Youngest age to breed a doe?

[MamaSheepdog]

Gives me good incentive to try and breed my Champagne doe kit a little early, too...hmmm. Kinda wanted to SHOW her though. Decisions, decisions.........

I'm in the same boat with my American doe. I want to breed her so bad, but there are shows coming up. Some breeds do fine after kindling- JW's are a prime example, getting better and better as they age- but I have no idea with Americans or Champagnes.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

LOL so much easier to make the choice with a meat-mutt. :lol: No shows for Tootsie!!!

 

[AthenaJacqueline]

Hi all, I'm new here, and have been just reading through all the good information here aka lurking opcorn:

I have two new french angoras that I'm trying to breed. The doe is pink and 5+ months, the buck is 4+ and a big guy. I put her in with him even though his cage is smaller. He's totally lost in this new experience. Like he doesn't even know which end to breed! Maybe he's trying to get some for-play action LOL! She is rather happy to have his attentions, and when I removed her she was fighting to get back to him. The buck never seemed to finish after about 10 attempts. I took him out because he started chomping at her shoulder fur. I don't know if he was trying to get a good grip, but I was afraid he would really bite her and hurt her. Good thing she is super extra fluffy (5" of wool and its still not shedding!)
Is there anything I can do to help them get this breeding process down? Can I put him in with her now that I can say for sure she is VERY excited about their time together? Her's is the bigger hutch.

 

[MaggieJ]

Kyle, the way I see it is to take your cue from the doe. If she eagerly accepts the buck, breed her. If she is resistant, try again in a couple of weeks. Sexual maturity and sexual willingness tend to coincide, IMO.

AthenaJacqueline, it is best to take the doe to the buck, regardless of cage size. A doe is often extremely territorial and will fight a buck on her turf (may even do him extreme damage!) but may accept his attentions quite happily on his turf.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

Kyle, the way I see it is to take your cue from the doe. If she eagerly accepts the buck, breed her. If she is resistant, try again in a couple of weeks. Sexual maturity and sexual willingness tend to coincide, IMO.

VERY true. I don't want Tootsie to be like Classy; I have to hold her prettymuch every time I try (and usually FAIL) to get her bred. I figure, if I force Toots, she'll hate it and never want to be bred again. If she won't lift, she won't get bred, lol.

In other news...I think I know what the other half of her ancestry is. She's half-Dutch for sure...but the other half is unknown. I am now sure it must be a lop...since one of her ears is totally lopped today and the other one is in a low airplane position. It makes her ten times cuter, LOL. She's precious.

Welcome to the forum, AthenaJacqueline!!!!!

The buck never seemed to finish after about 10 attempts. I took him out because he started chomping at her shoulder fur.

Two of my three bucks always yank out some shoulder fur...drives me crazy, LOL!!! Maybe try them again tomorrow? If this is his first breeding it might take him a little while to figure it out...there is apparently a learning curve.

Is there anything I can do to help them get this breeding process down? Can I put him in with her now that I can say for sure she is VERY excited about their time together? Her's is the bigger hutch.

Like MaggieJ said, does are really territorial and even if she wants to be bred, she may take exception to him being in her space. If you are worried his cage is too small, maybe try table-breeding, or putting them in a pen together that neither of them lives in?

French Angoras ROCK, btw.

 

[skysthelimit]

Some breeds do fine after kindling- JW's are a prime example, getting better and better as they age- but I have no idea with Americans or Champagnes.

Exact reasons why I got the JW, they can show almost forever. Rex basically fall apart after 8 mos bred or not. I'm told the Angoras are pretty much like the JW.

Mola was bred by her brother at 4 mos old, and had the first litter at 5mos. She is a regular 8lbish Rex now, and has had three litters of large kits since.

 

[ckcs]

Kyle I just breed my Holland Lop Lionhead Mix Brother and Sister at 4 months 5 days. I felt she was ready and was very healthy. She had a litter of 7 of which 2 survived and are doing fantastic. She must present herself as a buffet to these kits as they are so fat. I've yet to pick them up when they didn't look like they were just fed. I've had does over 6 months have a higher survival rate but some have lost the entire litter. I'll be rebreeding her in a few days which will be a week shy of 6 months.

I'll also add that 7 was my largest litter to date and most of my first time Lionheads have had 1-3 kits.