[rzrubek]

Is it common for Does to not "cooperate" their first time being bred? We have a Rex and she would not cooperate and finally after about 5 tries we finally got her bred. We thought that it was just her, but now we are trying to breed our 2 NZW's and they are doing the exact same thing!!! We check them for redness in the vagina to be sure they are ready and they should be receptive according to the color. Any comments or suggestions? :worship: We keep our Rabbitry at 80 or below with an evap cooler.

 

[chickflick]

We check them for redness in the vagina to be sure they are ready and they should be receptive according to the color. Any comments or suggestions? :worship: We keep our Rabbitry at 80 or below with an evap cooler.

Two things (which you may already know):

1. Purple (not red) is the operative color for readiness.
2. Buck will still breed in temps over 85.. just shootin blanks till cooler weather.

 

[Robin Pundzak]

This is a quote from an earlier post by Pat Lamar, president of the PRMA (Professional Rabbit Meat Association) about vulva color.

" Just because they are rabbits *doesn't* mean that the does will always be ready to breed! Bucks are always ready, but not the does. You can check the doe's receptiveness beforehand by checking the color of her vulva. Turn her over like you would to sex her, but take note of the color when you press down to cause the vulva to pop up. Bright pink to red to purple would generally mean that she is receptive. Creamy white to medium pink means she will most likely *not* be receptive and there would be little sense in wasting your time trying to breed her. Keep checking every couple of days until you are sure of the darker colors. "

80 degrees is hot for rabbits. Try to breed early in the morning when it's cooler.

Also try to breed them before you feed them. Just like people, they get lethargic after they eat!

Do they have enough light? They need about 16 hours a day.

How old are they, and how long since their last breeding/ kindling? If too much time passes between breedings, does often won't breed again.

What about weight? If they're overweight they won't breed and often won't conceive if they do breed.

Just keep at it. A lot of people have difficulty breeding during the hot summer months. If they still won't breed, consider culling them and getting better summer breeders.

Robin

 

[Pat Lamar]

1. Purple (not red) is the operative color for readiness.

Not necessarily, chickflick.... if I had waited for all my does to reach the purple stage before breeding, then, I would have been out of business! They can and will breed and conceive when red. In fact, just the opposite of women, there are only two or three days during the month in which rabbits can *NOT* conceive. There are also those who claim that purple is too late, as it is on the "downside" of the cycle.

Pat Lamar
President
Professional Rabbit Meat Association
http://www.prma.org/

 

[rzrubek]

This is a quote from an earlier post by Pat Lamar, president of the PRMA (Professional Rabbit Meat Association) about vulva color.

" Just because they are rabbits *doesn't* mean that the does will always be ready to breed! Bucks are always ready, but not the does. You can check the doe's receptiveness beforehand by checking the color of her vulva. Turn her over like you would to sex her, but take note of the color when you press down to cause the vulva to pop up. Bright pink to red to purple would generally mean that she is receptive. Creamy white to medium pink means she will most likely *not* be receptive and there would be little sense in wasting your time trying to breed her. Keep checking every couple of days until you are sure of the darker colors. "

80 degrees is hot for rabbits. Try to breed early in the morning when it's cooler.

Also try to breed them before you feed them. Just like people, they get lethargic after they eat!

Do they have enough light? They need about 16 hours a day.

How old are they, and how long since their last breeding/ kindling? If too much time passes between breedings, does often won't breed again.

What about weight? If they're overweight they won't breed and often won't conceive if they do breed.

Just keep at it. A lot of people have difficulty breeding during the hot summer months. If they still won't breed, consider culling them and getting better summer breeders.

Robin

Thanks, We try to not let it get over 80 in the rabbitry and usually try to breed them in the evening or morning. I will see about getting them more light as it is kinda dark in there. Is floresant (spelling) ok? They are about 7 months old. Our rex was the same way the NZW's are but her second time it was a done deal in about 30 seconds!! So i was just wondering if they just don't know what to do the first time and if there was a way we could help. Thanks for all the advice.