I have bred them before. so don't worry about that type of stuff. i know all about that. but i have dwarf bunnies, and there is 1 boy and 3 girls. AND NONBE OF THEM HAVE GOTTON PREGNNT!!!!!! why? i realy want them 2. and i also have regular bunnies, can the dwarf rabbit breed with the normal bunnies or does it have to mate with a dwarf. cuz mating the tiger dwarfs really isn't working. and yes they all are old enough. and yes i am sure of their sexes.
2006-10-24 13:04:12 · 4 answers · asked by dani k 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
can the dwarf male, and normal female breed? y won't the others have babies? can u answer my questions?
2006-10-24 13:05:11 · update #1
One thing, do you even know for certain what breed or breeds of rabbits you have? Many pet stores use the term dwarf for basically any small breed of rabbit. Rabbit breeders normally refer to Dwarfs as Netherland Dwarfs. Sometimes it can also be used to refer to Dwarf Hotots. In the United States there is no such breed as a Tiger Dwarf. There is however an unrecognized breed called Lionheads.
The size to a certain extent shouldn't matter. Part of the problem may be that the females/does are too old or too fat. If a female rabbit waits a long time to be bred or if it gets too fat, it can develop fat around the ovaries. This makes it very difficult to get the does pregnant. And manytimes when they do get pregant they will die right before they are due to have their babies due to ketosis, basically a build up of poison in the body caused by the breakdown of the fat which breaks down into a chemical that is poisonous to the rabbit. It reaches critical levels about right before the doe is to have babies.
Another possible reason could be if the buck is old or sterile. Also, the male may not be properly "sticking" the does and thereby he never truly breeds them, it just appears like he has.
There are a few things you can do to increase your chances of getting the does pregant.
First, plan how you breed them. When you attempt to breed a doe, it causes the doe to ovulate. Normally that takes a certain amount of time that can be calculated. I believe that is about 8 hours. So after you make the attempt once, try again about 8 hours later. Then try again about 24 hours after the first attempt, then again about 3 days after the first attempt. This should increase your chances.
The second thing you can do is give your rabbit a little Vitamin E. Vitamin E helps fertility. You can add some Vitamin E to your rabbit's diet by adding a small sqirt of wheat germ oil onto their feed. Do this for both the buck and does.
The third thing you can do is called forced breeding. This is a trick that I was shown by an old rabbit breeder. It basically involves tying a shoestring around the base of the tale and running the shoestring over the doe's back. The shoestring is used to pull or lift the tail up so that she can be bred easier. Also, you may need to put a hand under the doe to get her to raise up. There is a vein just in front of the area where you sex the doe. If you run your forefingers across that it will help get the doe to raise up so the buck can properly breed the doe. Once he does grunt and curl up acting like he has bred the doe, make sure to put a hand on his rump and keep his rump pushed up against the doe. This helps ensure that the semen gets inserted like it should.
A fourth thing I want to mention. If you notice your doe/female behaving peculiarly when she isn't bred by her acting mean or her raising her rear end up whenever you put your hand on or near her rump, then that is a good time to breed her. They say that rabbits don't go through heat like dogs or cats do. That is true, but there are times when they stand a better chance of becoming pregnant when you try to breed them and if you see either of those two signs then you know that your chances are up at that time period.
Lighting also plays a role in getting rabbits bred. The more light they have the better the chance of getting the rabbit bred. That's why it is harder to breed them in fall and winter.
Finally, if all else fails, take your doe for a ride in the back of the car. Yes! You heard me right, a ride in the back of the car. Sometimes a change of environment can make a female rabbit more able to be bred. A long-time rabbit breeder that I know takes his rabbits for a ride in the back of the car for an hour or two if he has a lot of trouble getting them to breed. I think the change or slight stress it causes helps activate hormones within the female rabbit that make it easier to breed. That's why some people will try breeding their does right after a rabbit show.
PS - Also make sure you check the sex of the rabbits. Doesn't do any good if you are trying to mate two of the same sex.
2006-10-25 05:42:01 · answer #1 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Have you seen the male bunny attempting to mate with any of the females? If he has but there are no babies then there could be a number of reasons. There is always the possibility he is unable to produce babies, also female bunnies will only become pregnant when they are in good health and not stressed - are there any stresses in their environment? Perhaps you could try separating the male out with one female at a time. Have you had them all since they were babies and if not is is there any possibility that one or all of them were neutered by previous owners if they came to you as adults?
As far as mating dwarfs with regular bunnies, I have had several litters from a dwarf female and a regular male (and vice versa) with no problems. They produce a baby roughly halfway between the two parents in size.
2006-10-24 22:27:34 · answer #2 · answered by ManikPixi 1 · 0⤊ 1⤋
If your trying to breed a female dwarf to a regular size bunny that'll be sad, the baby's may be too big for her to deliver naturally. Yes any breed of rabbit will and can breed. Really why would you want to breed them? 1000's of unwanted bunny's are sitting in shelters waiting for a good home. Every home you find for one of your bunnies takes away a home for a needy bunny! I'm hoping, since they haven't bred, that your male is sterile!! Please don't add to the over population of pets!!!!
2006-10-24 13:13:34 · answer #3 · answered by pharfly1 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Lighting is a huge factor in getting does to get pregnant. Fall and winter are bad times to breed because there is a reduced amount of time the sun in out during the day. If you want your does to get pregnant then keep the lights on at least 16 hours a day.
On another note, you'd be better off breeding purebred, pedigreed rabbits instead of mixing breeds.
2006-10-25 05:36:24 · answer #4 · answered by akakarmamg 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I suggest that you breed your bunnies with their own respective breed. Do not mix them!!!
2006-10-24 13:09:49 · answer #5 · answered by Cloud 9 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