How to Get a Nervous Doe to Breed

[LopsAreGreat]

Hello! I have a 2 year old Mini Lop doe who I’m trying to get bred. She’s never been bred or had babies before. She has been getting ACV and BOSS for the past week now. She’s also in our heated shop where it stays 55-60 F. She also gets 12 hours of light each day to help her be more willing for breeding. Today was the day she was supposed to get bred. After all that preparation of trying to help her “get in the mood” she just ran away scared from the buck. I of course checked her vent prior to putting her with the buck and it was a dark red/purplish color. She is a good weight, just right. Not too fat, not too skinny. So that’s not the problem.

The buck I put her in with is also a first timer for breeding, he’s 5 1/2 months old. He was following her and chasing her and mounting her. He was very persevering when it came to trying to breed her. But she didn’t lift one bit for him. Her tail didn’t raise up, she didn’t sprawl out. She just stood there in a hunch, nervous. She kept running away from him nervously. He wasn’t giving up and she didn’t want to be near him. We tried table breeding, but that seemed to freak her out more. What do you think the problem is? Any help from your experiences or knowledge is greatly appreciated!

 

[LopsAreGreat]

Update: I did a cage swap with the buck and doe last night for over night. I put the buck back in his original cage which was where she was staying, and she was still not interested in him. So I took her out. We tried her with a different buck of ours (a proven buck with lots of experience). He was trying to mount her and everything. He was chasing her and following right behind her. All she was doing was running away scared and then sitting in the corner hunched up and scared. So I took her out of his cage and put her back in her pen. I don’t know if this is because she is nervous being in contact with another rabbit or what? But I think I’m going to try and do another cage swap and this time do it with my proven buck. I’m also going to try giving her some raspberry tea, wheatgerm oil, and oats as well. And if all that doesn’t work, I’m going to take her in the pet carrier and take her for a drive for a few minutes. This is becoming so frustrating though. I’m just hoping she lifts at some point. How often should I put her with a buck to try and let them breed? Twice a day? Once a day? Once a week? It seems her problem is that she’s very skittish of other rabbits and needs to get to know them.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

Another update: today, her vent color was a reddish color. I put the experienced, proven buck to her cage (I know you’re not supposed to do that, but she hasn’t showed ANY signs of dominance and was only running away). She ran away a bunch from him. But it was almost 30 minutes and we were about to put him back in his cage, and then boom it happened! She let him mount her and she sprawled out and he had a fall off! They bred in a 3 way tunnel that was in her pen. It seemed like maybe she wanted to breed somewhere where it felt natural and private like a warren? But, we kept waiting for another one and they were together a few hours today but he only had one successful fall off. After that fall off, she continued running away very skittishly and she’d hunch up in a corner and tuck her tail in so he couldn’t breed her. So it was quite confusing to me. I’ll honestly be surprised though if she does take to this breeding and I see kits in 31 days. I’m really hoping! But, I’m going to be trying to breed her with the same buck every day for the next few days at least just so I know that she’s likely going to be pregnant and give birth next month. So I’m hoping she starts to get comfortable with this buck, lift for him, and get some successful fall offs, conceive, have babies, and become a good mama!

 

[LopsAreGreat]

I don’t think she will conceive to that one fall off since she wasn’t at peak fertility. Would it be bad if I let her stay with the buck for a few days?

 

[SableSteel]

They can definitely conceive with one fall off
I would not leave her in with the buck, does can get aggressive towards bucks and attack them

 

[LopsAreGreat]

They can definitely conceive with one fall off
I would not leave her in with the buck, does can get aggressive towards bucks and attack them

Oh ok. If we were to leave them together though for 7-10 days and it was an ideal world and they got along with each other perfectly, and she still was running away from him when he tried to mount her and he would attempt to mount and breed her every so often, do you think that we would end up with kits in 31 days? I swear this doe is so stubborn and it seems like if we were to keep the doe and buck together for life (not saying we’re doing that), she would never have babies.

 

[LopsAreGreat]

So I actually had her in with the buck for a full 24 hours. There wasn’t any aggression, pulled fur or anything. They did really well together and were acting like a bonded pair of rabbits. But I noticed that he would attempt to mount her every so often but she’d still run away every time. So I’m hoping, hoping, HOPING she’s pregnant! She just didn’t seem receptive to him, so I hope she took to that one fall off or that he had more fall offs with her when we weren’t there. I separated them since I don’t want the buck to become lazy and ruin his breeding career. I talked to a fellow breeder and she said that she will at most leave them together for 1 day which is how long I kept them together, she said any longer than that and the buck can get lazy and unmotivated for the rest of his breedings in the future if the doe wasn’t receptive. So I separated them right away since I don’t want him to become discouraged from breeding. I’m just hoping that she’s pregnant though! They would have stunning babies so I really would love to see their babies!

 

[Tms]

So I actually had her in with the buck for a full 24 hours. There wasn’t any aggression, pulled fur or anything. They did really well together and were acting like a bonded pair of rabbits. But I noticed that he would attempt to mount her every so often but she’d still run away every time. So I’m hoping, hoping, HOPING she’s pregnant! She just didn’t seem receptive to him, so I hope she took to that one fall off or that he had more fall offs with her when we weren’t there. I separated them since I don’t want the buck to become lazy and ruin his breeding career. I talked to a fellow breeder and she said that she will at most leave them together for 1 day which is how long I kept them together, she said any longer than that and the buck can get lazy and unmotivated for the rest of his breedings in the future if the doe wasn’t receptive. So I separated them right away since I don’t want him to become discouraged from breeding. I’m just hoping that she’s pregnant though! They would have stunning babies so I really would love to see their babies!

If your doe doesn’t want to breed then why are you trying to force it? You wouldn't want to be stuck in a small room with a stranger and kept in there until you either breed or fight..

 

[LopsAreGreat]

If your doe doesn’t want to breed then why are you trying to force it? You wouldn't want to be stuck in a small room with a stranger and kept in there until you either breed or fight..

It was so they could get to know each other. She seems scared to be in contact with another rabbit so I wanted her to get used to him. I thought I already addressed this…

 

[LopsAreGreat]

To anyone who thinks I was trying to force her to breed, I want her to decide when she’s ready to breed. I wasn’t manually lifting up her hind end and tail was I? No. I want her to decide when she’s READY. The whole idea of keeping them together was for her to get used to him and become comfortable around him, which could lead to a possible breeding. If she’s ready to breed, she will lift her hind end and her tail on her own. If she’s not doing that, it’s impossible for the buck to breed her. So she was not being forced to breed with the buck unless someone is physically holding her down, and lifting her hind end and tail up while she is squirming and trying to get away. Which I did not do, so she was never being forced to breed. I care a lot about all my rabbits, that’s why they all have big x-pens instead of small cages, they live in our heated shop where it stays 60 F, they get outdoor time regularly and get to run our massive backyard, they have lots of toys and hidey houses to play in, I have spent hours in there just spending time with my rabbits, I love them all very much. So if you’re going to say something that’s extreme, please do your research first on rabbit breeding. Thank you!