Breeding Rabbits

Rabbits usually have 6-8 babies at a time. Average life span of rabbit is 8 to 10 years.
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A small breed doe is normally ready to mate when she is 5 months old, and a buck is ready at 6 months. The medium size doe is ready to breed when she is 6 months old and the buck at 7 months. The heavy breed doe is ready at 8 months and the buck is ready at 9 months.

It's usually a good idea to select rabbits to breed whose ancestry has evidence of good productivity and good genetics. That's where productivity records and pedigrees listing show winnings come in handy. Keep productivity and show records of your herd just for this purpose.

You may keep a ratio of one buck to 10 does if you wish. The buck may be bred up to 7 times a week effectively. Sometimes, you can use the buck twice in one day.

Keep the following principles in mind when you want to breed your rabbits:

• Only mate rabbits of the same breed. Exceptions to this include breeding for meat, pets or genetic experimentation. You cannot sell a pedigree rabbit that has mixed blood in its background going back 4 generations.
• Do not keep more than one rabbit in each cage when the rabbit is 3 months or older. Rabbits mature faster when alone, do not fight, and do not breed, thus eliminating unexpected results.
• Before breeding, check the bottom of the cage of both the doe and buck for evidence of diarrhea or loose stools. Do not breed the rabbit having this condition until it has been adequately treated. Also check the genitals of both rabbits for any signs of disease or infection (for example, extreme redness, discharge, sores or scabbiness).
  
• When ready to breed the doe, take it to the buck's cage. Never bring the buck to the doe's cage. The reason for this is that the buck has less tendency to breed in the doe's cage. He's too busy sniffing around the cage.
• Some leave the doe with the buck overnight. Others put the doe in, watch it, and when they have mated, remove the doe. If you do the latter, put the doe back in with the buck 1 to 12 hours after the initial breeding. This will increase the likelihood of pregnancy and may increase the number of offspring.
• Keep a calendar and accurate records of the day you breed the doe. You should test her for pregnancy between the 10th and 14th day after the initial breeding. There are two ways to do this. The overall preferred method is to palpate the lower abdomen of the doe with your thumb and forefinger checking for nodules about the size of a marble. The other method is not only more risky but also more inaccurate. This method is to mate the doe with the buck again. This can cause problems because the doe has two uterine horns, each of which can carry babies. It is possible for one horn to be fertilized on the first mating and the second to be fertilized on the second mating. This will create a hormonal imbalance and cause the babies in both uteri to not form right, causing her to pass blobs instead of babies at the date of kindling. There is also a chance these "mummified" blobs could cause complications leading to the death of the doe.
• You should place a nest box in her cage on the 29th day after breeding. Thirty-one days after breeding, she should kindle her litter.