I had a spate where none of my does were taking. I thought this may have been because they were too heavy. I recall hearing once to look at the the stomach and feel it to determine if a doe is too fat or not, but I do NOT recall what to look for. Can someone help me out with this? Thanks!

Also, I have a young doe who is biting the neighbor doe thru the wire. What is this behaviour about? She has failed to take twice as well.

I am feeding Purina standard pellets and coastal hay every other day. They get vinegar in their water and are housed in the barn in a battery cage set up. The barn is open on the south side so they should get plenty of air and light.....I'm in the south so they aren't too chilled or anything like that.

-- Doreen (animalwaitress@yahoo.com), January 20, 2002

Answers

Doreen, I dont no the answer. Depending on your location light might be an issue. I have my rabbits in the barn and they are under lights 16 hours a day. My problem is they are accepting the bucks just wont take care of the litters.

-- tracy (murfette@stargate.net), January 20, 2002.

Never heard of "feeling the stomach" to determine fatness... I go more by weight. Top weight for a NZW doe is 12 lbs., but it is also possible for a large structured doe to weigh more without being fat. Also, "Fat" rabbits will have "rolls" of fat, just like any other animal. Unfortunately, it's that "internal" fat that can cause lots of problems, and we can't see or feel it without butchering the rabbit, first.

Biting through the wire... she is viewing the other doe as a threat to her own "territory" (cage). Remember these words of wisdom: "two bucks will fight, two does will fight, and a buck and a doe will breed... constantly!"

Purina comes in a wide variety of formulas, and you didn't specify which formula you are using. Few truly commercial growers are able to afford Purina, as it is more expensive than other brands. Some formulas (can apply to many different brands) are meant specifically for show rabbits, where conditioning is more important than reproduction, and which, in turn, can negatively affect the reproductive abilities of rabbits. The same can be applied to formulas designed for simple maintenance, as with pet bunnies and/or non-producing stock, since reproduction is of little to no concern.

I never put much faith in the use of magic "tricks" to get rabbits to breed. I've tried the apple cider vinegar, and also the wheat germ oil, and saw no difference in my herd. Therefore, I prefer to use culling for creating a herd of ready-to-breed does.

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

-- Pat Lamar (fuzyfarm@3-cities.com), January 20, 2002.

Doreen, the easiest way I've ever heard of for telling if a doe is too fat is to just run your hand over her back like you're petting her. If you can't feel her spine, she's too fat. If it feels sort of lumpy, that's about right. If it feels spiky, she's too thin.

How much are you feeding? I feed my girls about 6-7 ounces of pellets a day, and supplement it with hay. Of course, they go on free feed once they have a litter.

I put cider vinegar in EVERYTHING's water! :-) My rabbits, our chickens, our pigs, even the feeder mice that we raise! It's great stuff. Doesn't make them perform any magic tricks, but it does contribute to their overall health, I believe.

This time of year, I use artificial light for my rabbits. They normally won't breed if there's less than 12-14 hours of sunlight, so we have a flourescent light above them with a timer attached. Works great. So maybe your rabbits just need a little more light???

-- Cheryl in KS (cherylmccoy@rocketmail.com), January 20, 2002.