Tips for new breeders

[Bramble Hedge]

I thought some of these points in bunny breeding may be of interest to those new to breeding bunnies, I am no expert but just trying to help answer a few of your questions.

A young buck may be allowed to mate one doe at an interval of 3 to 4 days. But, from 12 months of age onwards he can mate 4-6 does over 7 days.

The rabbit belongs to a group of mammals which do not ovulate spontaneously. There is no oestrus cycle. Ovulation requires stimulus of mating and thus induced in nature. Ovulation occurs 10 - 13 hours after copulation – reflex ovulation. A Rabit's cycle lasts for about 12 days of which 4 are infertile when the doe may loose interest for the buck, if this occurs the breeder should attempt to rebreed the doe again in 7 days.

whether a doe is in heat condition or not is difficult to recognize outwardly. But, does may show some manifestations like restlessness, nervousness, rubbing of head and chin on the side of the cage or other objects. The vulva becomes swollen and purple in colour. But, acceptability of the does to the bucks or does reaction to bucks should be taken as a criteria for heat.

Early morning and early evening are the most conducive time for mating. A receptive doe will lift her tail and allow mating. If a buck is virile and doe in perfect heat, mating will occur almost immediately. After successful mating the buck usually produces a typical cry and falls down to one side of the doe. One mating is usually sufficient however most breeders will rebreed a doe in 10 hours (allowing for reflex ovulation). After mating the doe should be returned to her cage.

The gestation (pregnancy) period in rabbit ranges from 28-32 days (approximately 30 days).

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Good tips, Bramble.

Where did you find the info on the cycle? I've read conflicting opinions of whether rabbits have a cycle at all, but when I bred my doe Feather, she was unresponsive until the 4th or 5th day, so that seems to support the 4 days of infertility.

 

[Bramble Hedge]

Think it was in a scientific journal from the CSIRO here in australia. We had what was called the "Crusader Project" a govenment funded commercial meat rabbit project to collect data and information on the meat rabbit industry, and it included all aspects of husbandry as well as breeding and selection etc for specific meat purposes.<br /><br />__________ 18 Dec 2011, 02:16 __________<br /><br />http://www.fao.org/docrep/014/t1690e/t1690e.pdf
although huge it is comprehensive

 

[MamaSheepdog]

That's great! Waiting 7 days between breeding attempts will save a lot of time and aggravation. I'll still be checking Hoochies though- I haven't seen a purple one yet, and wonder if litter size will increase the further along in their cycle they are. It would be nice to time breedings earlier for those does that can't support a large litter.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Thanks for posting this Bramble...but I have a couple of comments based on my own personal observations and what I have heard from other breeders here in the US...

A young buck may be allowed to mate one doe at an interval of 3 to 4 days. But, from 12 months of age onwards he can mate 4-6 does over 7 days.

I have had different results with breeding my rabbits. I have had young bucks (6-11 mos) that successfully bred more than one doe on a single day. My senior bucks can handle 2-3 per day, with only a one day break in between, and successfully breed them all. Of course, not over the past summer...

The rabbit belongs to a group of mammals which do not ovulate spontaneously. There is no oestrus cycle. Ovulation requires stimulus of mating and thus induced in nature. Ovulation occurs 10 - 13 hours after copulation – reflex ovulation. A Rabit's cycle lasts for about 12 days of which 4 are infertile when the doe may loose interest for the buck, if this occurs the breeder should attempt to rebreed the doe again in 7 days.

From what I read there is no estrus cycle, as you say, but rather the rabbits receptivity is what changes. To call that a "cycle" is confusing to me, since people naturally equate "cycle" with estrus.

whether a doe is in heat condition or not is difficult to recognize outwardly. But, does may show some manifestations like restlessness, nervousness, rubbing of head and chin on the side of the cage or other objects. The vulva becomes swollen and purple in colour. But, acceptability of the does to the bucks or does reaction to bucks should be taken as a criteria for heat.

Again, I think it is confusing for new breeders to use the term "in heat" as there is no "heat cycle" for rabbits. I prefer to use "receptive".

