thoughts on this breeding plan?

[ohiogoatgirl]

not sure its actually a breeding plan. i do not have rabbits yet. long story. but i am making sure that since i dont have them yet anyways i might as well see what you all think of this. it is a sort of hypothetical timeline. now in this i have 2 breeding does and one buck. and not sure if it matters but i will have a colony set up but with the buck in his own area so i can breed as i choose.

************************************
*breed both does february 1, 2012

doe 1 kindles on march 1 - 5 live kits

doe 2 kindles on march 3 - 6 live kits

*breed both does april 5, 2012

doe 1 kindles may 5 - 7 live kits

doe 2 kindles may 6 - 8 live kits

about may 10, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from first litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does june 4, 2012

doe 1 kindles july 4 - 6 live kits

doe 2 kindles july 6 - 4 live kits

about july 15, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from second litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does august 3, 2012

doe 1 kindles sept 3 - 4 live kits

doe 2 kindles sept 4 - 5 live kits

about sept 12, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from third litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does oct 2, 2012

doe 1 kindles nov 1 - 7 live kits

doe 2 kindles nov 3 - 8 live kits

about nov 12, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from fourth litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does dec 1, 2012

doe 1 kindles dec 31 - 6 live kits

doe 2 kindles jan 2 - 6 live kits

about jan 12, 2013 freezer camp/start selling kits from 5th litter @ about 10 wks age
*****************************************

goes from february 2012 to february 2013. this is also considering i had all 3 breeding age rabbits. so... thoughts? anything i should change or keep in mind? thanks!

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Ok, that seriously make my eyes go all wonky...can you put it in a different format that is easier to read? or put some spaces between? I am sure it is a good plan, but my Adult ADD won't let me look at any one sentence long enough to make sense of it.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

sorry i guess it was kinda mashed together there. better now?

 

[akane]

Um... how are you breeding on the same day and then having kits on different days? If you breed does on Feb 1 you get kits about 31 days later from both does. They would both be due the 3rd and probably have kits the 2-4th. Why do you have kit numbers on there? There's no way to predict kits and those are small litters for a meat breed. Generally 5-10+ (some have 13 or 14) are meat size litters. I've been culling the ones having only about 5.

 

[tfb4me]

Ok, that seriously make my eyes go all wonky...can you put it in a different format that is easier to read? or put some spaces between? I am sure it is a good plan, but my Adult ADD won't let me look at any one sentence long enough to make sense of it.

lol you too eh..Adult ADD that is. to the OP yes that is much neater..Looks feasible to me, I just wouldn't count on those numbers.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

sorry i guess it was kinda mashed together there. better now?

Much better! Now, like other have said, if you breed them both on the same day then chances are they will both deliver on or about the same day. Also, I would leave out the kit numbers. Just wait and see what you will get.

 

[5dognightfarm]

To be 100% honest with you, it looks like a very well thought out breeding plan BUT plans like this don't always go to plan. Actually, they almost never go to plan.

Take things a couple of months at a time. If you have 200 rabbits, this would be efficient and necessary. When you only have three, just go with the flow.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

i understand that you can never really tell how many kits you will get but i was doing this as a sort of "okay i could probably get about this many kits in a years time" i was sticking to lower litter numbers because i would rather understimate that then estimate it high and be disappointed if i dont get so many.
the different kindle dates because i have experience with other animals and i know that even if i breed 10 goats in one day i will likely have kids over about a 2 week spread. so i thought about a day or two diference would be average. i guess i was wrong. thanks, now i know.

