Rabbit breeding myth or fact?

[BlueMoonFarms]

So someone called and asked me a very unique question that for once I could not answer.
They were told that if they left a male and a female rabbit together in a pen that they would bond together, and refuse to mate. They wanted to know if this was true.
Now...I was always told to keep male and female rabbits separated or else that's all they would do?

I cant find anything online to support or dismiss this, and I didn't want to give them false info.
So I told them I would call them back when I had an actual answer for them.

Has anyone else heard of this? is it true or is it false?

 

[SA Farm]

In my experience, false. I've had plenty of buck and doe pairs that made babies. The reason it's not recommended is that you won't know when the doe is due if at all, the doe may get nasty (either territorial or pregnant) and beat up or kill the buck, and, of course, the doe can and often will get knocked up again as soon as the kits are born, putting a lot of stress on her.
I've had plenty of boy pairs bond or girl pairs bond with no babies, but I wouldn't have expected kits from them...

 

[BlueMoonFarms]

In my experience, false. I've had plenty of buck and doe pairs that made babies. The reason it's not recommended is that you won't know when the doe is due if at all, the doe may get nasty (either territorial or pregnant) and beat up or kill the buck, and, of course, the doe can and often will get knocked up again as soon as the kits are born, putting a lot of stress on her.
I've had plenty of boy pairs bond or girl pairs bond with no babies, but I wouldn't have expected kits from them...

Lol well thank you for the feed back! That's pretty much what I assumed but I just wanted to be sure

 

[Bunnylady]

So someone called and asked me a very unique question that for once I could not answer.
They were told that if they left a male and a female rabbit together in a pen that they would bond together, and refuse to mate. They wanted to know if this was true.

I'm . . . . almost speechless. I mean, really. What exactly do they think "bonding" is, that it would influence an animal's psyche to the point of completely overriding its hormones? These are rabbits, for Pete's sake!

Resisting the urge to I will answer the question. "Bonding" is not some sort of religious experience, it is just a matter of being accustomed to the presence of another animal. Lots of people have had neutered bonded pairs that "go through the motions" all the time, even though they don't have all of the hormones of intact breeding animals. So no, they will not refuse to mate. A "bonded" pair that isn't separated may breed like clockwork, producing a litter every 31 days (I've known people breeding rabbits in colonies that let them do this)

 

[BlueMoonFarms]

I'm . . . . almost speechless. I mean, really. What exactly do they think "bonding" is, that it would influence an animal's psyche to the point of completely overriding its hormones? These are rabbits, for Pete's sake!

Resisting the urge to I will answer the question. "Bonding" is not some sort of religious experience, it is just a matter of being accustomed to the presence of another animal. Lots of people have had neutered bonded pairs that "go through the motions" all the time, even though they don't have all of the hormones of intact breeding animals. So no, they will not refuse to mate. A "bonded" pair that isn't separated may breed like clockwork, producing a litter every 31 days (I've known people breeding rabbits in colonies that let them do this)

Exactly! Which was why I was stunned that I couldn't find anything on line to support or dismiss it hence the question.
I'm actually going to print screen your answer and e-mail it to them so they can send it to who ever told them this haha i absolutely love it!

 

[Prairie Farm Woman]

We colony raise bunnies (NZXCal) and we leave the buck in with the does for a week and they are as calm and peaceful as can be. True we don't always see the deed but we usually have good kit numbers.