not hopping mad but preparing to be let down...

[ohiogoatgirl]

my lionhead trio all seem to be the same size. the buck is a little heavier then the does. but they all look about the same size. the person i got them from couldnt give me a DOB for the other two but the one doe has a pedigree. says DOB sept. 23, 2007... both does were supposedly bred and due the week that i picked them up. they never kindled and i rebred them on feb. 21 so they are due on march 23. i'm wondering if they dont kindle if they might be getting too old to breed? i mean if i know that doe is 4yrs and 5 months old and the person i get them from didnt breed much. seemed a very relaxed sort of "if they take they take, ifthey dont take and dont kindle by day 45 then breed em again" type of deal. more of a whim thing then a plan if that makes sense. so i'm wondering if they werent bred much and they are this age then maybe they wont be having more litters? or maybe not many more litters? thoughts? thanks!

PS:
i also asked this on some groups on facebook. one person said they have 3 or 4 rabbits that were born in 06 and 07 that have had 10 and 13 and 15 litters that just quit breeding now and one that even has kits on her now.

so i'm not mad but i'm sure keeping my fingers crossed. guess i'm waiting for march 23. if they dont kindle then i will be looking for pet homes for the them. i'm wondering also... even if the buck is about this old could he still be a good breeder? i mean he is so beautiful. i'd love it if i could keep him and use him to breed to some NZ or cali's for meat kits. i want to use their hides to tan and i'd love to have colors

 

[Bunnylady]

Some rabbits continue to be productive much longer, but, IME, does tend to lose their productivity around age 3. I have had does that continued to have good sized litters well into their 6th year, but they have been rare. A lot of does don't live to be 5, not because of how much they have been bred, but because cancer of the reproductive organs is very common in rabbits.

Bucks tend to live longer lives, but they have fertility issues, too. Younger bucks tend to be more fertile. I have heard that it is not uncommon for bucks older than age 5 to be sterile - can't say for sure about that. I do know that I have had a number of older bucks that were willing, but no longer able to "do the deed."

Particularly in smaller breeds, a doe that has been given a "layoff" can be difficult to get bred. I have heard a lot of "reasons" for this, but I don't know that anyone knows for sure. I have also seen does whose health was compromised as a result of "back to back" breedings; how much is too much or not enough, I cannot say.

If you are intending to use the skins of your fryers, you may not want to use a Lionhead in the breeding. The gene that causes the lionhead coat is dominant, so at least some of the offspring of a Lionhead/Cali (or NZ) cross would get some semblance of the Lionhead coat. It would likely be rather wispy; the results when tanned might be less than satisfactory.