# Rabbit Questions?



## mamabun (Jan 7, 2017)

Do does have a cycle for having litters? Like will she only produce so many litters then stop being fertile?

Has anyone done anything to identify their rabbits like put cat colars on them or just put them in a certain location to remember which ones are which? I want to keep Frank and Matilda identified as the mama and papa as I do not want to do any inbreeding.

Thanks.


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## Latestarter (Jan 7, 2017)

Well, couldn't you mark their cages with their names? Seems simple enough to do... Not sure about collars. Rabbits in the wild get re-impregnated right after delivery. So they pretty much kick their kits to the curb to fend at right about 4 weeks, just before the next litter comes due. I don't think they breed over winter though in cold climates.How many times they're capable of going through that I'm not sure since they don't average a very long life span with dogs, cats, foxes, coyotes, owls, hawks, well, you get the idea... Average human kept rabbit life span is what... 3-7 years? I would guess they could do 2-3 litters a year rather easily until they get eaten or replaced.

@samssimonsays @Bunnylady @promiseacres @animalmom Any of the other Rabbitteers?


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## Bunnylady (Jan 7, 2017)

How long a doe is fertile, and just how fertile she is, varies with the doe. Most does begin to have smaller litters and/or miss (fail to conceive when bred) more often sometime during their second year, and a lot of does are pretty much past producing by the time they are 4 years old. Some remain fertile much longer than that; I had a Holland Lop that was still popping them out in fairly good numbers when she was well into her 6th year. 

The most common means of identifying rabbits is tattooing a number into the left ear. Even if a breeder doesn't actually tattoo it, they usually assign an ear number that will get written down on the rabbit's pedigree. You can put a rabbit's name on its cage, of course, and just make a point of moving the name tag if you ever move the rabbit. Most breeding operations have cards that are part of the record keeping that go on the feeder on the cage. The rabbit's name and/or ear number, date of birth (if known) are generally entered on the cards. When a rabbit is bred, the date of breeding and who they were bred to get put on the card. If the breeding results in a successful litter, that information gets entered, too.


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## samssimonsays (Jan 8, 2017)

I would tag their cage with their names and or number. I didn't have anyone the same color in my barn so I knew everyone but I had two Albinos at one point and mixed them up until I split does on one side of the barn and bucks and jrs on the other. I arranged them in oldest to youngest for my keepers and then I filled in my weaning litters in my empty cages from there. Some couldn't be caged near others so I would have to do some slight adjusting if that happened. 

Are they tattooed on their ear? If you could get them tattooed it would help in creating a pedigree to show which rabbits and tattoos are in their background. I always had pedigreed rabbits so it helped a lot in keeping accurate records of each animal. You can make one pretty easy.


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## mamabun (Jan 8, 2017)

Latestarter said:


> Well, couldn't you mark their cages with their names? Seems simple enough to do... Not sure about collars. Rabbits in the wild get re-impregnated right after delivery. So they pretty much kick their kits to the curb to fend at right about 4 weeks, just before the next litter comes due. I don't think they breed over winter though in cold climates.How many times they're capable of going through that I'm not sure since they don't average a very long life span with dogs, cats, foxes, coyotes, owls, hawks, well, you get the idea... Average human kept rabbit life span is what... 3-7 years? I would guess they could do 2-3 litters a year rather easily until they get eaten or replaced.
> 
> @samssimonsays @Bunnylady @promiseacres @animalmom Any of the other Rabbitteers?



Thank you @Latestarter. We are planning on getting cages built, so I guess each bunny will have to be cages separately? I know the males would fight, females too? Think my doe has already been bred since she jumped the wall the day after she gave birth so I'm assuming the deed has been done already. So will that mean if she delivers again by the end of January that this present litter will have to be on their own, I guess eh? Geeze, too soon. Naughty Matilda. She's been caged since that day and I suppose to have to cage them all and not give them free range to roam. If Matilda has another litter end of January that will make her 3rd that I'm aware of. Thank you for your help.


