QUICK BREEDING TIPS
Rabbit breeding tips:
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I thought it very important to share with you a list of breeding tips as I am currently writing a book on milking babies from rabbits which I will publish soon. These tips I extracted from the book are worth going through if you are really interested in, or are already breeding rabbits
- Ensure that you will have homes for the kits before you do this. Check that you will have spare hutches for when the babies are weaned, and that you will be able to afford the costs of breeding. Also talk with breeders and friends, they might become customers.
- Only breed from healthy, happy rabbits. If your rabbit is aggressive or unhealthy, don't breed him/her. Breeding aggressive does (females) is especially NOT recommended, as you may have to inspect her hutch or kits (babies).
- Put the female in the male's hutch. A female's cage will smell like her. If you put a male in there he will spend more time sniffing around than getting down to business.
- Leave them together for 5-10 minutes. Try staying with them though. This time depends on how long it takes the male to breed with the female. If the female is anxious, aggressive or trying to get away from him, separate them immediately. Do not leave the rabbits in together permanently. Females can get PREGNANT TWICE! Their womb is a Y shape, so they can carry two litters at once. If there is a gap between matings, both litters will be harmed as one will be premature and the other may be late. The parent's safety and health is of the utmost importance. ARBA rabbit judges have recommended attempting a mating once a week until the does becomes resistant to a male's advances.
- Palpation is the best way of telling if a doe is pregnant or not. This is the method of feeling her abdomen to see if there are any babies inside. For beginners, this method is most easily done at two weeks after breeding or more.
Pregnancy lasts approximately 28-31 days depending on the breed. Don't try to re-mate until at least 40 days have passed since the last breeding. - Provide plenty of extra hay and bedding. (Do not use towels or fibrous materials, hay is fine.) This is for the doe to build a nest with. You may find her fur all over the hutch - this is normal, she will pluck her chest and stomach to fill the nest. However, this is not a sure sign of pregnancy as females often have phantom pregnancies if they convince themselves they are pregnant.
Related article: How to breed rabbits
- Give the doe peace and quiet. Don't lift her up unless you absolutely have to, and if you do, don't lift her by her stomach!
- Feed the doe more. Once the kits are born, give her as much dry food as she likes as feeding kits will drain her. Don't stop with her veggies, etc., but don't increase it and stop completely if her droppings become loose.
- Listen for "cheeping." Kits sound like baby birds, and hearing them is one way to tell if the mother has given birth. You can also tell by seeing movement in the nest, or if the doe has a little blood on her nose. Leave her to it if you do catch her giving birth, though chances are all will be done and cleaned up long before you are awake. Babies tend to be born before dawn. The doe will clean the hutch to ensure no predators smell the blood or other scents and investigate.
- Know how to treat the mother. If doe is happy for you to stroke her and is acting normally (and you have a very good relationship with her), it might be a good idea to let her out for a little exercise (for no more than an hour) if she is used to it. This will give you a chance to inspect the nest and remove any dead kits. Do not attempt to go near the nest if the doe doesn't trust you or gets upset! She will abandon the kits if you do this and they will die unless you are lucky enough to successfully hand-rear the kits, which is unlikely.
- If you determine it is safe, let the doe out of the hutch. Does normally give birth on the covered side of the hutch, so be extremely careful when opening this side, as the nest may be there. If you suspect the doe has made the nest on the covered side, the best thing to do is abandon the idea.
- Before touching the nest, rub your hands with straw from the area the doe defecates in to ensure that you have her scent on your hands.
- Check the temperature of the nest. Before doing this, ensure your hands aren't cold, and that the weather isn't chilly. Slip a couple of fingers into the nest to check the temperature. If it is cold, you will need to remove any dead kits and warm up the remaining quickly. The nest should be quite warm, as if there is a hot water bottle underneath. The kits may wiggle and cheep at you, but this is normal.
- Once you've ensured that the kits are safe and removed any dead ones, replace the nest if you moved it and leave the kits alone.
- Check on the kits daily, unless your relationship with the doe is not strong enough. Always do this mid-morning/afternoon as the doe will feed them early in the morning and late in the afternoon. You may want to view the mother feeding the kits, but be sure that she does not see you or she may stop feeding them.
- Keep the doe's routine normal. Let your doe out during the day, but keep in mind that she will have lost hair on her stomach and chest, and putting her on wet grass or out in the cold can be unwise.
- Watch the kits. The babies generally open their eyes at about 10 days, but some will take longer or shorter.
- The babes will start nibbling at the doe's food quite soon. This is normal; let them.
- Wean the babies at 6-8 weeks, depending on their size. Smaller ones should stay with the doe longer than bigger ones to let them catch up.
- The babies can be re-homed at eight weeks if they were weaned then, but it's best to wait until 10 weeks.
Related article: Breeding rabbits
