# When to breed?



## that's*satyrical (Feb 14, 2012)

How soon can you breed them? We just got our 1st Am Chins and they were born in October. Are they old enough to breed? What is the best way just put the 2 girls in with the boy or 1 girl in with the boy at a time? Do they need to be in heat or anything? Sorry if these are dumb questions we are new to bunnies.


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## mama24 (Feb 14, 2012)

I have been told to wait until they are a minimum of 6 mos old to breed the females, 8 is better for longevity. Put the girls in separately so they don't fight and its easier to see who's been bred.


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## secuono (Feb 14, 2012)

Meat breeds should be 8mo, all adults and juveniles should live in their own cage. Kits under 3mo can live together in grow out cages or until you notice breeding/fighting. You move one doe into the bucks cage at a time and watch. If you don't watch, you have no idea if breeding happened or you are just hoping and guessing. 
Most of these answers for basic questions are on Google, just search it or search on the forum.


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## that's*satyrical (Feb 14, 2012)

I know I could google but prefer actual people who have bred the rabbits or are breeding them now. Some of the stuff on google is not first hand & some is outdated. People breeding rabbits now are "in the know" kwim?? lol Thanks for the input. I really want to put them together now but I guess I have to wait  What are the drawbacks to breeding early?


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## mama24 (Feb 14, 2012)

The drawbacks are that is isn't good for the does. Just like with humans, some girls are "breedable" at a younger age, but that doesn't mean their bodies are ready! Think about a 10 year old human girl who has started menstruating. WAY too young to have a baby, but definitely biologically possible. Chances of mortality during birth are higher, growth of the mom could be stunted from giving all the nutrients to the baby/babies, all kinds of stuff could go wrong. Better to wait until their bodies are more mature.


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## brentr (Feb 14, 2012)

Larger breeds take longer to mature; smaller breeds less so.  I've heard the "6 lbs or six mos." rule quoted often for meat breeds like Cali or NZ.

I have a NZW x giant Chin doe that I bred at 5.5 months of age (7 lbs).  She kindled a litter of three and raised them fine.  Bred her 4 weeks later for her second litter and she produced a litter of 8, which are in the nest box now.  She's doing great!  Only thing of any consequence to note is that she had to be hand-bred the first time as she would just jump around the cage when put in with the buck.  But she was totally docile during hand-breeding.  I don't know if her behavior at the initial breeding would have been any different 8 weeks later.  Who knows?







She was 10 days into her 1st breeding in this photo.

Just sharing what I did; not necessarily advocating early breeding in every case.  However, based on my experience with this doe, I plan on breeding a new replacement doe in mid-March, when she will be 5.5 months.  This other doe is already 7 lbs.  My does are half sisters, and their mom is a fantastic mother.  I think that gene definitely got passed on!


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## that's*satyrical (Feb 14, 2012)

I thought you stole my bunny for a minute there lol.  These 3 bunnies are pretty big. I think it could be all the manna pro bunny pellet, calf manna & alfalfa timothy & carrot sticks & apple slices. Hmmm, I guess they are a little spoiled lol. Maybe I will brave it at the 6 month mark


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## hemet dennis (Feb 14, 2012)

Do you have your two does together ? They need to have their own cage.


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## that's*satyrical (Feb 15, 2012)

Nope 3 separate cages


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## mama24 (Feb 15, 2012)

How often are you giving them carrots and apples? I would be careful with that since they are like candy for bunnies. Can cause diabetes if they are fed too often long term. I only give mine a baby carrot maybe once a week or even less than that.


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## that's*satyrical (Feb 15, 2012)

Not often & not a lot. They get my kids' leftover apples sliced up when they don't eat much of it. They get 1/3 of a big carrot each. Probably once-3 times per week depending.


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## AZ Rabbits (Feb 16, 2012)

For my NZW's, I've started breeding at 4 months for the does with really great results. Depending on the individuals, for meat rabbits, 5 months is the norm for the does, 6 months for the bucks (although I've bred bucks as early as 4 months too, but that's more rare).


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