morebabies

Waiting too long

The biggest mistake that I see breeders make when using does for breeding is to breed them when they are too OLD. One would think that a doe of one year is a fairly young doe but keeping a doe in show condition too long can actually cause the doe to get fat buildups around her uteris that make pregnancy and birthing very difficult for her. It may sound young...but the optimum breeding age for a Mini Rex is between 5 months and 7 months. The longer you wait for breeding...the more difficult it becomes for you to get her to take pregnant. I generally breed my show does at around 6-7 months and a doe that I really need a litter from badly I will often breed at 4-6 months. My main advice here is...if you want babies from that winning doe...don't wait too long!

3 Strike's You're Out

I will GENERALLY only give a doe three tries to become pregnant and then she will be culled from my herd. I say generally because I will make an exception for a doe or two that is really really special or from a line that I can't replace. If they don't produce a live litter and raise them within three tries...they are almost always gone.

Using Only Tiny Does

I like to use larger does. Not only do they have an easier time kindling, they also have larger litters to choose from. Here's an example: Breed a tiny doe to a tiny buck and get maybe 6 babies. Of those 6...you will likely lose 1-3 as peanuts. Of the others...you will likely get 1-2 large bunnies thus you only end up with about 2 out of 6 that are showable in size...add in type and fur...and what are your odds of a showable baby?

Now another scenario: Use a larger doe and a tiny tiny buck. With this cross, you will get approximately half big and half little babies. You won't lose ANY as peanuts but you do have to watch that the big ones don't crowd out the little ones (I will often foster big babies to a big doe and little babies to a little doe provided I can keep the litters separate) With this cross...you have 100% saleable bunnies either for a pet market if one is in your area, or for a breeding market if you have some gorgeous larger animals. The drawback is that you can't register the larger animal...but...she may be the one putting feed in your feed dishes through pet sales!

Keeping Older Does for Heartfelt Reasons

Yeah, I know, this is a tough one...but if you want better litter success...you don't have the room to house a doe that only produces 1 litter a year or 1-3 kits per kindling. Breed her and keep a daughter out of her in place of her. You will move your entire herd forward in type and fur in addition to making each cage hole more productive for your herd overall.

Heredity

Production ability comes from BOTH the MOM and the DAD. If you have a buck that is not producing does that have ease of kindling and nice litter size...you need to cull him from your herd. You can't evaluate his progeny if you GET no progeny out of his daughters! Same goes for Does but they are easier to test in one generation. To up your odds of getting a good doe out of a doe that doesn't produce well...you can TRY fostering her to an older doe that is an excellent mother. You must also take into account however that the BUCK contributes to the ability of ease of kindling and litter care as well.

Basic Fundamentals

Perhaps the most important part of getting litters is pre-care and after care. Does have to have plenty of fresh water and food and be in good condition (a WEEEE bit thin is ok but not boney) before you even breed them. If they are low on water or nutrients your breedings are doomed from the start. Even if they do breed with the buck their chances of taking or becoming pregnant are slim and none. After that, if they do become pregnant, a lack of water or food will cause them to be dry and they will produce no milk for the young. The reason for this is self preservation...if they are only getting what they need to survive, they will not be able to successfully sustain a pregnancy or raise a successful litter.

Waiting to Long Between Litters

If a doe maintains her condition she can easily raise between 3 and 6 litters per year. If you wait too long between litters the doe can once again build up fat deposits around her uteris thereby blocking her ability to become pregnant. Wild rabbits have no problems at all producing a litter per month. They do this to preserve the population and can often move forward much faster genetically than the predators that hunt them. (Survival of the fittest in action.) I personally don't push my own does that hard (around 4 litters per year and I am happy)...but I know of some breeders that do with great success. Ultimately, that decision is up to you. Keep in mind how many holes you can fill and what your market is for pet bunnies and how much you are willing to cull if you have TOO many bunnies.

Record Keeping

It isn't fun...but if you have a hard time remembering who has produced what...you may want to consider keeping immaculate records of those that are producing your best kits, largest litters, ease of kindling, and how often does kindle. Even if you don't need this information right away...it may help you track a problem back to one specific animal in the future. Yes, it can be that strong in lines!

Your Chosen Breed

I hate to even say this...but the BREED you choose can be pre-determinate of your success as a breeder. Some breeds (I won't mention ANY NAMES) are just plain harder to breed than other breeds. You are just going to have to do your OWN homework on this one as I am reluctant to stick my neck out and list a specific breed. ASK breeders in that breed what they think.

Doe Personality

Although this isn't 100% indicative of a good or bad mom...I have noticed a bit of a trend in personality. There ARE exeptions to the norm...but for the most part I have found this to be true.

Agressive Does: Moms that are hyper and agressive are generally good moms, defending their litters ferociously, but they can also tend to trample eat, or desert the litters when they feel threatened.

Timid Does: Can go either way...they are GENERALLY good moms but sometimes they get so scared that they don't care if the litter is there at all.

Lazy Does: I am the most biased against these. They generally just don't care about their kits. They often have them on the wire, don't take the time to build a nest and generally don't give a darn about the kits, breeding, or kindling. If you have to hold her up to get her to lift, then build her nest and check her constantly to see if she had them in the box...she is quite likely going to be a horrible mom from birth through 2 weeks. These aren't worth my time.

Nice Personality with an Inquisitive Nature: I find these the best mothers overall. They aren't terrified of everything that moves, they are interested in their babies, and they are a pleasure to work with while pregnant and while handling litters. This personality is my personal favorite as a mom. I don't mind if they don't like being handled...as long as they don't snap at me when I go in to look at the litter.

How To Make Breeding Easier...on you over the long run.

Decide in advance what you are willing to put up with and what you aren't. Myself, the three strikes rule plays a role here as well. I personally like does that can take care of their kits without human intervention before the 3rd litter. I don't mind messing with the kits...especially for the first litter or two but after that, I expect my does to know what they are doing.

My reasoning for this is that I can't always sit up with them all night waiting for them to kindle...and I am not always going to be there when they DO kindle and in order to keep them from becoming bunnysicles I would almost have to do that if I had bad moms in my barn.

I am not saying that sometimes I don't get excited about a cross I did...and DO stay up all night waiting for it...I am just saying that I can't do it for ALL of my crosses or I would get NO sleep.

Better off to start yourself off with a herd that you CAN trust the does to do their jobs, huh? Just in case you have an emergency and are pulled from the barn and have to request the help of a neighbor in the care of your rabbitry.

I realize that this just doesn't cut it with some breeds...but...you can always work TOWARDS this goal by keeping the best moms and their offspring back for breeding. Over the long run...type and fur don't matter if you don't get the babies from those awesome does!!!