rabbit cages any day the temps go over 25*c, i also have built a few shelters and a tractor that has a big shady spot in it for the bunnies, ill post pics here when i get home.

I also built a great hutch that i will share with everyone, all materials and measurements.
 
I have my rabbits outside all year round.. I don't like mine inside at all.. I have very cold winters here .. maybe not so cold as yours but close... Last winter I bred in Jan and the kits where born in -24 .. I didn't bring them in at all .. I just made sure the nest had lots of fur.. they were fine.. Rabbits like the cold .. they hate the heat.. I have had young bucks breed right through heat wave no problem... I found the ones that are over 2 years old are the ones that are sterile for about 6 to 8 months. So I don't use them in the heat..I don't have problems with the doe giving birth in the heat or cold. .. You can bring your doe to the buck if he is inside and bring the doe back out the same day no problem... I don't think you have to worry to much of a heat problem were you are... It will be more of challenge for water freeze up .. give warm water in the winter if they are outside..
 
We brought some in at -30F (-35C) our first cold winter. We haven't since. If necessary you can just bring the nest boxes inside and take them out once or twice a day to the does. The adults really have no issue with cold. The only problem is young kits. With some shelter the kits are usually fine after they are old enough not to stay in the box all the time. I do leave some type of box even if it's just a nestbox on it's side until about 3-4 weeks old in the winter. In summer I usually take their box when they leave it at about 2 weeks old.
 
Hi Brus, I'm just north of you in Edmonton *waves*. My herd is outdoors and I don't have supplemental light for them. It's more important for them to be dry and draft free during the winter. My Rex definitely like winter better than summer but I haven't had heat problems yet and I don't use frozen bottles or tiles.

I find my does are harder to breed after the end of August and I'm more likely to lose litters even when the temps are above freezing so I haven't bothered. I think I'm going to try again this year though.

I have also found that just because my herd works like that it doesn't follow that yours will do the same. The breeder I got most of my stock from is in Cochrane and her herd is in an unheated barn with lights, she breeds year round. The biggest thing I find is to get your stock from a breeder with similar practices and goals as you, then you won't be reinventing the wheel regarding traits you want in your herd.
 
Hi 3Mina!! greeting from Calgary :)

Thanks for your reply!

the breeder i got my buns from is from carstairs and he breeds all winter, he is the one that told me about the possibility of Bucks being affected by low temps, but from what i have read here, and based on the opinions of many others who breed, it seems like he must be mistaken, or he is seeing a symptom and making an assumption as to the cause.

lucky for me the breeder i got my rabbits from keeps them outdoors all winter and supplements lights for the does and bucks, which might contribute to his winter breeding success, the funny thing is that he thinks that it is the heat given off by the light that makes the difference, whereas all my amateur research tells me it is the amount of light that makes the difference.

from what i have read Bucks need about 8 hours minimum to remain viable, with more then 16 hours of light causing Bucks to have lower "interest" in breeding, whereas does require in excess of 14 hours with below 12 hours of light causing low fertility, so i think that once we get below 12 hours of light per day i will begin supplementing light to bring total light exposure times up to about 14-15 hours per day, as what i have read says that the increase in doe fertility will outweigh the lackluster behavior of the bucks.

in any case it will make an interesting winter experiment :D
 
Hello,

Thanks for the mention, and I'm thankful you've found a site you feel
comfortable with. Welcome aboard.

I've never been concerned about the lower temps bothering any part of
keeping rabbits. Now, the heat is quite the different matter. I'm a hawk
with making sure they stay as cool as possible. Any temp above 90-F makes
me worry.

grumpy.
 
Once again I am riding in Grumpy's Boat!
I don't worry much about the cold as long as the Dams build a proper nest.
The heat is a problem to the point that I may even remove some nesting material
if I feel it necessary.
Ottersatin. :eek:ldtimer:
 

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