Rabbit Breeding

There are a number of wild rabbit species in the United States and some are faring far worse than others. One of the most endangered is the Pygmy rabbit. Once upon a time an abundance of these tiny creatures (on average they weigh under a beat) lived in the Fantastic Basin of the United States, but now they have all but disappeared.

Unique and Intelligent but Running out of Food.

The Pygmy rabbit has a couple of traits that set them apart from other wild rabbits in America such as the cottontail or the jack rabbit other than being the smallest. They are the only species who dig and live in burrows and they have been observed to be very vocal, giving out what seem to be alarm calls to one another.

90% of the Pygmy rabbit’s diet consists of sagebrush leaves and they use the bushes as cover from predators. The destruction of large tracts of sagebrush is what most animal conservationists blame for the Pygmy rabbits decline.

Tiresome to Restore a Wild Species in Captivity

The Oregon Zoo has for the past several years been the home of a program that is tiresome to breed Pygmy rabbits in captivity, in the hop that they can eventually be returned to the wild. They have had some successes and a number of pygmy rabbits have been returned to the wild in Central Washington. The programs funding may be cut at the end of the year but, and some zoo personnel dread that should that happen there are still far from enough pygmy rabbits back out amongst the remaining sagebrushes for their species to survive,

For the inexperienced, the way a mother rabbit behaves around her kits may seem scarce, and they believe there is a problem. But, in most cases this is not right.

The concern usually arises from the fact that the mother rabbit is seldom to be seen with her babies, so the observer may conclude that she is rejecting them, and they are not being fed properly.

Unlike other animals, the mother rabbit does not naturally spend a lot of time with her offspring. This behavior can probably be attributed to the domestic mamma bunny’s genetic instincts. If she were in the wild with her brood, staying with them at all times would endanger them. Adult rabbits have a scent that can be tracked by predators, kits do not. By staying away except to grant necessities, the wild female rabbit is doing her babies a act of kindness.

What is “habitual” behavior for a new rabbit mother?

Rabbit mothers will not normally visit the nest box to check on her offspring during the day, but she does keep watch, just from a space. Rabbits only need to be fed by their mother once or double a day, and the mother will only allow the kits to nurse when she feels it is safe, usually just previous to dawn, and just after dusk. If there is a continual crowd of humans (especially children) around the cage, the rabbit mother may become too stressed to nurse, so make sure to give her plenty of privacy in the weeks after giving birth.

But how can you tell if the babies are well fed?

A well nourished baby bunny will have quite a distended tummy, looking a small like a “Pillsbury Dough Bunny” If the kits are not being fed well they will have tummies with a sunken appearance, their skin will be wrinkled, and their rejoinder to being handled will be weak or nonexistent.

If your baby bunnies are showing these symptoms professional help is called for. If the baby seems very sick place a drop of honey or a fruit jelly in their mouth until you can get them to a vet.

The Amami is hardly a recognizable rabbit breed. Even many expert rabbit fanciers do not know it exists. Sadly they may never get the chance to learn in this area these scarce Japanese rabbits, as they are nearly extinct, with less than 5,000 remaining. But, scientists in Osaka are tiresome to make sure that the Amami survives, with the help of cloning.

Struggling to Survive in a Changing World.
The Amami can only be found on two isolated Japanese islands, and have lived happily in dense wooded areas surviving on bamboo shots, berries and other local vegetation. They are now and again called “income fossils” as they are the last remaining descendants of very ancient wild rabbits that once roamed the whole of the Asian continent. They weigh an average of 5 to 6 pounds, and are usually a dark grey in color. Their dwindling numbers have come in this area mainly as a result of human interference in their lives. Up until the 1920’s they were hunted for both meat and health check purposes, then heavy logging in the
Amami Oshima and Tokunoshima Islands everywhere they live all but ruined their habitat. The fact that a healthful Amami doe only usually produces two small litters per year meant that natural restocking could not keep up with decimation being caused by the modern world and its’ people.

Using Science to Save a Species.
The Osaka geneticists, from the noted Kiki University, took cells from the ear of a dead Amami rabbit, and introduced them to an unfertilized egg from a lab rabbit. They did manage to make a viable embryo that was successfully re implanted. Even if the scientists have yet to publically release the consequences of this initially pregnancy, they do intend to continue their work until they are successful. The same team did successfully clone and restore a species of wild rat, so they believe that saving the very ancient Amami is a real possibility.

