breeding buns?

[fuzz16]

i know a lot of yo prob dont like the idea of breeding..but i already have homes for 5babes and i dont expect more.

they are almost 3 months old and the male will be fixed after the first litter, sucessful or not.

i will do my own research when i have time, but just wanted some peoples input to on what age i should maybe let them breed or anything like that.

but because thier paired off and live together,i am kinda worried that she will get pregnant to young and it will cause problems.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

Hello, Fuzz.

Actually many of us here breed ourselves, as well as many don't breed, but just keep rabbits as pets, etc.

Just curious, why are you breeding? And are the parents purebreds?


ETA: How old are they right now? They shouldn't breed until at least 7/8 months. That is a good breeding age.


Emily

 

[naturestee]

Could you give more info? Smaller breeds can be bred earlier than larger ones. In any case I hope you don't have them living together right now as some girls will get pregnant this young and it's not good for them- like a 13 year old girl having a baby. It's rough.

Also, different breeds and sizes of rabbits will have different average size litters. I've heard of Dutch having 12+!:shock:

Edit: Just saw your note that they're living together. SEPARATE THEM NOW! And get prepared for a litter just in case. It's not common to get pregnant this young but it is possible, especially for the smaller breeds that mature faster.

Double edit: Are they siblings? Line breeding is ok, which is planned (often intricately), limited inbreeding such as between fairly close relatives. Sibling-to-sibling breeding is much to closely related and more likely to cause problems. Inbreeding like that can bring out genetic issues that otherwise would be extremely rare and these can impact health.

 

[fuzz16]

umm...they will be strictly for pets. i dont do show or anything like that.

its a netherland dwarf and a (i think) a polish but im not sure.

im expecting a small litter...since thier smaller breeds. which is why i only found a few people who wanted them. if anythin i will keep a couple myself and then my friend wants...kinda all the babys, but she will take a couple maybe



so then another question...if i didnt wanna do a litter, how old before i could get him safely fixed?





and i did sperate them into different cages and the female is freakin out and running around hitting the sides of the cage and she screamed a bit too when i was taking him out and i wouldnt let her come out. they have been together since they were 6 weeks old.

 

[Dublinperky]

I think you can fix rabbits from 3-5 months but I 'll check back on that.

Aly!

 

[fuzz16]

so i have a new problem...

the female wont let me put my hand in the cage. she growls and lunges at me when i tried to put food in there and shes never done this before...

 

[aurora369]

This new behaviour could be caused by a few things. First possibility is that she's beginning to get her hormones or the second and more likely possibility is that she is pregnant already.

I would suggest taking a look at this thread:
http://rabbitsonline.net/view_topic.php?id=20972&forum_id=8

A similar situation to yours. Bought to rabbits of the same age, and one ended up being a girl. She go pregnant very young, and ended up almost dying because she had a stuck baby, and she was very lucky that the timing worked so well for her because she could have very easily bled out over night.

With the small breeds like you have, the risk of complications increases. Since she is so young, the risk increases as her body is not fully developed.

I would keep your male and female separate at the moment. And then take them to a rabbit savvy vet as soon as a they are open. Have your girl palpitated to see if she's pregnant (my guess is yes).

My personal advice is to spay your girl if she is pregnant. The risk of her dieing from birth at this young age is very high. And spay her now anyways if she's not pregnant, and it will help with her hormonal aggression.

The male should be able to be neutered now. Pick him up and check for testicles. They do have the ability to suck them back up sometimes, so he may decide not to show you. You can also have the vet check and see if he's able to neuter your boy.

I would suggest you tell your friend to find a rabbit rescue to get some babies from. There are tons of babies available at shelters and rescues.

I think you will find you will be very happy with your two little bunnies once they are both spayed and neutered. Their hormones will dissipate, and they will become much friendlier and less territorial.

Please share your experiences with us and keep us updated with what choices you are making so that we can help you with whatever route you decide to take. We are here to help and support you with what ever you decide to do. The route I suggested is the way to minimize the risk of losing your little girl, but the choice is totally up to you. I will give you advice to the best of my ability no matter what your choice.

Good luck, and if possible, post some pictures?? We all love pictures!

--Dawn

 

[fuzz16]

so i was spending some time with Ess, the male, and he was running around staying in sight of the female most of the time. i opened the cage and let her come out, keeping on eye for any possible breeding that might happen...though i havnt noticed anything like it at all. she seemed perfectly fine to me then...she was binkying and running around and kept grooming Ess...she even came and nudged me for some petting.



is it possible she is mad at me for takin away Ess and not pregnant? i am with them all day and have never seen any breeding going on.



i am kinda stuck on what to do now.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

fuzz16 wrote:

so i was spending some time with Ess, the male, and he was running around staying in sight of the female most of the time. i opened the cage and let her come out, keeping on eye for any possible breeding that might happen...though i havnt noticed anything like it at all. she seemed perfectly fine to me then...she was binkying and running around and kept grooming Ess...she even came and nudged me for some petting.



is it possible she is mad at me for takin away Ess and not pregnant? i am with them all day and have never seen any breeding going on.



i am kinda stuck on what to do now.

Are you even reading what others have to say? Because it doesn't sound like you are. You just post something knew without commenting on what others have said. I agree completely with Aurora. Maybe you should read what she's said if you haven't?

