I have a doe (Jersey Wooly) that I have been trying to breed daily for 6 weeks. She has shown no interest in the buck at all. I have tried holding her for him to breed and still haven\'t accomplished anything. I know he\'s fertile because he is the father of the litter born 2 days ago, so it\'s nothing to do with him or his lack of trying.
This doe is plenty old enough to be bred. She is the sister to the one that littered 2 days ago.
I don\'t know what else to do. She is the best Jersey Wooly I have of the three and would love to get some kits from her. I\'ve never had a problem before with breeding rabbits and wondered if any of you ever encountered this with one of your does and if you were ever successful at getting one like this to breed?
The rabbits are set up in a carport with lighting and it was suggested I leave the lights on until about 10 each night, which I have been doing for atleast 3 weeks now, you know to simulate longer days. But still she just shows no interest.
Any help out there would be appreciated.
I\'ve just recently went through a hard time breeding our Holland Lop. We were also unsuccessful for about 6 weeks, but finally succeeded (I hope) The kits should be due Dec. 4. Our doe and buck were caged side by side and she was not cooperating when we put her in his cage. We ended up moving the doe down by a pregnant doe for a couple of days in hopes that she would get in the mood and then we switched our doe into the bucks cage and put our buck into the does new cage. Then we tried breeding the next day, and it finally worked. I think that moving the rabbits around probably did the trick because we had also tried daily before (even holding our doe) and nothing worked until we moved the bunnies around in the cages. I know how frustrating it is for a bunny to not be in the mood. Hope this helps. Good luck.
I heard from the guy I got my new New Zealand buck from that parlsey and Apple Cider Vingegar may help. I can\'t say for sure if its true -but its worth a try. Consider it like an amorous enhancement?!
In my experience I have found that switching the buck and doe for a day or two, then returning her to her cage with the buck waiting for her, often works.
Before I attempt to breed the doe, I do look at her vulva. If it is dry and pale pink, I don\'t bother. If it is a deep purple, she\'ll usually be ready in a day or two. If it is a deep pink and soft and moist, she should be ready. Also, watch the doe when you put her in with the buck. Is she twitching her tail? If so, she is playing coy and truly does want to be \"caught\".
Sometimes it is the buck, meaning the doe just plain doesn\'t like him. I have had does on several occasions, refuse one buck, but readily accept another. If you only have one buck, however, that poses a problem.
I suggest trying the switch technique or even travel to a rabbit show. The change in scenery, plus the smells of many different rabbits, can prove helpful.
I don\'t really hold to the apple cider vinegar method. I tried it once as an experiment with different animals and didn\'t see any difference in breeding performance.
Charlcie Gill
Zodiac Rabbitry
Astori, OR
http://www.zodiacsatins.com
Quote:Is she twitching her tail?
Yes, several times I have seen her do this when she is placed in with the buck.
And I actually think she is playing hard to get and wants him to be assertive. Which he isn\'t. He\'s a newbie at this breeding thing and he\'s not got much confidence yet.
I switched them into each others cages yesterday and will see what happens tomorrow when I try again.
When the doe is twiching her tail she wants too breed.I find most of the time its the buck that has breeding issues not the doe.I always keep extra bucks for this reason.bluebird
Charlcie,
I followed your advice about switching cages with the two.
It absolutely worked. My doe is due today. She is being a bit of a pain in building her nest. She kept pushing the nest box out of the corner and trying to build the nest behind it on the wire. So I put in a different style nest box beside the other one. She can\'t move the other one now and seems pretty interested in the new one. She\'s hopped in and out many times and has started putting her hay in the newer one.
I\'ll come back later and let everyone know how everything goes.
Thanks for the great advice and tips everyone.
GREAT! Let us know when the new family arrives.
Charlcie
Still waiting for them to arrive. They have a nice fluffy nest waiting on them. She pulled enough hair for two nests.
Well it wasn\'t meant to be. She had one dead deformed baby. It\'s front legs were just little buds coming off it\'s chest. It\'s hind limbs looked very normal. It\'s face was malformed as well.