second breeding question

[talchemist5]

ok i am new to raising rabbits for meat but i got a buck and two does. according to storeys guide i should brred them once then again 8-10 hours later correct?

my first doe the younger one she breed the other night fine and then again first thing the next morning.....i almost died laughing when the buck grunted and fell over so yesterday i took the other doe <mary> to his cage and she mated even easier than the first doe, she was in the mood. but this morning she was easy to handle and gentle but when the buck tried she just starting to grunt/wimper. she never got aggressive or tried to run but she didnt care for anything he tried to do with her. should i just hope the first one took or try again later today?

could it be she thinks she is pregnant already? she was obviously wanting him, she raised up her tail before he started sniffing her<yesterday>

 

[Bunnylady]

As I am sure you have heard/read, rabbits are induced ovulators. That means that the doe ripens eggs, but doesn't release them until she is bred. The actual order of events is that the act of breeding causes the production of a hormone that triggers the release of the eggs. The highest level of hormone in the doe's bloodstream occurs a couple of hours after the breeding. Doing a second breeding at that time causes a second hormone peak, the two peaks combined will cause the maximum possible number of eggs to be released. In theory, this also results in the maximum number of kits being conceived.

Rabbits reproduction is a weird business. They have a Y-shaped reproductive system, with each "horn" receiving eggs from the ovary on that side only. It is quite possible for a rabbit to release eggs from only one ovary, and conceive a litter on that one side only. Most does refuse service if they are already pregnant, but if this hypothetical rabbit did, she could conceive a second litter on the other side, with a completely different due date from the litter she was already carrying. The reason for the two breedings recommended by Storey's is that, if she does fire each ovary separately, the two groups of kits will have been conceived close together, so will be due at the same time. Theoretically, the spacing of the breedings that Storey's recommends actually misses the hormone peak, so the resulting litters may not be as big as was optimally possible. Also, if the doe conceives on the first litter, she may not be receptive to a second breeding. IMO, your doe was already pregnant, that is why she rejected the buck the second time.

 

[talchemist5]

i forgot to mention when he serviced her last night he rested a second and did it again...like 2 times in 2 minutes <the first doe he did not do that with them he just wanted to rest>

i hope she is, i guess its just a waiting game now.