Don't let them together! You need to keep them away from eachother. I know that you feel bad that they're lonely but being lonely is better than dying at a young age from birth. Once they're neutred/spayed then they can be together, but until then, just keep them seperate.

Is the girl a Polish or a Netherland Dwarf? I would be concened with the fact that a Nethie is larger than a Polish, therefore could endanger the female. I know that Nethie's are "the smallest rabbit" but indeed, not really if you look at bone structure, the Polish is much smaller

Emily

 

[fuzz16]

i am reading what thier saying...the netherland is the male. she is almost a lbs heavier than him right now. and a good half size bigger.

when i had them out i was watching them...so i could keep him from breeding. as i was saying, if yo read my post, they didnt. and havnt from when im watching. they were only together supervised and for a short time.

the fact that i cant handle Sara unless Ess is around annoys me because i dont want her getting unsocialized until i can get Ess fixed.

 

[BlueCamasRabbitry]

They don't look purebred. I'm guessing they are just mixes. Where did youget them from? But take the collars off! Collars on them is very dangerous! They're not like cats or dogs...!!!

Emily

 

[Leaf]

I have to agree with the collar avice. As cute as they are there isn't really a need for one, and it's SO easy for a leg/jaw to get stuck in one. Once a rabbit gets snagged in one and panics it's very rare that a serious injury doesn't occure.

 

[Dublinperky]

Are you sure that you have thier genders right. If they were playing happily toghether and not wanting to breed it is very possible that you could be two girls or two boys. You should get them checked out by someone experienced. I could be wrong abou that but it just seems like that....

Aly!

 

[aurora369]

Dublinperky brings up a very good point.

Rabbits are notoriously difficult to sex correctly. The younger the rabbit, the more difficult it is. Many, many of our members have been visited by the Gender Fairy on this forum. A member gets a bunny at a young age that is sexed to be one gender and then once they hit sexual maturity or they go in to be desexed and they find out that the bunny is really the opposite sex.

I would contact a vet or experienced breeder who can help you sex your bunnies.

Once the sex of your bunnies has been determined, it will be easier to plan for the future.

My above advice still stands if you have a male/female combination.

I would also advice that if you have a male/male or male/female combination, to get them spayed or neutered as soon as possible as there is a huge possibility of them fighting and injuring themselves once their hormones kick in.

I also agree about the collars. Too much risk and not required.

--Dawn

 

[clevername]

fuzz16 wrote:

i know a lot of yo prob dont like the idea of breeding..but i already have homes for 5babes and i dont expect more.

I have no problem with the idea of breeding. But breeding because you have homes lined up for hypothetical babies isn't a good reason to breed. I would be easier for the homes you have lined up to go out and pick up their own baby rabbits instead of wait the 3 months until the offspring of your planned mating are ready to go. Are you so sure they won't do so in the meantime and leave you with 5+ rabbits and only 2 cages either?

What troubles me most is that a few months ago a conversation struck up on one of my breeder mailing lists talking about the gross difference in malocclusion occurring among pet populations as opposed to breeding/show populations. As it turns out dwarf breeds are susceptible to this genetic fault and breeders often cull rabbits who carry such a trait. Well bad teeth isn't always fatal problem so some breeders would allow these animals to go as pets thinking they would not be part of a breeding program and the trait wouldn't be passed on. Unfortunately this isn't the case since we are currently discussing situation where pet grade rabbits may be used to breed.

My point is that these animals are sold as pets for a reason. There may not be any obvious faults but never the less you don't know what their genetic background is (unless you have pedigrees) and you would be taking a lot of risks in breeding two wild card rabbits togehter. Also, since the offspring can only be mixed breeds they won't be valuable rabbits either. They'll be cute. Possibly good pets but so would any other bunny you take home from a shelter or pet store.

 

[fuzz16]

they have the collors on so i can know where they are. but would a harness be better then? and add a bell to that?

and because of my job..i just acquired a new bunny. a hollond lop that was used for breeding. his story is kinda sad...he was kept in a 2X2' cage for 8 months until rehomed. never had human interaction. the woman had him for a few months then she got two new hollands hoping they wouldnt be so skittish and afraid. i took Dalton, her bun, who is so beautiful, and i was holding him and she started crying. she said that she had not handled him more of petted him more in the months she had him compared to the five minutes i had him.

he is fixed and i took him to my friends and he does great with her lop/lionhead mix and ok with the other two, but he follows the mix everywhere. i am going to try and bond him to my buns and will be gettin Ess fixed and passing on the babies.

and i am pretty sure Ess, the gray one, is a netherland. according to a breeder she is. and the "polish" is a polish netherland dwarf. i know the breeder shows netherlands who brought him in but i dont know what else she has. i will have to ask her next time she comes in.

ill be calling the vet tom. to make an appointment for Ess to be fixed then a bit down the road Sara. but money wise i cant afford both at once...

 

[BSAR]

So you're not breeding them then?

 

[fuzz16]

no...mainly just with my possible work change schedule with 60+ hours a week 6 days a week...i will be hardset with my own buns to find time everyday

and adding the third bun to the mix who NEEDS a lot of TLC...i am pretty much takin for time. and i dont wanna get attached to buns just to see them go away and worry about them all the time