Hi I’m new to breeding rabbits and I have a few questions

Sophierabbit

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Hi there everyone I’m new here

I have two pet rabbits, one male and one female. They are mixed breed and about 5 months old,
I wanted to breed them before I get them fixed. Today I put them together for an hour to see what happened, the female was willing to mate and the male had about 6 fall offs with loud grunts. They are currently living in separate pens and are doing well. Here’s my questions:

Will she definitely be pregnant?

Do I need to put them together again? And what will happen if they breed again while she’s pregnant?

What should I feed the female now she’s pregnant? She currently eats unlimited Timothy hay, 1/4 cup of alfalfa pellets and a cup of veggies (usually collard greens and romaine lettuce).

Should I breed them again on day fourteen to be sure she’s pregnant? I’ve heard this is dangerous though, what do you guys think?

It will be her first litter, is they’re anything bad that might happen that I should be prepared for?

thanks to everyone who reads this and answers my questions :)
 

Alasgun

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Welcome, i’m no pro but it sounds to me like you’ve got it covered! After a half dozen “fall offs” id bet you’ll be in the rabbit business in a month!
All i’d add is be prepared with a nest box/ materials 2-3 days before her due date.
 

Ridgetop

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No need to change her diet or add anything else. After she kindles (has babies) you will need to gradually increase her food to help with her lactation. When the bunnies come out of the nest box, add some for them, gradually increasing the amounts until at 8 weeks you are feeding the adult amount for the number of rabbits in the cage.

BTW, don't worry if you don't see her in the nest box with the babies during the day. Most rabbits only nurse at night. It is a way of protecting the nest from predators.

Normal gestation is 30 days so put your nest box in on the 25th day after the breeding so she can make her nest. If she pees in it, remove it, clean it, replace the bedding and put it back in a different spot in the cage. You may have mistakenly placed it in her potty spot. Rabbits choose one area in the cage to go potty, and if the nest box is in that spot they will pee and poo in it.

Don't be afraid to stick a finger into the nest on the 30th day to check to see if there are any babies there. She will not abandon them. If you feel warmth in the fur (which may be covering the babies) remove the nest box, count the live babies, remove any dead ones, recover them and return the nest box to the cage. She will check it out and be fine with you handling the kits.

Wait 2 weeks and put the buck back in the cage. If she is pregnant she will probably growl at his. She won't want to be bothered by him so be quick to snatch him out of the cage if she attacks him. If she is not pregnant, they will mate again. 5 months is kind of early - I recommend breeding at 6 months old because the doe may not be mature sooner. But hopefully you will get kits out of the breeding. If she does not produce live kits, immediately breed her back 3 days after she gives birth since she will be most fertile then.

Just wondering - if they are housed in separate cages, why do you want to pay a vet to neuter and spay them? How large are the adults?
 

Sophierabbit

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No need to change her diet or add anything else. After she kindles (has babies) you will need to gradually increase her food to help with her lactation. When the bunnies come out of the nest box, add some for them, gradually increasing the amounts until at 8 weeks you are feeding the adult amount for the number of rabbits in the cage.

BTW, don't worry if you don't see her in the nest box with the babies during the day. Most rabbits only nurse at night. It is a way of protecting the nest from predators.

Normal gestation is 30 days so put your nest box in on the 25th day after the breeding so she can make her nest. If she pees in it, remove it, clean it, replace the bedding and put it back in a different spot in the cage. You may have mistakenly placed it in her potty spot. Rabbits choose one area in the cage to go potty, and if the nest box is in that spot they will pee and poo in it.

Don't be afraid to stick a finger into the nest on the 30th day to check to see if there are any babies there. She will not abandon them. If you feel warmth in the fur (which may be covering the babies) remove the nest box, count the live babies, remove any dead ones, recover them and return the nest box to the cage. She will check it out and be fine with you handling the kits.

Wait 2 weeks and put the buck back in the cage. If she is pregnant she will probably growl at his. She won't want to be bothered by him so be quick to snatch him out of the cage if she attacks him. If she is not pregnant, they will mate again. 5 months is kind of early - I recommend breeding at 6 months old because the doe may not be mature sooner. But hopefully you will get kits out of the breeding. If she does not produce live kits, immediately breed her back 3 days after she gives birth since she will be most fertile then.

Just wondering - if they are housed in separate cages, why do you want to pay a vet to neuter and spay them? How large are the adults?
Hi there thanks for your comment that’s some really useful information.

To answer your questions:

They are only housed in separate cages for now since they have been showing some aggressive behaviour towards each other. They are my pets and before I breed them they were free roam in my house and they will go back to this when the kits have been sold and both rabbits have been fixed. I only wanted to breed them once. I do not know their weight in lbs but I have attached a picture of them hope this helps, the female is the brown one and the male is brown and white.
 

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Sophierabbit

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Hi
Just curious are you going to keep any of the litter? I am trying to understand why breed them if your just going to fix them....
Hi there

I will most likely keep a rabbit from the litter yes, but it will not be bred it will be fixed ASAP. I do not wish to have any more litters. I wanted to breed my two pet rabbits because when I adopted these rabbits I was told they were both male, I found out one was a female and realised that they may already have mated so I breed them because I wanted a litter before I got them fixed.
 

Ridgetop

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Be sure to keep a male instead of a female. I don't know what they will be like after being fixed, but male rabbits always make better pets than females. Females get kind of nasty tempered around a year old if not bred. This might be different if they are spayed.
 

Sophierabbit

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Be sure to keep a male instead of a female. I don't know what they will be like after being fixed, but male rabbits always make better pets than females. Females get kind of nasty tempered around a year old if not bred. This might be different if they are spayed.
I don’t think this is true. Females and males all have different personality’s. I’ve have had aggressive and horrible male rabbits and super sweet females. Fixing rabbits usually calms them down and improves litter training habits, it also improves their health. I will not choose a rabbit based off of their gender.
 
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