| Mating When and How |
| When to breed a doe the first time |
| Dutch does usually are ready for breeding between 5 and 7 months, most by 6 months. You can tell if a young doe is ready by her growth. When your does reach a point where they have stopped gaining weight and have reached a mature form you can consider breeding them. |
| How do I know if she is "in heat"? |
| Rabbits, unlike most mammals, are considered induced ovulators. This means that the doe ovulates after the buck mounts her. This means that a sexually mature female can go "into heat" nearly every time that she is put in with the male. There are two methods of deciding when a doe is ready. You can look at her vent area and if it is dark pink or red then she is probably ready. Another good cue is her reaction to the buck. If the doe will "set up" for him then she is ready to be bred. What I mean by "set up" is that she will stretch out slightly and lift her tail and hind end up. |
| Mating proceedure |
| After you have selected which does and bucks you are going to mate there is a "right" way of doing it. First, you should always try to breed two or more does on the same day. This way when they kindle you have plenty of does to foster kits onto if one doe isn't properly caring for her litter or is lost shortly after birthing. Next, you should always bring the doe to the buck. Does can be very protective of their cages and may injure a buck whick is brought to them. Also, a buck when finding himself in new surroundings will often ignor the doe so he can explore and scent everything. The actual mating will occur when the buck mounts the doe and begins to breed her. She will set up for him, lifting her tail and hind end. When he has completed the mating he will scream or grunt and fall off of the doe. The buck should be allowed to mount and breed the doe a minimum of 3 times. Many breeders allow as many as 5 or 6 if the buck can do it and the doe continues to tolerate him. Sometimes a doe will chase or mount the buck. This is natural and all part of the process. If, however, the doe is getting too aggressive or will not sit still for the buck to move around behind her, she may have to be restrained for a minute to allow mating to occur. After 2 to 12 hours the doe should be put with the buck again. This betters the chances of her becoming bred and may increase litter sizes. Be extra sure to mark in your records when each doe is bred and which buck you have used. It is very important to keep that information for purposes of knowing when the litter is due and later for writing up the pedigrees. Gestation is 28-34 days. Most does deliver on the 31st or 32nd day. |
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