thankyou so much for explaining that. I think I will do as you do, I just dont like the thought of breeding 8 litters a yr from one doe. I like how you plan for litters between the 2 does. that sounds about right for me.
i have GERMAN giants, i am from Romania, rabbits over 7-7.3kgs, i do like this: breed 20 november - birth 18-20 december , breed again on 20 juanuary , after and beed wait 1 week then take little rabbits out after at age of 5 weeks (2-3 at a time during 3 days)..then the doe have 3 weeks to gain strainght and weight, then on on 20 february she give birth again , this time i will not breed her again, i will leave the little rabbiths with her 8 weeks then strat pull them out. I do this to have at least 10-14 rabbits per doe when spring comes. Does made very goods nests in the winter with temperatures up to 30*C inside when outside is -10*c but they must be protected of wind. 1st litter is ready to be butcher in 20-30 may and second in 01-15 june so the rabbits will not experiment the heat over 30*C from the summer that slow their fattening. From the 1st litter all rabbits are for meat, from second (that had more time with the doe) i keep 1-2 for next year. Maybe breed again in 20 september but just MAYBE... nice videos, thanks !
My rabbit has a litter that is 4 weeks old and they are still feeding from her I believe. I tried rebreeding her but she won’t have it and gets angry at the buck. Do I need to wean off the babies first then breed her?
Do you keep breeding them through the winter? Mine had her first litter last week and I'm thinking it may be her only one this year. Probably too cold for me here in northern Canada. Thoughts?
I breed all winter long and have never had a problem. It doesn't get as cold here as it does in Northern Canada but it does get and stay below freezing for long periods of time. Never been an issue for me.
Hello, do people ever share a Buck from another homestead so that they only have the two Does (and kits) to feed? Or is it better to keep the Buck so that you can rebreed a couple times if you need to? Gene
Hey thanks for all your videos, am new to rabbit breeding I just had a first time mom lost her litter how soon can I put her back with the buck for breeding
My rabbit gave birth and didn't pull any hair or feed her rabbits she's a first time mother but it seemed as though she was ignoring them is there anything I can do to help her
You can pull some hair yourself. It should pull pretty easily from her dew lap. As far as her ignoring them, that is common. They really don't pay much attention to their babies other than feeding them once or twice a day. Usually that is in the middle of the night and you never see it happen. As long as the babies are fat (not overly skinny or wrinkly) she is probably taking care of them.
Thank you HREAT video. I have a question I just received a rabbit with 9 kits (1day old) 2 passed the rest are doing great. The momma rabbit sneezes a lot should I be concerned? Or is their something I can do to overcome the sneezes? Thanks 🐇😊🐇HAVE A GREAT DAY 🐇😊🐇
I would be a little concerned if it were me. Sneezing is a sign of snuffles. Look it up and you can see what the other symptoms are. I hope that is not the case but I would make sure she is separated from the rest of your rabbits. of course you have to keep the babies with her but you don't want that passing on to your other rabbits if that is what it is.
Slightly Rednecked thank you I will research it. She seems great stool is fine just sneezes a lot. The babies are two weeks old and started eating little bits of grain and hay. None of them are sneezing. They are in my house away from the others,as it was too cold (I was thinking) to put them out.
wow...that is pretty intense breeding and a little early at weaning. Generally a rabbit with intense breeding schedules should last about a year and a half. I hope that helps.
that is about average. Some will go three years some will go only a year. I give my rabbits the hottest part of the summer off (july and august, sometimes june) and then pick back up in the fall. I can do pretty intense breeding (after 6 weeks instead of 4) for 9 months and then give them a break to recover. My does last a few years of producing good litters most of the time. I hope that helps.
Thanks for the video. I was hoping to keep rabbit and quail together in a large caged ‘natural’ environment. I was hoping not to separate Male and female but am open to advice. Does this sound possible?
Probably best to keep the males and females separate so you can control the breeding. I am not sure if keeping them with quail in an open pen would work or not. You would have to have a covered pen so the birds don't fly out but I guess it could work.
Hey Chris I have a 2 year old mixed breed doe, she looks new Zealand and rex mix not really sure but she just had her 6th litter 4 weeks ago and she looks a little skinny, I can feel her ribs and back bone. My question is should I replace her with a new doe or do you think she can recover if I give her couple months and then rebreed her? I was gonna sell her as pet only but kinda want to see if she can have more litters? Do you think she might be able to give me a few more litters? What is your limit on your does on when you decide your done with them?