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## mamabun (Jan 8, 2017)

Thank you I lke that idea 


Bunnylady said:


> How long a doe is fertile, and just how fertile she is, varies with the doe. Most does begin to have smaller litters and/or miss (fail to conceive when bred) more often sometime during their second year, and a lot of does are pretty much past producing by the time they are 4 years old. Some remain fertile much longer than that; I had a Holland Lop that was still popping them out in fairly good numbers when she was well into her 6th year.
> 
> The most common means of identifying rabbits is tattooing a number into the left ear. Even if a breeder doesn't actually tattoo it, they usually assign an ear number that will get written down on the rabbit's pedigree. You can put a rabbit's name on its cage, of course, and just make a point of moving the name tag if you ever move the rabbit. Most breeding operations have cards that are part of the record keeping that go on the feeder on the cage. The rabbit's name and/or ear number, date of birth (if known) are generally entered on the cards. When a rabbit is bred, the date of breeding and who they were bred to get put on the card. If the breeding results in a successful litter, that information gets entered, too.



Thank you I like the idea of identification cards on the cages. I will do that too.


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## mamabun (Jan 8, 2017)

samssimonsays said:


> I would tag their cage with their names and or number. I didn't have anyone the same color in my barn so I knew everyone but I had two Albinos at one point and mixed them up until I split does on one side of the barn and bucks and jrs on the other. I arranged them in oldest to youngest for my keepers and then I filled in my weaning litters in my empty cages from there. Some couldn't be caged near others so I would have to do some slight adjusting if that happened.
> 
> Are they tattooed on their ear? If you could get them tattooed it would help in creating a pedigree to show which rabbits and tattoos are in their background. I always had pedigreed rabbits so it helped a lot in keeping accurate records of each animal. You can make one pretty easy.



No @samssimonsays they are not tattooed but I will mark the cages once they are built. I planned on the same, males one side females the other. If I get as many as I suspect I sure don't want to mix them up. It looks likethese ones are dfferent colors too, Thank you.


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## DutchBunny03 (Jan 8, 2017)

Tattooing the ear is probably the best way to go. If you know other people who raise rabbits, you could have them do it for you, or see if you could use their equipment for it.
Yes, females fight. A LOT. My two NZ does got in a huge fight and bloodied each other's necks once. Though females can be kept together for a while, try to give them each their own cage.
@samssimonsays you have to have 3 previous generations to make a pedigree, so a pedigree couldnt be made for these rabbits, unless she already knows the rabbit's lineage.


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## samssimonsays (Jan 8, 2017)

DutchBunny03 said:


> Tattooing the ear is probably the best way to go. If you know other people who raise rabbits, you could have them do it for you, or see if you could use their equipment for it.
> Yes, females fight. A LOT. My two NZ does got in a huge fight and bloodied each other's necks once. Though females can be kept together for a while, try to give them each their own cage.
> @samssimonsays you have to have 3 previous generations to make a pedigree, so a pedigree couldnt be made for these rabbits, unless she already knows the rabbit's lineage.


You start with the rabbit currently and can create your own. The rabbit world does it often. I don't have the time to do it but I know many who have. After breeding and keeping back generations and breeding them, you have created your own pedigree. Even if it isn't for pure breds, having that documentation to KNOW which rabbits were related and used to make that animal, you will be far better off. I know someone who raises lots of them without papers just for meat and names all in that particular bloodline with the same letter name so she knows not to breed them to anyone with that letter name. She has enough that she can cross four or more generations.


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## mamabun (Jan 8, 2017)

DutchBunny03 said:


> Tattooing the ear is probably the best way to go. If you know other people who raise rabbits, you could have them do it for you, or see if you could use their equipment for it.
> Yes, females fight. A LOT. My two NZ does got in a huge fight and bloodied each other's necks once. Though females can be kept together for a while, try to give them each their own cage.
> @samssimonsays you have to have 3 previous generations to make a pedigree, so a pedigree couldnt be made for these rabbits, unless she already knows the rabbit's lineage.



Thank you. These rabbits are being raised for meat. Identification purposes are n case more than one look the same, lke Frank and Matilda do. Thank you for your help.


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## mamabun (Jan 8, 2017)

samssimonsays said:


> You start with the rabbit currently and can create your own. The rabbit world does it often. I don't have the time to do it but I know many who have. After breeding and keeping back generations and breeding them, you have created your own pedigree. Even if it isn't for pure breds, having that documentation to KNOW which rabbits were related and used to make that animal, you will be far better off. I know someone who raises lots of them without papers just for meat and names all in that particular bloodline with the same letter name so she knows not to breed them to anyone with that letter name. She has enough that she can cross four or more generations.


Thank you.


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