Breeding Tips

by Lisa Sheets

• Watch EVERY second that the doe is in the buck's cage. Just when you turn your back "it" can happen, and you will think the pair did not breed.
• Leave the nest box in for two days -- even if the doe has dead babies, or you think that she has missed. Sometimes a doe will go 32 to 34 days. For instance, I had another doe give birth to three dead babies in the afternoon and that night when I went to check water, I took out her nest box figuring she'd done all she was going to do. The next morning, my husband went down to the rabbitry and she'd had four more -- on the wire, as I had taken her nest box.
• If you use water crocks, keep them as far from the nest box as possible. I've lost more than one baby bunny due to drowning, and it's a preventable death. Also, keep your nest boxes filled with hay so the change over from mom's milk to solid food is not as hard on their digestive tracks. It also cuts down on that dreaded "E" word.
• Always breed an experienced doe BEFORE you breed a first time doe or one who isn't a very good mom. That way, you can foster the second doe's babies to the good mom. HINT: Breed TWO experienced does for insurance sake, before you breed your newcomers. Then pray they come in. Cluster breeding is always a good rule of thumb. It doesn't always work, but it's a sound theory. Murphy's Law: The first timer will come in, and the seasoned does will miss.

HLRSC Official Guidebook - 5th Edition 2002