Rabbit refuses to breed and then becomes aggressive???

[nerissad]

Hi all,

First 'Pregnancy': I have a 10 month old female. Don't worry, I have checked several times just to be sure Anyways the first time I tried to breed her she spent most of both sessions running around the bucks cage avoiding getting bred. My buck did get the deed done a couple of times so I kept my fingers crossed. At day 25 after the breeding she started pulling hair, I got excited. It wasn't a lot of hair but it was some. She also spent all day every day in the box.

Second 'Pregnancy': By day 35 there were no babies so I rebred her. I breed 2x in 6 hours to make sure they are bred. The first time I bred her she was very willing, lifting high, and accepting the buck who completed the task.

A few hours later I went to breed her again and she reacted HORRIBLY! Freaked out, refused the buck, sitting in the corner, squeaking and grunting. After 10 minutes of this I was ready to remove her. Went into the cage and the doe boxed me trying to scratch. I then gloved up and went to grab her and then she bit me! I then removed the buck and let her relax for the night. I tried to to breed her again in the morning and she responded the same way. By this point I was frustrated.

I want to cull her but am also trying to be patient since she was accepting once. Tomorrow she is supposed to start free feed but she is a pig pregnant or no so if she isn't pregnant she will still eat everything. What do you all think? Should I let her keep going or cull her and stop hoping? She is a meat rabbit and right now is only using resources and not returning on them which is driving me nuts.

 

[secuono]

Free feed before the kits are even here? I wouldn't. I'd wait until they are here, no milk until the kits arrive, sometimes not until 24hrs after.
Some does will totally refuse after they accepted because they ARE bred. You can always hold her down for a final breeding and see what happens 28 days later.

 

[brentr]

A few hours later I went to breed her again and she reacted HORRIBLY! Freaked out, refused the buck, sitting in the corner, squeaking and grunting. After 10 minutes of this I was ready to remove her.

I have a doe who reacts exactly as you describe. I just bred her yesterday (2/4). Morning session, mated several times, a little fuss but not much. Late afternoon session she was chirping, growling, tucking herself in a corner. She went after the buck a couple times. (To his credit though, he stayed with it patiently and was able to breed her a few times.) She reacted to me trying to get her out of the cage, too.

This has been her pattern EVERY time I breed her. Like SECUONO said, I think the doe "thinks" that one session with the buck is all that is needed. Once she's been bred, she is trying to prevent any other breeding. My doe has delivered multiple large litters, so I put up with her. Her last litter, though, was only 2. If that happens this time, she's headed for the freezer after she gets them weaned. My other does don't react this way. They chirp a little, but nothing like this.

If she's not paying her way for you, and that is important to you, move on from her. If you have any of her daughters as replacements, see if they start to behave the same way when breeding. If they do, you might want to steer away from her line for your breeding stock.

 

[PinkFox]

she may have refused him the second time because she knows the deed is done...
and agressive because she doesnt want any more advances from him or anyone else...

id giveher her time, se if this breeding was sucessfull and see what her littersize is like. if this one wasnt sucessfull id say good day and cull her...
if it was id give her a chance to prove herself...keep check on litter size, how well she does as a mother...if this littersize is good enough id go one more try on breeding her and see if the agressive behaviour remains...at that point weigh out is the amount of babies she throws worth the agresion and agro

if shes throwing 10 healthy kits in a litter and is a great mom it might be worth the agro...if shes throwing one or 2 or abandons the litter or the kits are weak ect...it might be worth bumping her off the front line.
as a meaty shes got to earn her keep.

but in terms of the agression i have seen does get down right seriously visious with the male and human handlers after a breeding...i guess its like some people...they just dont want to be bothered afterwards...roll over and go to sleep types lol.
wether shes going to be worth the agro or not is the question.

 

[nerissad]

Thanks. I suppose I will keep waiting.

So its okay if I don't free feed until she kindles? I would rather not waist food, especially if she isn't pregnant.

 

[PinkFox]

i woudlnt free freed any rabbit untill after it givesbirth, buns can put weight on fast and an overwieght doe is much more highly likley to havecomplications during kindling...

so i agree, do not free feed untill there are babies in the box.

 

[nerissad]

i woudlnt free freed any rabbit untill after it givesbirth, buns can put weight on fast and an overwieght doe is much more highly likley to havecomplications during kindling...

so i agree, do not free feed untill there are babies in the box.

Okay, this makes me happy and so it is now in effect. Thanks for all your advice. This community has been so helpful to me.

 

[Bunnylady]

When your doe started pulling fur at day 25, she was ending a false pregnancy. False pregnancies usually end well before full term, though I have had the odd doe go all the way through to day 32. IME, most pregnant does don't pull fur until at least day 28, so I am highly suspicious of any doe that starts before then. That said, I did have a Jersey Wooly that would start about day 21, and continue to pull fur until the babies came. She wound up completely bare on her body, with a little 2-inch-wide mohawk of fur right along her spine - and a cage absolutely awash in wool!

Had you known that was what your doe was doing, that would have been the perfect time to rebreed her. Her hormones were at a peak at that point, she most likely would have conceived a nice litter for you. What she did with the buck 10 days later sounds good, even so (you are sure he is fertile, right?). If she didn't want to get bred again, I wouldn't worry about it. Once is enough, much of the time. And I wouldn't call the doe's behavior "aggressive," I would class it as "defensive." Most bucks aren't exactly gentle and tender lovers, y'know? She had been put into another rabbit's territory, and didn't want to get attacked again, so she put up a robust defense - even against you. Yes, I prefer more passive does, but I don't fault a bred doe for being a touch-me-not. I agree with the "wait and see what happens" advice - she may prove herself yet.

 

[brentr]

i woudlnt free freed any rabbit untill after it givesbirth, buns can put weight on fast and an overwieght doe is much more highly likley to havecomplications during kindling...

so i agree, do not free feed untill there are babies in the box.

Okay, this makes me happy and so it is now in effect. Thanks for all your advice. This community has been so helpful to me.

If your rabbits are large breed, and if you ration their feed closely, you should increase your pregnant doe's feed to about 1.5x starting on about day 21 (recommendation from Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits). Carrying a large litter does tax a doe's body and they need extra nutrition to stay in shape.

I have one doe who self-regulates her feed consumption well, so when she hits 21 days I just free feed her. I have another doe who is a glutton, so she only gets 1.5x starting on day 21. Upon kindling, all my does get free choice until the kits are weaned, then it is back to daily ration.