breeding question

sarahxx92 · Jul 14, 2012

Hi,

I am a little confused after reading some different information and hoping someone experienced can help me sort this out.

I have a 4 year old dwarf lop female who has never been bred.

I recently got a male mini Lop, and was considering letting them have a litter.
But then I read that if a rabbit has not bred before the age of 1 or 2 they usually die giving birth because the pelvic bones fuse, and will not allow them to safely have their babies. Or that the babies die.

Now I'm confused.

My male rabbit is booked in to get desexed on Thursday, and now I'm even more worried about introducing them because apparantly they can be fertile for quite some time :/

So is it really very dangerous for 4 year old female to get pregnant???

Other things I have read is that it is fine, but the babies might die.

being that she is a dwarf lop she is quite big...
I really don't know.
can someone tell me if its really possible she would die giving birth??
and if that is so, how long do I wait before introducing my male?? my vet said 2 weeks but other people say up to two months :?

Korr_and_Sophie · Jul 14, 2012

I would definitely not recommend letting them together or breeding her. It is not recommended for a female to have her first litter much past 1 year old. Many 4 year old females aren't breeding much or are retired from breeding. I would not risk the potential death of her just to have babies. There is always risk that she and/or the babies will die, this does for a doe of any age.

I would wait at least 6 weeks after he is neutered before allowing them together. While they are usually healed at 2 weeks, it takes longer for the sperm to die off.

MyBabyHasPaws · Jul 14, 2012

:yeahthat:

sarahxx92 · Jul 14, 2012

okay thank you. I was confused that my vet said 2 weeks when it could be longer that they are fertile. I don't want anything bad happening to my snowy!!