We culled one of our 4 females because she would refuse to have sex whatsoever, like she wouldn't let the buck mount ever, and we had to force breed her. That was a pain, so into the pot she went. While butchering, we noticed a two-pronged organ with lots of little "marbles" along it -- presumably the uterus? -- and so maybe she was pregnant then? But we have never managed any births.
Yes, you butchered the pregnant doe. Whether not not she would have eventually delivered a healthy litter is uncertain. Rabbits are one of the species that can "reabsorb" their pregnancies instead of miscarrying or aborting.
They are deficient in nutrients. What you are doing is not working. Rabbit pellet feed is designed for domestic rabbits. Stop giving the alfalfa cubes, they are not a balanced ration. Slowly introduce the pellets, a quick diet change can make them sick. You can give them vegetable treats, but make sure they eat their pellets first. A small tuna fish can is a good measurement, twice a day.
You need to put your rabbits on a 16% protein pellet feed. You can buy it in 50 b. bags. It lasts a long time for a small breeding operation. Most rabbit pellets are designed with a 16% protein base, some are as high as 18%. The 16% is adequate for breeding rabbits. If they are in an intensive production situation - having a litter every 8 to 10 weeks - you should use the 18%. For Silver Fox, which I believe weigh about the same as Californians, the measurement would be 1 cup per day of pellet. Rabbits usually eat at night so feed in the evening. If you are using wire cages with "J" feeders, get the screen bottom feeders. If you are feeding in a crock, dump the "fines" (pellet dust) out each night. Check everyday for rat poop in the feeders.
Rabbits will not eat any feed that has been peed or pooed on, especially by rats. Make sure that your rabbits have a clean supply of water, rabbits cannot eat without water. If you want to give something extra and you are raising these bunnies for either meat or show, a 2 oz. feeding of rolled oats in the a.m. will put on hard flesh.
How old are these rabbits? I am not asking if they are too young to breed. Instead, it sounds like they are at least 18 months to 2 years old. In that case, they are
too old to start breeding. You need to have rabbits breeding by the time they are 10-12 months old otherwise they stop conceiving. A rabbit reaches the end of its productive life around 3 years old and that is if they have been in constant production. Bucks can sometimes last to 5 years old but get more susceptible to heat induced sterility the older they get. The hardest thing for the 4-H and FFA kids to understand was that because of the short life span of rabbits they cannot be bred for the fair, kept as pets for a year, then bred the following year. It doesn't work.
Amberlops said - Start over - and that is what you will have to do since your does are all over 18 months old.
Amber lops suggested putting the does and bucks in carriers and driving around about 20 minutes, put them back in the cages and immediately breed them. That will work for breeds that are difficult breeders - Champagne D'Argent is one.
Could we need to clean the cage every day or some such? I've seen plenty of farms where the hutches are very "lived in."
If by "lived in" you mean dirty, NO. Rabbits need a clean cage area. Rabbits will establish a particular area in their cage where they will poop. I prefer to keep rabbits on a wire floor cage so everything falls through into manure pits. You can determine where in the cage the rabbit likes to poop by the little hill of pellets under that spot. Add sawdust every so often and you will have a great garden amendment. By the way, do
not put the nest box in the spot where the doe likes to poop, the doe will poop in the nest box and won't want to have her kits in it.
They live outside and have plenty of sun-basking time.
How much "sun basking" time are you talking about? High heat will make your bucks go sterile. Bucks over a year old usually all go sterile during the summer in temperatures over 90 degrees. If you want to breed during the summer months you need to keep a young buck from a December litter for summer breeding. Rabbits do not like to be in the full sun and handle cold much better than they do heat. They need fresh air, but not direct sun, wind, or rain.