So let me see if I've got this straight. You rebreed the doe at six weeks, which is also when you ween the litter she previously gave birth to? And you breed the second doe when the first doe's litter is two weeks old? So you have a litter coming every six weeks, from alternating does?
If you want to go intense then yes. I generally rebreed the doe when the young are 10 weeks old. And time that so the other does kits are 2 weeks old at the same time. I hope that helps.
I personally believe that sore hocks is a genetic issue and will probably return. To treat it you can use preparation H on the feet and give the rabbit something soft to walk on like a towel. You will have to clean the cage every day as well. I hate to say it but if it is a breeder I would cull her and remove her from the breeding stock. Don't want to pass those genes on. I hope that helps.
It is a little early for her to be re bred but it will probably be fine. Just wean the babies off of her a few days before she is due to give birth to the new babies and it should all be fine.
Hi Chris, I was wondering if you can answer a question. I have two six month old Californian does. Is it true that you have to wait until there privates are a hot pink or purple color? There's isn't and they refuse to bread with the buck. What do you think?
you don't have to wait but that is a good indicator that they are ready to breed. 6 months is right at the time they should be getting into sexual maturity. My best advice is to be patient and keep trying. I would introduce the female to the male once a week. My bet is she will become receptive soon. I hope that helps.
Hey Chris. What kind of weight do you get at 8 weeks after butchering . My rabbits are only at about 2 pounds live weight at 8 weeks. Should they be heavier? Thanks
I like to try to get them to 5 pounds by 8 weeks. but my current rabbits don't grow out that fast so I usually let them grow out to 12 weeks or so. But either way, I try to let them get to 5 pounds before processing.
That is a common problem. the act of trying to breed the rabbit will usually get them in the mood. Just keep trying every day morning and evening for about 15 minutes each time. If it doesn't work after about 3 days, you might try to put the doe in a pet carrier and take her for a 15 to 20 minute ride in your car and then put her in with the male. I don't know why that would work but lots of people report that it does.
My doe had a litter four weeks ago and just last night delivered another litter. Do i need to separate the first litter? She has been away from the male since she gave birth to the first litter. She is currently housed with all the babies.
Wow, that is a lot of babies for one mom to take care of. The 4-week old litter is a little young to be separated from mom yet but I would get them weaned off at 6 weeks. I would also keep the male separate from the female going forward so you can control the breeding a little better. Good luck and I hope it works out well for you.
I'm new to rabbit breeding, and all of my rabbits are virgins, including the buck, and he seems interested, but restless. The does want nothing to do with him, and he just ends up cuddling with the does. What should I do? I have 2 does and 1 buck. Please help!
how old are they? If they are breeding age then just keep trying. Might give them a week or two and then try again. Make sure the buck isn't over weight. He should pretty much go right to the job if he is at proper weight and the right age (about 6 months old).
Thanks so much for replying! They are all about 7-8 months old now, so I will keep trying to breed them and will make sure the buck is at the right weight to breed. I will also let them all have a break for a while and try again if they aren't interested. Thank you!
Hi sir good evening Am a pet lover I have 10 rabbits (2male 8 female) My question is male rabbit can mate female evry day Or alternative days to increase number of babies plz help me.. Bless you
It is best to try to get two or three successful matings at one time. Not to spread it out over several days. You can try to breed one more time the next day. It does have some affect on the number of babies that she has.
You shouldn't have to give them any goat milk unless the mother isn't taking care of them for some reason (which is very rare). Generally you only need to check on them every once in a while to make sure they are all doing ok. If you do have to feed them for some reason you would want to do that a couple of times a day.
I breed my rabbits last oct. 8, and I was xpecting that my doe will have litters in an xpecting date, but she doesnt even have one, the buck had a 5 successful falloffs, so I was xpecting that my doe will gets pregnant, but why she didnt gave birth? I dnt understand, theyre both first timers, can u help me sir?
I am sorry to hear that. I am afraid I can't tell you exactly why it didn't work. There could be a number of things. If you have another doe available you can test the buck out to see if he may be the problem (may be sterile for some reason). Otherwise, I would just try again.
I am sorry to hear that. I am not sure I can tell you exactly why because it could have been any number of reasons. The most common thing is if she had them outside of the nest box they probably chilled and died because of that. Rabbits born on the cage floor don't usually make it very long unless you find them quickly and put them in the nest box. I hope that helps.
generally just one fall off is enough but I like to get two or three. Some breeders will breed for two or three days but I have never found that necessary.
