How many litters can a rabbit safely have?
2007-07-28 04:22:49 · 4 answers · asked by Jenny S 2 in Pets ➔ Other - Pets
That partly depends on how it is done. If the doe raises them all the way to weaning age, probably 4-5 litters a year at most.
The gestation period is 28-32 days. They normally have a litter right at 30 days. So that's about a month right there. Then you normally wean a litter when it gets to about 60 days old or so. So that's another two months. So you're looking at 3 months per litter if you raise them to full size weaning. And of course there are only 12 months in a year.
You could increase that number of four to about 6 or so if you weaned off the babies a little early.
If you placed the babies on a surrogate mother like some breeders do, she could potentially have as many as 12 litters a year. That means as soon as the mother has the babies you pull the babies off of her and put the babies on another mother then breed the one rabbit again right after she has had babies.
It is not wise to breed the doe until she is about ready to have her litter pulled off of her. If you breed a doe while she is in the middle of milking another litter it may not give her enough time to recoup and could bring down her health.
So the correct answer is 4-12 depending on how the babies are weaned off.
2007-07-30 10:02:00 · answer #1 · answered by devilishblueyes 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot. A rabbit can become pregnant again before it has completely weaned her previous litter. As long as she maintains a healthy weight and doesn't show any signs of stress she can keep going.
2007-07-28 04:26:17 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It depends on the breed, for example: new zealands can have around 10 in one litter...dwarfs on the other hand can have like 5-6.
2007-07-28 06:16:45 · answer #3 · answered by E J 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
my friend is a rabbit breeder and i dont know alot , but she told me that a rabbit can have 10-15 per year.
2007-07-28 04:26:53 · answer #4 · answered by Ashley H 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