# My rabbits won't conceive



## Alcor (Jun 11, 2019)

I am running out of ideas here. I just cannot, whatsoever, get my rabbits pregnant. I don't understand. I'm trying to breed Silver Fox rabbits.

I've tried several females and males over time. It's been about a year now. We take the does individually to the buck's cage. The buck does his grunt-and-flip routine after he mounts and goes at it for a while, and we try to get him several successes with each female. We do this for about a week, then we let the females chill in their hutches. They have plenty of water, all the hay they can eat, and we give them greens from the garden as well as vegetable scraps. And yet, month after month, no babies. After each gestation window has fully passed, we try to breed them again.

It's summer now. There are no excuses due to long nights or cold weather. The rabbits aren't obese. We have painstakingly charted how they were maintained each day, and when we mated them. The does seem receptive enough, though some days they just don't bother, but we've had plenty of successful matings. The rabbits are all of appropriate age.

What the heck is going _on_? I feel like after a year, we should have seen _something._ This last round, two of the does repeatedly made nests near the end of their gestation window and then tore them down, then never gave birth at all. The third, we were told was proven from the breeder when we got her, but she has never acted pregnant. I'm about ready to give up entirely.

We culled one of our 4 females because she would refuse to have sex whatsoever, like she wouldn't let the buck mount ever, and we had to force breed her. That was a pain, so into the pot she went. While butchering, we noticed a two-pronged organ with lots of little "marbles" along it -- presumably the uterus? -- and so maybe she was pregnant then? But we have never managed any births.

Please, go ahead and ask questions. I have no idea what to do anymore. You'd think rabbits would actually want to create more of themselves.


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## promiseacres (Jun 12, 2019)

Very hard to say.... we have had a rough breeding season.... we have 3 breeds. The Velveteen lop does refused most of Spring... finally had a litter about 2 weeks ago. The Polish buck and does did just fine, a couple misses but both does had litters and they survived past weaning. The mini rex I decided the misses were all a new buck....so decided he is infertile...tried with 10 breedings, with 4 different does. The does that did breed with other bucks lost their litters 1 crushed hers, 2 due to cold, and 1 lost hers due to illness/fading at 2 to 4 weeks.   in any case we have 4 does (1VL, 3 MR) nesting as of yesterday 
Some say keep your does bred on a regular basis. I have definitely seen this. As most my does I only want 2 litters from annually. They also can be seasonal. Are you feeding a good quality pellet along with the hay and greens? They may not be able to maintain a pregnancy if they are not on a balanced diet. FYI the only rabbits I know that breed "like rabbits"  are only when you don't want them too.... 
@Bunnylady  Any thoughts?


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## AmberLops (Jun 12, 2019)

It's so strange!!
It's been a strange breeding season for me but not that bad...

I would get rid of all the rabbits you have, start over completely and don't get them from the breeder you got these guys from...find someone else or multiple people. Go to a breeder and if you see a doe with kits, ask to buy them all.
That way you have babies, you have a doe that can produce and all you need is a buck to start with.
As for other ideas...
You can try adding Apple cider vinegar to their water. I do that for mine and it seems to help a little.
You can try driving them somewhere...even just to the store and back...and try breeding them afterward. New things can get them going.
Are they in the dark? Or outside?
Sometimes being in the dark can make it impossible to breed them.


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## Alcor (Jun 16, 2019)

Wild rabbits don't eat pellets -- we figured they'd be able to breed without them. Do we have to introduce those? We were hoping to keep costs down. We do feed them some alfalfa cubes when we hope they're actively pregnant, because I hear the calcium helps?

We've tried several breeders. Our three females are all from different ones. And we've gotten rabbits that were actively pregnant when we bought them before. Nothing has worked. They seem to be willing to mate, they just don't conceive.

I'm wondering if they're underweight? They're not like, skinny, but they're not plump either. Could we need to clean the cage every day or some such? I've seen plenty of farms where the hutches are very "lived in."

They live outside and have plenty of sun-basking time.


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## promiseacres (Jun 16, 2019)

Wild rabbits do not eat pellets.. you're correct but consider how many years rabbits have been domesticated. Domesticated rabbits have adapted to being raised in cages and  fed pellets, many are 100% pellets fed. They are almost a whole separate species than wild rabbits. I would take a couple weeks and introduce a pelleted feed. I would talk to some of the breeders whom you bought yours from, see how they fed them. 
 Clean cages definitely doesn't hurt, their feces are high in ammonia and can cause respiratory problems.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jun 16, 2019)

Pellets, hay, clean water and clean housing,  .....then try breeding,.... (knock on wood.) We have not lost a kit, breedings are successful


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## JHP Homestead (Jun 16, 2019)

Without seeing a picture, I can’t be positive, but what you described in the doe you butchered sounds like rabbit fetuses based on what I’ve seen in a couple of our does that accidentally got pregnant before we butchered them.