Do’s and Don’ts of Rabbit Breeding Genetics

Genetics play a huge part in the production of healthful, attractive rabbit lines that appeal to both breeder and potential owners alike.

Rabbit genetics is a science unto itself, and a excellent rabbit breeder will take the time to educate themselves in a small depth in the subject. But there are a few basic dos and don’ts that should be followed, whatever breed you are tiresome to raise.

Do:

• Make sure you start your breeding program with the healthiest, feature specimens you can afford. Read more…

Reliable Rabbit Breeding – What Every Beginner Needs to Know

Rabbit breeding is something not to be taken lightly. Unfortunately there are thousands of rabbits to be found in animal shelters worldwide, mainly as a result of irresponsible “back yard breeders”. These people mean well, but fail to consider the overall outcome, a number of rabbits looking for a excellent home.

If you have but stanch to start breeding rabbits, and have a reasonable plot for their life further than babyhood, there are basic equipment and environmental concerns that must be taken care of previous to a breeding program is started.

Housing and Space Concerns

Adequate cage space is essential. You will need cages for the parents, one each, Read more…

Why Should I Spay or Neuter my Pet Bunny? Why not Breed?

It may be an attractive thought. Breeding your cute pet bunny, to produce a few more cute bunnies that you could place into a show or sell to the local pet store.

But, rabbit breeding is a serious affair, and thousands of rabbits are left homeless every year as a result of a “back yard breeding” conduct experiment gone incorrect.

Get Rich with Rabbits?

Most serious rabbit breeders will tell you, if you reflect you will become wealthy breeding bunnies, reflect again. If you are willing to breed rabbits for the like of it, and have the considerable resources and available space to do so successfully, it can be incredibly rewarding.

Experienced rabbit breeders take fantastic pride in the development of new insignia Read more…

Choosing the Right Rabbits for Initially Time Breeding

Choosing the right rabbits to start a new breeding line is essential to its success or failure. Finding healthful, physically sound specimens is the initially step for any breeder just starting out.

Making Sure Your Bunnies are Ready to Mate

When selecting rabbits for breeding the animals should be thoroughly checked for disease, preferably by a excellent vet.

Many does suffer from uterine and ovarian cancers at an early age, and to attempt to breed them could prove disastrous for all involved.Bucks should also be checked too, just to make sure they are disease free and ready to mate.

Inexperienced breeders may consider Read more…

Breeding the Holland Lop, a Beginner’s Guide

For Holland Lop Rabbit Breeding you’ll need separate cages for the buck and the doe. They will happily breed unsupervised if they’re confined together.

You will also need a uncommon cage for the offspring, and a lot of cages if you care to buy them up for meat or appearance.

This can be quite a considerable financial investment to start with…feeders, trays, water bottles etc. You’ll also need a nestbox for the doe.

Make a sure your rabbits are free of diseases. Rabbit VD can produce the doe to lose her fur. Make particular your chosen rabbits are well conditioned and in excellent shape. Overweight does have a hard time giving birth. Read more…

9 Tips for Surpass Breeding

1. Both the buck and doe should be apt breeding age, in most cases they should be at least six months ancient. Many does will be unable to breed if not initially bred by nine months, due to pelvic bone fusion, so the ideal age is somewhere in between.
2. Ideally, both rabbits should be of same breed, unless you’re breeding purely as pets.
3. The buck should be somewhat smaller than the doe.
4. They should both be as healthful as possible and free from any major genetic defects that could be passed on to potential offspring. Read more…

How to Tell When Your Doe is Ready to Breed

OK folks, here’s some basic rabbit breeding information that should help you know the mysteries of rabbit like.

One of the reasons that rabbits have a (deserved) reputation for constant breeding is that the doe (female) rabbit does not have a right estrous sequence.

In layman’s terms that means she does not have a set time in “heat” like dogs or cats. Instead the female rabbit is what is known as an “induced ovulator” in that no egg is released until after mating with a buck. So in all likelihood a female rabbit can be bred at any given time. Read more…