# Rebreed her immediately - right?



## DianeS (Feb 14, 2011)

I have a doe that gave birth to her first litter last night, and they all died. It was a litter of nine, all nicely sized. She had them all over the wire and they got too cold. 

So - I rebreed her immediately, right? And she should instinctively do better the second time around?


----------



## cattlecait (Feb 14, 2011)

Rebreed within the next two days, they go into heat right after giving birth so she should take pretty well.

She should do better the second time depending on what happened. Since she had them on the wire, she will probably figure out to put them in the box next time.


----------



## ChickenPotPie (Feb 14, 2011)

Yup.  I breed them right away - within 24 hours.  I know it sounds awful but she does not have to raise a litter which is more stressful than carrying one.  

I did this just last week and the doe was very willing to breed.  That would not happen if her body was not ready for it.

There is not guarantee she'll do better but I believe in giving them three tries before they're out.


----------



## samanthaj (Feb 15, 2011)

i am worried about this also. we have a rabbit that im quessing is breed,we got her that way! if something happens to this litter i dont want to rebreed her until about may because that is when my daughter will need babies for the 4h fair. IF she has babies, and IF something happens will it be a bad thing to wait till then to rebreed her,im quessing she should be due with in the next 2 weeks if shes breed.


----------



## ChickenPotPie (Feb 15, 2011)

If something happens to her litter it will be perfectly fine to wait to breed her again.  

I breed right away because the breed I have only has an average of 2-4 kits per litter and I get plenty of 1 kit litters.  I also have a waiting list a mile long and lots of inquiries for rabbits that I can't possibly fill.  I'm breeding for show rabbits so my breeding program calls for progression towards my goals of better type, pattern, and wool.  Even so, I don't get that many litters per year considering the does take a break from late Spring until Fall and they don't always conceive.  

My breeding schedule would be a bit different for a meat breed.

You breed for when you need kits.  Breeding for meat pens is one of those things were timing is very important.


----------



## DianeS (Feb 15, 2011)

Silly doe - she pulled fur _today_. But I collected it, it can help suppliment the nestbox for next time. 

I'm rebreeding her immediately. I haven't seen a successful mating yet, so I'm leaving her in with the buck for a couple days. 

I breed for meat rabbits, but not for any sort of show or fair. I would give a rest after a successful birth and nursing time so the doe was in tip top shape again before rebreeding, to produce the best size kits possible. But this doe didn't appear to lose any sort of condition from being pregnant. I wasn't even sure she _was _pregnant. So I'm fine with rebreeding her right away and hoping for a better outcome. 

I asked the question because I was pretty sure I'd heard that you could often rebreed right away and the doe would be fertile that close to giving birth, but I wasn't sure if I remembered that right or if I would have a better outcome if I waited a week or so.


----------



## ChickenPotPie (Feb 15, 2011)

Yeah, you just mentioned the key to rebreeding right away.  It's done IF the doe does not have a litter to raise because raising them takes a lot out of her.  

Fingers crossed for a thriving litter for you in a month.


----------

