# My rabbits won't breed



## budwpm (Jun 28, 2009)

I bought three rabbis back in June. They were a month short of slaughter but I planed the to raise them for breeding. I am new to this so I figured I would start small and see how it worked out. The rabbits are now 6 months old. My buck is happy to breed but my does aren't so agreeable. All of the rabbits are mutts. One of my does is smaller then the other but that will be another question. When I put the larger doe in the bucks cage there is an immediate fight. Hair and hare flying, hissing, grunting, and lap running. The doe just acts like she is not ready and when the buck finally gets her cornered she won't stand. The other doe doesn't fight as much but she won't stand and she runs a lot so he can not catch her. My breeding resembles this video [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3weYH2N32TY&feature=related[/ame]. What can I do and what is wrong? Thanks.


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## Silver Marten (Apr 27, 2009)

The does might not be ready yet. Some does just mature later than others. 
Try caging them next to the buck.

Emily


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## budwpm (Jun 28, 2009)

Would a day or 2 next to each other be long enough or should I give it a week or so?


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## Silver Marten (Apr 27, 2009)

I would give them a week or two next to each other. I would also put them in with him once every five days or so. 

Emily


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

As odd as it sounds, you might want to check to make sure you've got a buck and a doe. I had this same scenario going on over a couple of weeks last winter ... had not double checked, just went on the breeder's identification.

Wrong! 

I do find a lot of maiden does need to be restrained for breeding, or they will continue running ... I've got enough rabbits that I use an experienced buck on the first time does as they are used to me holding. 

Another issue could be shorter daylight hours going into the fall when fertility is tending to be minimized anyway. I keep lights on to insure they are getting between 14 and 16 hours of light in every 24 hour period.


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## MaggieJ (Feb 6, 2006)

First thing you should do is double-check that your does are indeed does. It wouldn't be the first time that rabbits that appeared to be does at an early age turned out not to be. 

Second thing is to consider that six months is really not all that mature. Does are often not ready at that stage... even though the buck is. 

Housing the doe next to the buck just before attempting to breed them is a good idea, but if they are normally housed that way, the novelty wears off and it likely does no good. You want them to be excited to be near each other and just a tad frustrated so that when you put them together they are eager.

There can be nutritional issues as well. Vitamins A and E are very important and can be lost from pelleted feed due to storage conditions or age. Try supplementing their diets with either 2 teaspoons on wheat germ or 5 -6 drops of wheat germ oil over their pellets daily for about two weeks. This will help with the Vitamin E. For Vitamin A, feed dark leafy greens like dandelion or parsley. Some people like to add apple cider vinegar to the water at a rate of 2 tablespoons per gallon. 

Quite honestly, it sounds to me as though the does are just not mature enough to be interested and as a result are bewildered and frightened. If they were mine, I'd be giving them a complete break from trying to breed them for another month. I'd likely try the dietary supplements while I waited.


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## budwpm (Jun 28, 2009)

I will try keeping them next to each other and see about the feed. I tried breeding about 2 weeks ago and figured they weren't ready but now the does are even worse then before. I might end up getting a mature doe to breed. Maybe seeing a mature doe will let me and the other does know what is going on and how it should happen. Thanks.


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