can you bread a rabbit if its under a year?

Question

i heard you couldn't bread a rabbit if its under a year old is this true?

Answer 1

You usually can bread a rabbit anytime you are ready to eat it. If it is under a year old, there is a chance you won't get very much meat off of it though.

Now, to breed a rabbit, you can breed it before a year old, but it is not healthy for the rabbit.

Answer 2

Actually, you don't want to wait for the rabbit to be a full year old before you breed it. Female rabbits develop fat around the ovaries as they get older when they are not bred, especially if they are not fed a good diet. The accumulation of fat around the ovaries can increase the difficulty of getting the female rabbit (doe) pregnant. The fat around the ovaries can cause further complications because the fat gets converted when the rabbit is pregnant. The converted fat can act as a toxin and build up in the rabbit's body over the pregnancy period, reaching a level that can kill the rabbit about a day or two before the rabbit is due to have babies. The situation I'm describing is called ketosis and many rabbit breeders have experienced it.

Normally about the earliest that you should breed a rabbit is 6 months old. The best age to start breeding your rabbit will depend mainly on the size of your breed. Typically smaller breeds can be bred at a younger age.

For does, my suggestion would be to wait until the rabbit has reached full adult size. For large breeds that usally ranges from about 8-10 months old. For small breeds that normally ranges from about 6-10 months old. For does I don't recommend allowing the rabbit to go much beyond 10 months old without being bred if you are wanting to raise baby rabbits due to the build up of fat around the ovaries.

Male rabbits (bucks) can start to be used as early as about 4 months old in limited use. Normally, I recommend waiting till about 6 months old before using a buck to breed with. And if using the buck to breed, use the buck in a limited amount for breeding until the rabbit reaches full adult size.

The main concern regarding breeding too early is that breeding too early whether the rabbit be a buck or doe can possibly cause a stunt or stoppage of growth. That is why it is best to wait until the rabbit is almost full adult size.

Answer 3

Yes, you can start after about 6 months of age for smaller rabbits. Most smaller rabbits have met maturity by this age. You may want to wait a little longer for the larger breeds.

Answer 4

I'm not sure if it's is healthy. But I got two little baby boy rabbits when they were about 9 wks old. Then about 3 months later one of the little boys turned out to be a girl and we had little baby bunnies. So It is definitly possible to breed them before a year.

Answer 5

I imagine you can, but i don't know why you would want to add to the problem. There are already so many rabbits who don't have homes. Try adopting a rabbit, it will be very fulfilling!!

Answer 6

You can "bread" any kind of animal, before you cook it, but I find that the breading takes away from the taste.
IMO