Doe Not Accepting?

[Bunnylady]

As Samantha draws said, rabbits are induced ovulators (they produce a hormone in response to being bred, that triggers the release of their eggs). The hormone production peaks about an hour after the doe is bred, and drops slowly afterward. If you have a doe that has had smallish litters, breeding her again an hour or two after the first successful attempt will cause the doe to "peak" a second time, which may trigger the release of even more eggs. This effect only works if the breedings are within an hour or two of each other.

Some people will breed a doe twice in a day, several hours apart. The argument for this is that a doe may only release eggs from one side, and perhaps release them from the other side on the second breeding.

I'm generally too busy (or too lazy, take your pick) to take does back to a buck hours later. If a doe accepts a buck, I leave them together, unless the buck gets too rough or the doe gets hostile. I usually take the doe out within an hour. I can't say I have ever had any problems with litter size, except with older does; with them, I may put her in and take her out, then repeat an hour later. A few of the does I have tried that with refused service the second time, when they were quite willing the first.

Rabbit does don't do "heat" cycles, but they do experience hormonal peaks and valleys. Before I try to breed a doe, I flip her over, and press just in front of her genital opening to expose a bit of the inside of her vulva. If the color of the exposed tissue is pinkish, I put her back - she most likely won't breed, so I don't waste my time or the buck's. The color I'm looking for is a bright, cherry red, though some of my does never seem to go past a deep rose color. Purple indicates a doe that has passed her hormonal peak, and has aging eggs; she may breed, but her numbers may be low. I have never tried force-breeding a doe; I've heard that the odds are rather poor for getting good litters that way.

 

[promiseacres]

@animalmom this is the one I use. I have used it for 3 years now? with the harsh winters here I found that their breeding abilities were harshly affected and because I am sooo attached to my "small" herd I really couldn't think about selling ALL of my does and starting over like everyone suggested. As a last ditch effort I tried this. I had it for a squirrel I owned at the time because her hair would fall out without the vit D so I had it on hand and I seriously do so little but it is just enough to jump start them and give them the nutrients they miss from the harsh winters. I Tried the past 2 years to get babies without it and out of 40 breedings, NO babies. That was religiously breeding EVERY wednesday as advised by a top breeder in the nation. I do two of the tiny scoops that come with the powder per 50# bag of feed mixed in. Within 3 days of feeding it I bred them and 31 days later, BABIES! This has happened for me three years in a row and each time within days they all or most take.

I have started doing a lot of natural supplements and have had amazing luck with growth, health and all over conditions of my rabbits who are sooooo sensitive digestively and physically.

View attachment 10321

So only 2 scoops per 50#? And it makes a difference? I have an unreceptive doe...

 

[Ridgetop]

That is very interesting about the vitamin D. I used to run lights in my barn 24/7 during the winter and had a good conception rate. I wonder if the light acted like vitamin D. I will be trying that. When my husband bred Champagne D'Argents the does were notorious for not wanting to breed. A long time breeder told us to put them in the car and drive around for about 15 to 20 minutes. He had noticed that if he bred his does immediately after coming back from a rabbit show they would always lift and he would get a litter. Other times they always had a headache! he tried the car ride and it worked. We tried it and it worked too.
You said you bought the pair of rabbits at an auction and the doe was supposed to be bred. Do you have any idea how old she is? If she is 2 or 3 years old she may never breed unless she has been continuously breeding and producing litters. Ideally when buying a breeding doe who has supposedly produced kits you want to see the written breeding/barn records on her and hopefully her mother. My husband used to show his rabbits and I found that with our New Zealands and Cals if we didn't get the does bred by 10 months old they might be difficult breeders. If we didn't have a litter by the time the doe was 1 year old we might as well forget it. We would often reach the end of the show season with a doe who had 2 championship legs and she would never finish because we needed to get her bred and couldn't wait 6 months for the next show to finish her before breeding her. If you don't know how old the doe is, you might want to find someone with a litter of rabbits and invest in one or two junior does to make sure that you get kits for your customers. I don't know about other breeds but that was my experience.

 

[samssimonsays]

So only 2 scoops per 50#? And it makes a difference? I have an unreceptive doe...

Yep. The scoops came in the supplement and I would make sure I used my scoop and got it mixed up well. Usually I would mix one scoop with half the bag and then fill the last half and mix that to make getting to the bottom easier.

 

[samssimonsays]

That is very interesting about the vitamin D. I used to run lights in my barn 24/7 during the winter and had a good conception rate. I wonder if the light acted like vitamin D. I will be trying that. When my husband bred Champagne D'Argents the does were notorious for not wanting to breed. A long time breeder told us to put them in the car and drive around for about 15 to 20 minutes. He had noticed that if he bred his does immediately after coming back from a rabbit show they would always lift and he would get a litter. Other times they always had a headache! he tried the car ride and it worked. We tried it and it worked too.
You said you bought the pair of rabbits at an auction and the doe was supposed to be bred. Do you have any idea how old she is? If she is 2 or 3 years old she may never breed unless she has been continuously breeding and producing litters. Ideally when buying a breeding doe who has supposedly produced kits you want to see the written breeding/barn records on her and hopefully her mother. My husband used to show his rabbits and I found that with our New Zealands and Cals if we didn't get the does bred by 10 months old they might be difficult breeders. If we didn't have a litter by the time the doe was 1 year old we might as well forget it. We would often reach the end of the show season with a doe who had 2 championship legs and she would never finish because we needed to get her bred and couldn't wait 6 months for the next show to finish her before breeding her. If you don't know how old the doe is, you might want to find someone with a litter of rabbits and invest in one or two junior does to make sure that you get kits for your customers. I don't know about other breeds but that was my experience.