Early morning and early evening are the most conducive time for mating. A receptive doe will lift her tail and allow mating. If a buck is virile and doe in perfect heat, mating will occur almost immediately. After successful mating the buck usually produces a typical cry and falls down to one side of the doe. One mating is usually sufficient however most breeders will rebreed a doe in 10 hours (allowing for reflex ovulation). After mating the doe should be returned to her cage.

I allow mine 3-4 separate "acts" of copulation per breeding session, this lasts no more than 5 min if the doe is receptive. I don't normally do the 8-10 hour later breeding.

 

[Bramble Hedge]

thank you for your comments OneAcreFarm, this was only ment to be a guide for new members as these have been the most asked questions of late, and by no means an authority on bunny breeding, I do breed my does once then again a 12 hour interrval and find that my does rarely miss. But that is just my experience.

__________ 18 Dec 2011, 04:32 __________

I also follow the beleif that it is a 12 day on 4 day cycle, so that if a doe is not receptive at breeding or the male has no real interested for any reason I will put the doe back and retry her in 7 days, I have found this most effective also. Again just my experience by breeding only the once in the evening and again the next morning, helps to pinpoint a more exact date for kindling also.

__________ 18 Dec 2011, 04:33 __________

oops typo *12 day on 4 day off cycle

sorry lol <br /><br />__________ 18 Dec 2011, 04:57 __________<br /><br />Anyone else have different experience /thoughts? I thought this would be a good discusion topic to get peoples opinions and experiences on, especially for those newer to bunny breeding.

 

[ValencianFigs]

Hello,

So do rabbit breeders use one male with a group of females or do they use even amounts of males to females.

Thanks,
ValencianFigs

 

[Bramble Hedge]

That depends on their breeding program I guess, I have several bucks that don't always go to the same does.

 

[MaggieJ]

Most people with small rabbitries keep only one or two bucks to service their rabbits. This is especially true of those raising rabbits for meat.

 

[Miss M]

I have one working buck (one retired) and two does. We just lost a third, and we will replace her soon. The one buck is more than enough to take care of the three does, and he'd happily service more if we had a larger rabbitry.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

thank you for your comments OneAcreFarm, this was only ment to be a guide for new members as these have been the most asked questions of late, and by no means an authority on bunny breeding, I do breed my does once then again a 12 hour interrval and find that my does rarely miss. But that is just my experience.

__________ 18 Dec 2011, 04:32 __________

I also follow the beleif that it is a 12 day on 4 day cycle, so that if a doe is not receptive at breeding or the male has no real interested for any reason I will put the doe back and retry her in 7 days, I have found this most effective also. Again just my experience by breeding only the once in the evening and again the next morning, helps to pinpoint a more exact date for kindling also.

__________ 18 Dec 2011, 04:33 __________

oops typo *12 day on 4 day off cycle

sorry lol

__________ 18 Dec 2011, 04:57 __________

Anyone else have different experience /thoughts? I thought this would be a good discusion topic to get peoples opinions and experiences on, especially for those newer to bunny breeding.

Oh absolutely! I was just adding my own experiences...since it seems to vary some. I just prefer not to use the word "cycle" as I said, since it can confuse some new folks. I will have to try your method of waiting the 7 days if I have a doe that refuses...although honestly I have yet to have one refuse. I check their vulva color and I don't even try if it is not at least bright pink/red but red/purple is better. I appreciate your sharing your thoughts, it helps to hear how others are managing their rabbits and see what I might want to incorporate into my own practices.

 

[Bramble Hedge]

I totally agree OneAcreFarm and I enjoy discussion on topics like this as I think we have a lot to learn from each other. And RabbitTalk is full of such experienced friendly people.

__________ 19 Dec 2011, 14:21 __________

I have found that (here in Australia anyway)most people whom show rabbits keep more bucks (for showing) as they show a truer description of a breed standard then does.<br /><br />__________ 19 Dec 2011, 14:23 __________<br /><br />As for meat breeding well I am about to embark on that new adventure myself, I will be starting with a New Zealand White and a New Zealand Black Doe and a New Zealand Red Buck. Will be picking them up between Christmas and new year.