Breeding Age for New Zealands

[aggieterpkatie]

I first read that you should wait until NZs are 8-9 mos old to breed, but then I read something saying 5.5 months. When to you guys generally recommend breeding for the first time? My 2 does were born 11/9, so they're 4 months old. They're pretty big girls, and I'm wondering how much bigger they're going to get. Do you just go by age, or by size? And if I go by size how will I know they're big enough?

 

[secuono]

Meat breeds, I wait until 7mo. You want the females especially to be as close to their adult weight and size as possible. If you don't, the babies will steal her nutrition and prevent her from growing to her full potential and that's just not a nice thing.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

I bred a doe at just under 6 mos because she's only about 10% smaller than her mother. Didn't feel at this point it was a concern.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Well, I don't have an adult to compare her to, so I guess I'll wait until at least 7 mos.

 

[lovinglife]

I know people who will breed at 12 weeks if they show all the signs of readiness. She has a fantastic healthy productive herd. She breeds only for meat. I have started breeding earlier as well, with a fast breed back rate.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

Well, I think I'm going to breed one of my does very soon. I had a rabbit friend come give me her opinion, and she agreed that they were big and thought it would be a good time to breed them. I'll make sure to give her plenty of support (nutrition wise) so it won't negatively impact her.