The car ride never works for my boogers. French seem to have rules all their own haha. Ideally we "can" breed my French at 7-9 months but they need to be sr. Weight first. And even at that, with a completely willing doe, it can take months of breeding her weekly before she takes if weight and age wise she's old enough but she's not mature enough internally. I had three does, 2 totally different genetics, take ten months of weekly breeding before I got a litter. One was just shy of 18 months, one was almost two and the other was 19 months old. Frustrating Lol. The show usually gets then a bit more receptive depending on the doe but I've had to leave does with bucks and still get nothing. They just don't want anything. Ugh.

 

[Ridgetop]

Samanthadrawz:
OMG - cross that breed off my list!!! LOL I like the easy way and NZW (although boring colorwise) will do me I guess. Although I do miss the fun of breeding for those cool color crosses.

 

[Ridgetop]

Did the powder stick to the pellets or did you mix it with a grain mix? Didn't the powder fall off with the fines? How did you get it to stick to the dry pellet?

 

[samssimonsays]

Samanthadrawz:
OMG - cross that breed off my list!!! LOL I like the easy way and NZW (although boring colorwise) will do me I guess. Although I do miss the fun of breeding for those cool color crosses.

Yes, French are not for the faint of heart either because they have super sensitive digestive systems and eat a TON before they actually get big enough to do anything with hahahhaa! But, i love em.... The personality far outweigh the cons of what they put me through, which has been emotional trauma, extreme frustration and anger as well as complete and utter defeat. BUT, the harder I push through and with each obstacle I overcome my herd pays back to me with better and better show quality than the year prior. Even when they are the same rabbits. There are 4-H kids right now who suffered a devastating blow in their French herd that has made them reconsider breeding them and I myself have been through the same devastating blow of Heat stroke and have offered my support and animals to help them rebuild the way others offered me when I lost 16 of my 21 rabbits leaving me with no breeding bucks. The year after that blow I had rebuilt on my remaining stock and that of others and was #2 breeder in the state. This year I have not had time for shows (goats took up most of it lol) I have fallen from that status but next year with the babies I got from this years breeding I will be able to do quite well and am super excited about that. It is all in the determination of the breeder honestly. The harder you push through the barriers the better the rewards you will reap. Rule of thumb I tell all the people new and starting out. Because there have been times where "I" want to give up and someone is able to reassure me that it would be a mistake. I am ever grateful to those folks and I wish to repay the favor to others.

 

[samssimonsays]

Did the powder stick to the pellets or did you mix it with a grain mix? Didn't the powder fall off with the fines? How did you get it to stick to the dry pellet?

I mixed it in and because it was a powder they got it mixed with their pellets which also had steam rolled oats in it.

It is designed that they don't need much but they also are usually only lacking in it mildly. You can sprinkle it directly on each dish but it takes a while when you have so many. this way it is not as much either. Anything given in too high of quantities can cause issues. But If you do a small pinch on top of the pellets each night for a week, breed them and then continue to do so until the week after they have the babies I have also seen an increased size in kits and milk production. My doe who could only support 5 babies was able to nurse 8 this last go round with the powder. I tried her again without the powder and she ended up losing 3 of her 8 kits to not enough to go around. Maybe it's a coincidence but I don't know. I have also had bad luck this last time with not many survivors compared to number born without the powder. One doe had 9 with no milk at all, first time mom had them on the wire was probably from her being a first time mom, My great mom who had 5 gigantic babies last time had three mini babies this time and wasn't able to feed even one of them bred to the same buck. Then the doe who could only feed the 5 instead of 8. I had 1 other successful litter without the powder but she only had three babies. I have one more try without the powder and then I will try it with it again for the experiment I am doing with it. I am eager to see what the results are.

 

[Ridgetop]

The personality far outweigh the cons of what they put me through, which has been emotional trauma, extreme frustration and anger as well as complete and utter defeat.

Congratulations on not ending up in counseling over this! LOL I ADMIRE YOUR COMMITTMENT! Are all of us as animal owners complete masochists? No, because then we wouldn't enjoy the tremendous lift when things finally go right! I am very excited to hear that you are having better luck this year and can't wait to hear that you have returned to the top breeder spot! GO Samanthadrawz!!!
This is a really wonderful thing to add to my store of rabbit husbandry I have learned over the years by listening to other breeders. I am going to try it, especially since I have to take extra vitamin D even though I am outside a great deal. Over the past several years they have found that most women are deficient in vita D. Maybe it applies to all females in all species?