In that case, it may be more an issue of them being unable to sustain a pregnancy rather than get pregnant. I’m not sure what would cause abortions in rabbits...

Is there any chance you could be having babies born that are getting snatched by predators or something? It seems extremely unlikely, but I’ve heard stories of rats stealing babies before without bothering the adults. 

You should read up on palpating, it takes a little practice, but if you palpate your does, you might be able to get a sense of if they’re pregnant but not having live kits, versus not getting pregnant at all.


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## Mini Horses (Jun 16, 2019)

I think they need nutrients they are not getting now.   Spend the money & buy a bag, feed them for a couple weeks before breeding again.  KEEP feeding them & see if you don't get a litter or two.  

Feed the buck, also.   Improved sperm.

I don't raise rabbits but, with all the animals I have raised over the years, I can assure you that they must be decently fed to reproduce.  TRY what we are telling and see if it doesn't help you.  It may be the best $$ you've spent.


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## Alcor (Jun 16, 2019)

I'll give pellets a go. I'm sure I can find somewhere to source the bags in bulk.

I've tried palpating and never had success, but I imagine I'm just not doing it right, since I couldn't even feel something on the definitely-pregnant ones I bought.

We check for babies pretty religiously, so I very doubt it's pests killing the babies. We never see any trace of them.

Speaking of cage maintenance, is there any way to keep rabbits from dragging hay out of the hopper and then peeing on it? We waste so much hay.


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## B&B Happy goats (Jun 16, 2019)

TS Sells 50 lb. Bags of rabbit pellets around $15 here in florida, feeds two Flemish giants and 9 kits, two NZ  rabbits and lasts about 5 weeks.....NZ has 8 kits just born yesterday ... because of rainy season we have a box in each hutch that the adult can get on top of ...that is where I put her hay, when waste drops, then it gets used for beding...no wasting here....chickens go under the 4' high hutchs and clean things up...hay becomes compost.....
When i sell the NZ at 6 to 8 weeks @$10 each. And the Flemish giants, it more than pays for their feed.....


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## Baymule (Jun 16, 2019)

They are deficient in nutrients. What you are doing is not working. Rabbit pellet feed is designed for domestic rabbits. Stop giving the alfalfa cubes, they are not a balanced ration. Slowly introduce the pellets, a quick diet change can make them sick. You can give them vegetable treats, but make sure they eat their pellets first. A small tuna fish can is a good measurement, twice a day. 

Go to the feed store and get mineral spools and salt spools for rabbits. It may take some time for them to assimilate the necessary minerals so that they become fertile and can hold a pregnancy. 












Alcor said:


> Speaking of cage maintenance, is there any way to keep rabbits from dragging hay out of the hopper and then peeing on it? We waste so much hay.


In a word, no.


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## AmberLops (Jun 16, 2019)

B&B Happy goats said:


> Pellets, hay, clean water and clean housing,  .....then try breeding,.... (knock on wood.) We have not lost a kit, breedings are successful


You've never lost one?? Oh I would give anything!


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## AmberLops (Jun 16, 2019)

Alcor said:


> I'll give pellets a go. I'm sure I can find somewhere to source the bags in bulk.
> 
> I've tried palpating and never had success, but I imagine I'm just not doing it right, since I couldn't even feel something on the definitely-pregnant ones I bought.
> 
> ...


I have 40+ rabbits and a 50lb bag of feed lasts 3 weeks to a month. So your rabbits should be pretty easy


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## Ridgetop (Jun 19, 2019)

Alcor said:


> We culled one of our 4 females because she would refuse to have sex whatsoever, like she wouldn't let the buck mount ever, and we had to force breed her. That was a pain, so into the pot she went. While butchering, we noticed a two-pronged organ with lots of little "marbles" along it -- presumably the uterus? -- and so maybe she was pregnant then? But we have never managed any births.



Yes, you butchered the pregnant doe.  Whether not not she would have eventually delivered a healthy litter is uncertain.  Rabbits are one of the species that can "reabsorb" their pregnancies instead of miscarrying or aborting.



Baymule said:


> They are deficient in nutrients. What you are doing is not working. Rabbit pellet feed is designed for domestic rabbits. Stop giving the alfalfa cubes, they are not a balanced ration. Slowly introduce the pellets, a quick diet change can make them sick. You can give them vegetable treats, but make sure they eat their pellets first. A small tuna fish can is a good measurement, twice a day.



