We're considering breeding rabbits. We have one 6 month old male rabbit and want to get a female rabbit for it to mate with. If you have any suggestions, tips, or experiences they would be greatly appreciated.
How many babies are in a litter?
2007-05-26 11:35:05 · 6 answers · asked by Ally 1 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
There are so many buns that are sitting in shelters and rescue centers looking for homes. Don't be a part of the problem. Listen to Bob Barker and have your pet spayed or neutered.
2007-05-29 10:52:52 · answer #1 · answered by esybkoven81 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Normally, about the best age to start breeding rabbits at is when they are 8-10 months old. You can start breeding once the rabbit reaches 6 months old, but I don't recommend any sooner than that. The reason I recommend 8-10 months of age is because by then the rabbit has done most of its growing and should be close to or have already reached adult size. Breeding with a rabbit when it is too young can stunt its size. Once the rabbit starts getting over 10 months of age, if it hasn't been bred, it starts getting harder and harder to breed, normally due to fat building up around the ovaries.
The number of babies in a litter mainly depends on the breed of rabbit and its age. The number of babies could range from about 1 to 16 depending on the breed and age of the rabbit. Typically, the smaller the rabbit the smaller the litter. And typically, the older the rabbit is past 1.5 - 2 years old, the smaller the litter.
The gestation (pregnancy) period for a rabbit is 28-32 days (the same as the number of teeth they have). Normally, the rabbit will have the babies right at 30 days after being bred.
Rabbits are induced ovulators, meaning the female produces eggs (ovulates) after an attempt of mating is make with the male (buck). Normally, the doe (female) ovulates about 8 hours after the attempted mating has taken place. That is why many breeders stick the doe back in with the buck about 8 hours later. To check that the doe is bred, breeders will normally stick the doe back in with the buck a couple days later. If the doe fights the buck or starts running around the pen and hunkering down and grunting those are normally good signs that she is bred.
It is best to stick the nestbox in on the 28th day (2 days before she is due to have babies). If you stick the nestbox in too soon, the doe may pee and poop in the nestbox which isn't good. Use straw as the nestbox bedding and make sure it doesn't smell moldy. Beddings such as hay and woodchips are not good to use because some rabbits can be very finicky about smells in the nestbox and tend to scatter their litters more when smelly bedding is used. Also make sure the nest box has holes in the floor of it to allow any urine to drain out. Pegboard works really well for nestbox flooring.
Don't make the nestbox too big. The rabbit is looking for a place it can get into easy, but is small enough that it can feel like it can hide in. If the nestbox is too big the rabbit may attempt to have the babies between the nestbox and cage wall. A good size is about 2" wider and 2" longer than the size of the doe when she is laying down.
Lastly, make sure you feed your mother enough protein. Do not feed your rabbit a show rabbit pellet ration when she is planning to have babies. Show rations only have about 15% protein and that isn't enough when they are trying to have babies. Rabbits need plenty of protein to produce milk. Use a family or regular ration of feed (16-17% protein) then add about a tablespoon a day of Calf Manna to the rabbit pellets to add a little extra protein to help the mother be able to produce more milk.
2007-05-29 05:35:18 · answer #2 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
what kind of rabbit is it? I breed mini Rex rabbits, the size of the litters change alot. the female that i breed the most started off by having 6, then 4, then 3, 2 and 1.......then 7! once the babies come, if you don't find a home for them you can always try to give them to a pet store. But go for trying to find a home first. ummmm. i always start weaning at about 2.5- 3 weeks. alot of people disagree and say that this is to soon but when a mom has 7 babies she gets pretty tired of having all these babies in her cage. their eyes open at about 8-10 days. Good Luck!!! any questions feel free to email me at: Tati22@sbcglobal.net
2007-05-26 12:39:49 · answer #3 · answered by Tati L 3 · 2⤊ 1⤋
breeding rabbits is a great experience, i bred once and got hooked and now have raise 12 litters, and have started showing them. the best tips i can give you is, breed when the doe is 6=8 months old, breed her once, and then take her back to the male 6 hours later, and again the following morning...this increases the chance of pregnancy. for feeding don't increase her feed until sheis half way through her pregnancy....15 days. for moreinfo just got on to my website...I don't feel like typing everything....i have step by step info on my website. www.freewebs.com/creekside_rabbitry
2007-05-26 14:13:41 · answer #4 · answered by Olivia W 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Unless you have homes lined up for the babies, I wouldn ot recommend breeding. It depends on the breed for the size of the litter. They can be small or large.
2007-05-26 11:42:22 · answer #5 · answered by dnott.geo 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
put them togeather they will do the rest . for the size of litter it just depends.
2007-05-26 13:25:40 · answer #6 · answered by BIG-B 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