Click to Skip Ahead
How Many Times Can Rabbits Mate per Year?
Can Male Rabbits Stay With Their Babies?
Why Do Rabbits Breed So Quickly and Profusely?
Can a Brother and Sister Rabbit Breed?
What Is Line Breeding in Rabbits?
How Many Times Can You Breed the Same Rabbit Doe?
What Breeding Problems Do Rabbits Have?
If you plan to raise rabbits, there’s a lot to know about how and when to breed them correctly. One of the most important factors is age. Rabbits become sexually mature quite early, and females reach sexual maturity more quickly than males. On average, a rabbit can be bred between 3 and 7 months of age.
A few extenuating circumstances can cause these figures to change. To discover what they are and learn more about breeding rabbits, read on!
At What Age Can Different Rabbit Species Begin to Breed?
The timing of when a rabbit can breed can change depending on the type and size of rabbit that you plan to breed. The smaller they are, the earlier they can breed. Here are three examples.
Polish Rabbit
This small rabbit can begin making babies at 3 to 4 months of age.
New Zealand Rabbit
The New Zealand rabbit is a medium-sized bunny that can start breeding at around 5 to 7 months.
Flemish Giant Rabbit
This huge rabbit from Flanders is one of the biggest in the world. Female Flemish Giants can be bred for the first time when they are at least 7 months old.
How Many Times Can Rabbits Mate per Year?
If you’ve ever heard the term “breeding like rabbits,” you might wonder what it is about this animal that enables them to make so many babies so quickly. Rabbits can start breeding at an early age compared to many mammals. That’s only part of the story, though, since several other factors enable them to breed more often.
For one thing, rabbits have a short gestation period, between 25 and 33 days. With gestation this fast, a female rabbit can have several litters a year. The average in the wild is three to five litters. Then there’s the fact that females can become pregnant within a few hours of giving birth and can even wean their babies while pregnant.
Can Male Rabbits Stay With Their Babies?
After the female gives birth—which for rabbits, is called kindling—most breeders take the male rabbit away from the mother and her babies, which are called kits. The reason isn’t that the male is a danger to his kits, as most will be gentle with them and cause them no harm.
It’s because the male can impregnate the female within hours of her giving birth, which is something that reputable rabbit breeders don’t want to happen.
Why Do Rabbits Breed So Quickly and Profusely?
If you’re wondering what makes rabbits such prolific breeders, the answer is simple: They’re at the lower end of the food chain. In the wild, rabbits are food for many animals, including foxes, wolves, birds of prey like hawks, badgers, snakes, and raccoons.
Since they’re hunted by so many large predators, fewer than 25% of rabbits make it to 1 year of age, and many are killed much earlier. In other words, the reason rabbits make so many babies is that most of them don’t survive, and without a lot of new rabbits being born, the species would go extinct.
Can a Brother and Sister Rabbit Breed?
Mating brother and sister animals, called inbreeding, is typically frowned upon in the breeding community, no matter the animal. The same goes for rabbits, and most breeding experts don’t breed siblings due to the risk of birth defects and passing on defective genes from one generation to the next.
There is, however, one train of thought that says that breeding sibling rabbits can, in some situations, be a good thing. For example, if you own two rabbits with exceptional genes, the possibility they pass those genes safely down to some of their kits is high. The downside, however, is that some of the kits will need to be culled (a.k.a. euthanized) due to defects or deformities in their health or character.
What Is Line Breeding in Rabbits?
Line breeding rabbits is when a father rabbit breeds with his daughter or a mother rabbit with her son. This might sound horrific to us, but in the rabbit world, there are some benefits to this breeding process. For example, if your buck and doe have excellent genes with enviable attributes, line breeding can help you “line up” those genes, so to speak, and pass them down from one generation to the next. It must be said, however, that culling some of the resultant kits will likely be necessary.
How Many Times Can You Breed the Same Rabbit Doe?
As with many mammals, male rabbits can breed almost daily without real consequences or detriment to their health. A doe, however, can become unhealthy if allowed to breed too often or too quickly in captivity. Typically, a doe is rebred after 35 to 42 days if her kits are meant to be show or pet rabbits.
When bred for food, however, breeding is usually far more often. To ensure that their breeding doe stock stays healthy, most breeders limit their breeding to six or seven times a year.
What Breeding Problems Do Rabbits Have?
Rabbits breed prolifically, especially if they’re healthy. However, several issues can cause a decline in rabbit breeding or cause a total lack of it.
High Temperatures
If the temperature soars above 85℉ for 5 or more days, rabbit bucks can become temporarily sterile. Bucks should always be kept in the coolest part of their enclosure to prevent this.
Old Age
Older does and bucks will breed fewer times than younger ones, which is common among most mammals. The older the rabbit, particularly a doe, the fewer times per year they will procreate.
Obesity
Overweight rabbits of both sexes tend to mate far less than rabbits of a healthy weight. This is especially true for overweight bucks, as their sexual desire can drop precipitously.
Poor Nutrition
Rabbits fed nutrient-deficient food will breed far less than those given a healthy, nutritious diet.
Infanticide
Young does may kill and eat their young for many reasons. These include nervousness, neglect, and severe cold. Does that repeatedly kill and eat all their young should not be bred.
Insufficient Teats
Most does have eight to 10 teats but may have litters of up to 12 or more young. If a doe doesn’t have the ability to feed all her kits sufficiently, they can be placed with another doe with a smaller litter during the first 3 days of their lives. Does may reject kits that are older, and these kits should be hand reared.
Final Thoughts
Featured Image Credit: Kolomiyets Viktoriya, Shutterstock
