To breed rabbits successfuly, a breeder must understand the reproductive cycle of the rabbit and follow a specific schedule for breeding the rabbits successful. Following the reproductive cycle and adhering to a specific schedule are necessary to ensure that the rabbit population produce healthy kits. To start the breeding process, it is essential to find a doe in peak physical condition with an ideal body score.
Too thin or too fat a doe will have difficulty during pregnancy. Rabbits are induced ovulators and do not have a monthly cycle like other domesticated animals. Instead, does becomes receptive for breeding in waves every two to three week.
How to Breed Rabbits Step by Step
By checking the vulva of the doe every day, a breeder can determine if the doe is ready to mate with a buck. If the vulva is pale pink, the doe is not yet receptive. However, if the color is a reddish purple, the doe is ready for mating.
In this case, bring the doe to the buck’s territory. However, you should never bring the buck into the doe’s territory, as this may result in aggressive behavior from the buck that may injure the doe and the kit. An indicator of successful mating is the doe lying on her side or performing a fall-off, which indicates that the buck successfully mounted the doe.
Following mating, the doe should be returned to her home, and the breeder should log the date of mating. Gestation for rabbits is approximately one month. Ovulation occurs a few hour after mating, and the embryos begin to implant within the uterus of the doe by the first week of gestation.
Between days 28 and 30 of gestation, the doe will have an increased appetite. During this stage, the doe should be provided with hay and feed rich in protein. Feeding the doe too much feed too early within gestation may make it difficult for the doe to kindle.
On day 27 of gestation, a nest box should be placed within the doe’s enclosure. The nest box should be filled with hay and straw for the doe to use to line the nest box with fur that she shed. The doe will kindle or give birth to her kits around day 31.
During the first twelve hour after kindling, it is essential to perform a quiet check of the kits to ensure that all kits are alive at birth. Furthermore, you can count the number of kits during this time. Any stillborn kits should be removed after kindling.
It is also essential to feel the belly of each kit to ensure that they are receiving milk from their mother. Any kit with a sunken belly may not receive enough milk to survive. If there are extra kits born, those kits can be fostered to other does that have given birth to other kits on the same day.
Due to the high fat and protein content of the milk that does produce, kits usually nurse only once or twice daily from their mother. However, the doe should not be disturbed from her sleep as excessive stress may cause the doe to skip nursing her kits. The kits are usually born pink, hairless, and blind.
During the first week of their life, kits tend to huddle together to gain warmth from one another. During the second week of their life, kits gain fur. During the third week, their eyes open.
By the fourth week of their life, kits begin to hop and eat hay. Kits should not be weaned from their mother before they are eight weeks of age. Weaning kits before this age may result in the death of the kits due to a lack of immunity from the milk that their mother produced for them.
At eight weeks of age, the kits can be weaned. However, it is recommended to still keep all kits together in their litter for a short time before sexing the kits to separate the male from the females. Not all breed of rabbits have the same requirements when breeding them.
For instance, meat breeds, like the New Zealands, will have large litters with the standard gestation period. Additionally, giant breeds of rabbits will require a large nest box, and the giant breeds will take longer to mature than other breed of rabbits. For dwarf breeds of rabbits, the litters will typically be smaller, but they will kindle earlier in their gestation cycle.
The size of the nest box must be appropriate to the breed that is being bred. Additionally, the nutritional needs of the does will change according to the breed of the rabbits. Does that are pregnant or nursing require different portion of food than other does.
For example, provide does in gestation with measured portions of food, while does in lactation may be allowed to eat as much as they would like. Due to the high level of fat and protein in the milk, does will not require continuous nursing of their kits. However, the kits will need to nurse at least once or twice daily.
Water is essential for does while they are nursing their kits. If a doe is not provided with water for even just one day, the doe will stop producing milk. The third requirement is heat.
Bucks will become sterile if the environment in which they live reach a temperature of 85 degrees or higher. To manage the breeding of rabbits, there are specific instance of math that must be applied to manage breeding. For instance, the bucks can handle ten does if provided with two days of rest between each breeding.
However, bucks should be housed separately from the does but have visual contact with the does. If bucks are placed in the same area as the does, they may become overly attached and display aggressive behavior towards the does. Overworking the bucks will result in a decrease in the sperm quality.
Additionally, there are specific indicators as to when does should be bred again. If does are healthy and recovering from giving birth, they can be bred every two week after kindling. However, breeders may wait until the kits are weaned from their does to ensure that the doe remains strong for the breeding season.
Check does for body score every time they are bred. If a doe is thin, she should be allowed to rest. Breeding and kindling records should be kept for all does.
Furthermore, does that produce few kits may be removed from the herd. Breeding rabbits can involve some mistake that should be avoided by any breeder. For instance, the color of the doe’s vulva should never be ignored.
If a doe’s vulva is pale pink, do not attempt to breed the doe. Furthermore, if a doe is pregnant, which can be mistaken for kindling, do not attempt to breed the doe until the pregnancy cycle is complete. Does that are bred to wire floors will develop ulcers on their hocks so resting boards should be provided for does.
If a doe begins to develop mastitis, which is an infection of the mammary gland, the doe should be isolated and receive care from a veterinarian. Does that are over the age of four and have not been spayed may develop tumors in their uterus so they should be retired from breeding. Finally, the rabbits need to be exposed to 14 to 16 hour of light daily to mimic the conditions of spring which will encourage them to breed.