You need to put your rabbits on a 16% protein pellet feed.  You can buy it in 50 b. bags.  It lasts a long time for a small breeding operation.   Most rabbit pellets are designed with a 16% protein base, some are as high as 18%.  The 16% is adequate for breeding rabbits.  If they are in an intensive production situation - having a litter every 8 to 10 weeks -  you should use the 18%.  For Silver Fox, which I believe weigh about the same as Californians, the measurement would be 1 cup per day of pellet.  Rabbits usually eat at night so feed in the evening.  If you are using wire cages with "J" feeders, get the screen bottom feeders.  If you are feeding in a crock, dump the "fines" (pellet dust) out each night.  Check everyday for rat poop in the feeders.  *Rabbits will not eat any feed that has been peed or pooed on, especially by rats.*  Make sure that your rabbits have a clean supply of water, rabbits cannot eat without water.  If you want to give something extra and you are raising these bunnies for either meat or show, a 2 oz. feeding of rolled oats in the a.m. will put on hard flesh.

How old are these rabbits?  I am not asking if they are too young to breed.  Instead, it sounds like they are at least 18 months to 2 years old.  In that case, they are _too old to start breeding_.  You need to have rabbits breeding by the time they are 10-12 months old otherwise they stop conceiving.  A rabbit reaches the end of its productive life around 3 years old and  that is if they have been in constant production.  Bucks can sometimes last to 5 years old but get more susceptible to heat induced sterility the older they get.  The hardest thing for the 4-H and FFA kids to understand was that because of the short life span of rabbits they cannot be bred for the fair, kept as pets for a year, then bred the following year.  It doesn't work.

Amberlops said - Start over - and that is what you will have to do since your does are all over 18 months old. 

Amber lops suggested putting the does and bucks in carriers and driving around about 20 minutes, put them back in the cages and immediately breed them.  That will work for breeds that are difficult breeders - Champagne D'Argent is one.



Alcor said:


> Could we need to clean the cage every day or some such? I've seen plenty of farms where the hutches are very "lived in."



If by "lived in" you mean dirty, NO.  Rabbits need a clean cage area.  Rabbits will establish a particular area in their cage where they will poop.  I prefer to keep rabbits on a wire floor cage so everything falls through into manure pits.  You can determine where in the cage the rabbit likes to poop by the little hill of pellets under that spot.  Add sawdust every so often and you will have a great garden amendment.  By the way, do *not* put the nest box in the spot where the doe likes to poop, the doe will poop in the nest box and won't want to have her kits in it.




Alcor said:


> They live outside and have plenty of sun-basking time.



How much "sun basking" time are you talking about?  High heat will make your bucks go sterile.  Bucks over a year old usually all go sterile during the summer in temperatures over 90 degrees.  If you want to breed during the summer months you need to keep a young buck from a December litter for summer breeding.  Rabbits do not like to be in the full sun and handle cold much better than they do heat.  They need fresh air, but not direct sun, wind, or rain.


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## lovinglife (Jul 9, 2019)

Do they have salt mineral licks?


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## Ridgetop (Jul 9, 2019)

ALCOR:     Any success after trying these suggestions from BYH folks?


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## drgnfly447 (Aug 7, 2019)

I also am having problems getting 2 of my NZ rabbits bred. They have plenty of water are fed a good pellet diet cages are clean. I will get a couple of fall offs and then my does start trying to hurt my bucks. They are housed outside with cover and large fans blowing on them. We put frozen water bottles in with them on the very hot days. I also have a couple of Flemish but have been told not to even try to breed them at least until the fall when temperatures start getting cooler. I'm not worried about them just my NZ . What else can I do? Oh yeah I forgot to mention that they are given plenty of hay.


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## Beekissed (Aug 8, 2019)

drgnfly447 said:


> I also am having problems getting 2 of my NZ rabbits bred. They have plenty of water are fed a good pellet diet cages are clean. I will get a couple of fall offs and then my does start trying to hurt my bucks. They are housed outside with cover and large fans blowing on them. We put frozen water bottles in with them on the very hot days. I also have a couple of Flemish but have been told not to even try to breed them at least until the fall when temperatures start getting cooler. I'm not worried about them just my NZ . What else can I do? Oh yeah I forgot to mention that they are given plenty of hay.



Our NZ wouldn't come into heat when it was too hot...sounds like your girls aren't in heat(ready to breed) either, which is why they are attacking your bucks.  

I'd hold off on breeding attempts until the fall and try again.


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## GypsyG (Aug 8, 2019)

I have had several friends who raise multiple breeds of rabbits tell me that silverfox are notorious for being hard to get bred the first time.  That's why I don't have any.

If you are feeding any hay with fescue in it that can be a problem.  I have found if rabbits are eating fescue they reabsorb their pregnancy shortly after the kits are palpable.  Sometimes they will continue on with a false pregnancy and nest, sometimes they won't.

In the case of bucks being summer sterile, I give the bucks ginger tea in their water bottles and this will usually bring them around.  

In the case of aggressive does, I have one big buck that has plenty of experience and doesn't take no sh**.  If you are dealing with inexperienced rabbits on both sides of the equation it's kinda like blind leading the blind.


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