Why Wasn't She Pregnant & Squealing While Rebreeding

[Mrr]

So this is a two part post regarding my Chinchilla/NZW mix doe.

For starters, I bred her July 11.. First she was with my Champagne buck, he popped off her once but he seemed tired from the other doe he was with (she was young and made him chase her around forever), so I put her in with my NZW buck - who popped off 3 times. She was due August 12/13 , but nothing came. Is there a reason for this? I don't think it was terribly hot out.. I just can't come up with a reason why she wouldn't have kindled.

Then.. Today I put her in with out NZW buck. He mounted her, but as he popped off one of them let out a very loud squeal. I'm not sure whether it was him or her, but she seemed pretty freaked out afterwards. What could this mean?

 

[Prisma]

Lots of bucks scream or squeal when they make contact, but not all...could've been that. I've had ones from quiet and you'd never know to you would think some on was on their last leg....

Has it been over 80 degrees? Even in shade, once temps start climbing up that high, sperm count turns to zilch quick...especially if it lasts a while.

 

[Mrr]

Oh okay, that makes me feel a bit better. My boyfriend thought it came from the buck, but I was worried that there might be something wrong with the doe! Thanks Rebel rose

As for temperatures, I think it was warm when we bred, but I didn't think it was overly hot. I could be mistaken though. Temperatures have been skyrocketing this month, but before August it's been a pretty mild summer. Add to that the fact that two other does who were bred on the same day have all kindled since then.. I'm just so confused.

Since the temperatures have been so high lately (yesterday was about 38-42 degrees Celsius), does that mean that all of my breeding are going to fail? Now I'm worried that my bucks will just be sterile for the rest of the summer. Does it just mean that I have to give them more chances to pop off?

 

[akane]

80f is 26.6c At 38c it's best not to breed at all. You probably won't get kits and you may stress them to death in either the breeding process or if a doe does get pregnant and try to carry them through the heat or kindle on a hot day. Even if the bucks don't go sterile some don't like to take the risk. It depends on your rabbits, your setup, and how long these things last in your climate. In Iowa I usually didn't get much in the way of kits from July to oct and then I'd squish in some fall litters before it got too cold. I had a few that could breed well through the cold and some that didn't hold condition or didn't build a good enough nest so I only got a few in the winter. I bred again in Feb or Mar until june.

 

[Mrr]

Oh wow, that's good to know. If I breed in the cooler hours of the morning, would that help? Or are they sterile for a while after being in the heat? Also, did you say that the doe can actually die from carrying kits in the heat? This has been a bit of an unusually hot time for us, so hopefully it ends soon. We'd like to get a few more litters if we could before the hay season ends and we have to rely more on expensive pellets

 

[Prisma]

Any rabbit can have heat stroke, it is harder on pregnant, very young, and very old stock. It is better, unless they are bred to tolerate heat very well and breeding during such (or you are working on a strain for that specific trait and understand could loose one or all, its a gamble).

It takes any where from 30 to 90 days, the younger the buck and the more use the quicker the recovery I've found. I had an older buck, he was 8 at the time, that it took 5 months for him to start to produce again after using regularly every month with multiple does. I'd breed, palpate at 12 days, if nothing I'd breed to a known good buck to at least get some along.

 

[Mrr]

Problem is, I've never quite mastered palpating. I tried with all three of my bred does (two of which kindled) and couldn't feel a thing with any of them. Am I doing something wrong?

 

[majorv]

It's best to have someone show you how to palpate before trying it. If they are pregnant and you press too hard, or wrong, you can hurt the kits.

Breeding in the summer is risky unless your temps are below 85. Before I knew any better we almost lost a doe because she kindled in the heat. The heat can also stress kits, which can also cause problems.