here is a "plan" with higher litter numbers...
*******************************************
*breed both does february 1, 2012

doe 1 kindles on march 1 - 9 live kits

doe 2 kindles on march 3 - 7 live kits

*breed both does april 5, 2012

doe 1 kindles may 5 - 10 live kits

doe 2 kindles may 6 - 8 live kits

about may 10, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from first litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does june 4, 2012

doe 1 kindles july 4 - 10 live kits

doe 2 kindles july 6 - 7 live kits

about july 15, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from second litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does august 3, 2012

doe 1 kindles sept 3 - 8 live kits

doe 2 kindles sept 4 - 10 live kits

about sept 12, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from third litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does oct 2, 2012

doe 1 kindles nov 1 - 9 live kits

doe 2 kindles nov 3 - 8 live kits

about nov 12, 2012 freezer camp/start selling kits from fourth litter @ about 10 wks age

*breed both does dec 1, 2012

doe 1 kindles dec 31 - 8 live kits

doe 2 kindles jan 2 - 9 live kits

about jan 12, 2013 freezer camp/start selling kits from 5th litter @ about 10 wks age
*****************************************

another reason for me doing this is to show my dad. sort of "hey here is about a low average of how many kits i could have in a years time. and here is about a high average of how many i could have in a years time."
also if i can have some sort of number of kits in my head then i will know about how many i would need to try and sell or make room for in the freezer.<br /><br />__________ Wed Feb 01, 2012 3:06 pm __________<br /><br />and i know what you mean cattle cait about plans. haha. in june 2011 i had 9 goats, now i have 2. i am very go with the flow. the numbers are mostly for talking with my dad. because he is still against pretty much everything i do... :/ so this is to help talk him into it.

 

[Secuono]

Then there is the gap of failure for any new does, unless you get proven does. And you gotta make sure the does take and the buck gets it right.
Breeding through Summer will also prolly prove futile, then buck heat sterility until September or October....

 

[MaggieJ]

I'm in Zone 5B and have no problems breeding rabbits year around. Very occasionally on the hottest days they get ice bottles and/or a box fan, but that is the exception. I appreciate that Virginia is considerably hotter than Ontario, but I would have thought Ohio, especially the parts near Lake Erie, would have similar temperatures to ours.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

well i am not near the great lakes... but it usually does not reach 100* in the summer. and winter temps here are usually between about 10-20*F minimum. i dont think we have gone under 0*F in a few years. and if we do it has been only one night on rare occasion. and since i will have a colony i thought that would help the warmth as well, as for winter.

 

[akane]

if i breed 10 goats in one day i will likely have kids over about a 2 week spread.

This holds true mostly the longer the gestation is. A horse could go a month early or a month late with an 11 month gestation. I had a mare who always went 3 weeks late. Rabbits and rodents with their 1 to 2 month gestation are generally on the exact day you have down. Sometimes one likes to go a day early or one likes to go a day late but that's about it and half of it is probably over lap. If you breed in the evening and count out 31 days then get kits the next morning it looks like day 32 but the doe probably kindled the night of day 31 and is within hours of 31 days from breeding instead. That's not to say a doe bred late in the day kindles a certain time. All animals tend toward late/early morning irregardless of when bred but as an example of how rabbits may not even have as much variation as there appears to be. It's only the odd rabbit who deviates more and then you often end up with at least some dead kits. 35 day kits happen but not often. 35 days tends to be the standard wait time before breeding again but I've heard of many who will attempt to rebreed by day 32 or 33 if there are no signs of nesting and kits because their rabbits are nearly always perfectly on time.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

ahhhh... i see. very interesting. good to know.

 

[currituckbun]

Hypothetical rabbit chess. I don't know if all the variables are taken into account. Possibly a bit optimistic. You could also have a few over achieving does that will put you way over in numbers. I found out the hard way with several litters of 11 ,9, and 8. Now I am cramped for space using chicken coops for rabbits.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

yes i am keeping in mind that i have seen posts of litters of 13 as well as litters of 3. i will have a colony set up and space isnt a problem on 250 acres haha. the fence i will be ordering will be as much as i need plus some and plus some more. this way i can make a few cages for transporting and things like that. or if a rabbit is sick and needs to be seperated.

 

[currituckbun]

Wow now I am envious . Good luck with your new rabbits.