Backyard Bunnies: Breeding Bunnies for Livestock by Kimberly M. Hartfield

Author:Kimberly M. Hartfield [Hartfield, Kimberly M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781495289934
Amazon: 1495289931
Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform
Published: 2014-01-21T05:00:00+00:00

Breeding Your Bunnies Most rabbits are ready to breed by six months of age. Signs to look for in the female are restlessness, rubbing its head on the cage, and trying to join other rabbits. Her vulva will turn deep pink when she is ready to mate. When does are in heat, they may be aggressive toward their cagemates and may need to be separated. Rabbits are induced ovulators, meaning ovulation occurs when she is mated with the buck.

A female rabbit will usually breed immediately when placed with a buck. When you want to breed rabbits, put your doe with your buck in his cage or in a neutral cage. If you bring him to her, she, being very territorial, will fear an intruder and attack him to protect her territory.

When the buck falls over they have usually successfully mated. Let her stay overnight with the buck and separate them the next day. If you leave them together longer she may try to kill the buck. A mother must have her own quarters throughout the pregnancy and until the pups are weaned.

At about 10-14 days, check for pregnancy by feeling the area just above the pelvis to locate the small marble-sized embryos along the side of her belly. If you don't feel anything, after 10 -14 days, you may try her again to make sure she bred. If she won't let him breed again she's probably already pregnant. She will likely want out of his cage.

Pick her up as little as possible in the last half of the pregnancy. Place a good nest box in her cage and make sure it is cleaned well a week before she is due. Make sure the mother has a clean fresh straw at all times. She will pull the fur from her belly to line her nest before the babies are born.

Rabbits give birth quickly and silently and should not be disturbed. The doe's gestation period lasts 28-32 days. At 33 days a vet may be needed. A litter usually has 6-10 babies. After a couple of days, while the mother is distracted, check for any dead or deformed babies and remove them. If a pup is not in the fur lined nest and has been separated from its littermates, carefully put it back. The doe will likely not put it back. You shouldn't touch the live babies for the first week or so unless you have to or the mother may abandon them.

Rabbits are born blind, deaf, and naked. The babies' eyes will not open for 2 weeks after birth. The doe will nurse them once or twice daily and they will gain weight quickly over the next few weeks. At about three weeks the baby bunnies will start to come out of the nest and begin to nibble food and hay, but that doesn't mean they are ready to wean.

The mother will nurse them for at least a month to six weeks, at which time they may be separated from her.

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