When can daddy be put in with the babies? If ever

[chicks & ducks]

Hi all. We have a breeding pair of jersey woolies. mama had a kit of 4 3 weeks ago. We separated the male from her, but would like to put them back in the same cage again(with babies if possible). They're his babies, but not sure if that makes a difference. Do I need to worry that he'll kill them? Any thoughts?

 

[secuono]

Why are you keeping them together? Whats the point other than many unexpected litters and possibly burning out the doe?
Buck should live in his own cage unless you are trying a colony.

 

[chicks & ducks]

This is her first litter in 2 years, unless things have suddenly changed I don't think it's likely we'll be getting more any time soon. IF in 8 weeks we have another litter then we know things have, indeed, changed and will deal with it then. For now they are used to being together, have been for a very long time, and I'd like to keep it that way if possible.

 

[Bunnylady]

The gestation period on rabbits is 31 days, give or take a couple. I don't understand your comment about 8 weeks.

Bucks are breeding machines. The buck will mount the babies as well as the doe. The buck may start attacking the young bucks before they are much older. Young does are sometimes able to conceive as early as 12 weeks, so you most definitely want to keep them away from the buck after that point.

 

[Citylife]

Don't get caught up humanizing things. Rabbits don't want to live together!!!
The only time the buck and doe need to be together is when its time to breed her again. You do not want multiple breedings as they can kill a doe.

 

[brentr]

This is her first litter in 2 years, unless things have suddenly changed I don't think it's likely we'll be getting more any time soon.

Your doe is only 3 weeks removed from kindling. If she is healthy, she is quite fertile. If you put the buck back in I'd be much more surprised if you DIDN'T get a litter than if you do. The buck will be intent on breeding the doe; while he may not be intentionally aggressive to the babies, he's not going to let them get in the way of his breeding attempts.

 

[chicks & ducks]

The gestation period on rabbits is 31 days, give or take a couple. I don't understand your comment about 8 weeks.

Meant 4 weeks, oops.

Ok so they stay separate now, but any thoughts on why it would have taken her so long for her first kindling?

 

[Bunnylady]

A litter of 4 is a reasonable number, so I don't think there is anything wrong with the doe's ovaries. She may have been overweight (with small longhairs, it can be hard to tell) and not experiencing enough of a hormonal swing to feel the need to breed (she may not have been "lifting" for example). There may be something peculiar about his reproductive organs - have you checked to make sure he doesn't have a split penis?

Those are two things that come to me, right off the bat.

 

[secuono]

If the doe is fat, she may not get pregnant.

 

[BHOBCFarms]

Your doe may have been pregnant or kindled in the past and you never knew it. Just because you never saw a kit does NOT mean that she never got pregnant. One of the problems with keeping a buck and doe together is that you never know when she might kindle, so as a result you might not have given her a nest box to kindle in, and even if you did, kindling with another rabbit in the same space is so stressfull that she could have aborted one or more times and ate the dead fetuses and you would have been none the wiser. If you want to keep a buck with her for "company", get him neutored. Just my two cents, it is better to keep the sexes seperate and carefully monitor breeding dates.... If you had been keeping them seperate and keeping track from the beginning, you would know if she had ever taken, if her weight was an issue, etc. by now...