# An uninterested buck?



## Lorelai (Jan 18, 2011)

So our New Zealand White buck is old enough to breed, and for our first experiment, we put an experienced doe in with him (like all the books say). Let's just say, he wasn't very interested. I mean, he sniffed around her and whatnot, but, well, she ended up showing him who was boss. So we put her in with our slightly younger Californian buck, who had no trouble stepping up to the task. We put our NZW on a diet, determining that maybe he's too fat, and then tried him again after about 10 days with our NZW doe. Again, uninterested, and she, inexperienced thing that she is, showed him a thing or two.

Now, you're probably thinking, are we sure he's a buck? We thought this very same thing after the first experiment, and we checked it out - he's definitely a buck. So besides diet, are there any other contributing factors that might be affecting his performance? We can't keep a buck who doesn't perform, but we're trying to give him a fair chance. Any suggestions?


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## terri9630 (Jan 18, 2011)

How old is he?  He may not be ready.  If the does are being agressive he may be scared of them.  Try holding the doe and moving him to the right end to help him figure it out.    My NZW buck didn't know what a doe was for at first.  The first doe we put in with him beat him up and now he prefers us to hold the doe.  If we don't hold them he wont mount.


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## tortoise (Jan 18, 2011)

I have a 4 year old buck that is proven with another breeder.  I saw the kits he produced - butchered a few of them and they were quite obviously HIS babies.  He won't breed anything here.  He won't try.  No interest.  Absolutely pathetic.  He's getting petted out.  I'm not wasting time or feed on a rabbit that won't produce.


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## Lorelai (Jan 18, 2011)

He's over 6 months old now, and should be perfectly ready to breed... like I said, our young Californian buck knew exactly what to do. And the does weren't aggressive at all, they just seemed exasperated after awhile. Jane Doe, our experienced one, let him sniff around her for a few minutes before showing him what was what, and Daisy, our inexperienced one, let him sniff even longer before showing him how it was done. Maybe we can try holding her for him, see if that works... we even tried literally putting him in position, but he just lay there like an accessory...


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## PattySh (Jan 19, 2011)

I have a Cali buck and a NZ buck. My Cali is alot more enthusiastic about breeding. and gets right to business.  My NZ is lazy and it is very hard to tell if he's "hit the target" as he doesn't flop over. He is fertile tho and has had several litters.  I think I may have overfed the NZ buck growing up and that may be the problem. He is also prone to rubbing urine all over his face which isn't the nicest trait! I may keep his son and put him in the freezer pretty soon as it really is a pain to have to use him, very time consuming to stand there and watch forever to see if he does the deed. He more often doesn't than does.


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## PattySh (Jan 19, 2011)

You want to make sure your doe is in heat when you put them together. If the female  goes after him changes are she isn't. Try her several days in a row.


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## missfire (Jan 19, 2011)

NZ are a bit slower to mature than Cali's, My newest NZ after the deed is done falls over starts grunting and then squeals like he's dieing ( never had one squeal in 20 years). But when I first bred him he was kinda slow about it, now he follows me when I walk by his pen and walks back and forth while i'm there, and when I put a Doe in he's done in less than 10 seconds. He'll figure it out.


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## PattySh (Jan 19, 2011)

My buck is a year old now, he's always been a challenge to breed. He's the only buck I've owned with this problem. I have a son from him and I have restricted his feed so he's not fat. Am going to see if he will be better at the deed.


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## Cargo (Jan 22, 2011)

NZ can take up to 8 or so months to become ready to mate.


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## Lorelai (Jan 23, 2011)

The Californians suddenly seem much more appealing on so many different levels... but this is why we tried both breeds, to get a feel for both and find what worked best for us. It'll be interesting to see how it turns out.


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