Sunday, April 24, 2011

Breeding Rabbit in Commercial Scale

Rabbit breeding may be something of a cliché when it comes to the wild, but if you are planning to launch a commercial rabbit farming enterprise, then there are a few things you will need to know about how to successfully breed rabbits in captivity. That is because commercial rabbit production needs to be predictable and manageable. Basically, you need to plan.

The first thing you need to know is that rabbits can only be bred once they reach physical and sexual maturity. Depending on the breed, you choose to farm with, that could be anything from four to seven months old. That is why it is sometimes better to invest in an older breeding pair than to buy baby rabbits, and wait for them to mature.

You will also need to consider the type of rabbit breeding you want to be involved in. Farmers who breed for meat purposes don't have to be overly concerned about the appearance of their breeding stock, their lineage or their physical attributes, but those who are breeding for show purposes, or for wool production (as is the case with angora rabbits) will need to consider genetics and more when deciding on their breeding schedule.

The average doe that is being bred to produce a litter for meat production will be bred on a thirty-five day schedule, which allows enough time for recovery after a litter of kits, and ensures that she will be receptive to her mate. It is usually a good idea to check your breeding does for general health before mating them again, as rabbits that are in ill-health will not produce a quality litter.

Bucks that are used for stud purposes are usually mated once a day, although they are able to mate more often than this. It's usually also a good idea to rest a stud buck in between mating, if he will be required to perform more than once a day.

The mating process itself is fairly simple. A doe is selected, and then moved to the buck's cage. This is done because does tend to be territorial, and are less likely to mate in their own cage. Mating should occur almost instantly if the doe is ready to breed, and many farmers allow their breeding pairs to mate twice, to ensure that the mating 'takes.'

Around twenty-eight to thirty-two days after the mating, the doe will produce a litter, which may include as many as a dozen kits, and those kits will mature enough to eat on their own within two weeks of birth.

Even in the wild, a single doe can produce up to eight hundred children, grand children and great grand children in a single breeding season (which in the case of rabbits, is nine months of the year.) It is easy to see, therefore, how a few quality-breeding pairs can stock a commercial rabbitry on their own in less than a year.

The secret to successful, commercially viable rabbit production is usually a good rabbit breeding program, which allows your breeding pairs enough rest in between litters.

Learn from Breeding Rabbit in The Wild

If you are wondering about rabbit breeding, then you should understand that there is a good reason that the saying 'breeds like rabbits' means rampant reproduction!

In the wild, a single doe can mother a line of descendants that can number as many as eight hundred in a single breeding season! Of course, since rabbits are also at the bottom of the food chain, many of those offspring will not survive to adulthood, but there is a lot the commercial rabbit farmer can learn from rabbit breeding patterns in the wild.

The first thing you should understand about rabbits is that they need to be sexually and physically mature before they breed. In the wild, rabbits will not breed until they are about four to seven months old, depending on their species. Then there is the fact that rabbits are reflex ovulators. If a female rabbit does not mate, she will not ovulate. Rabbits will also naturally rest for about three months of the year, usually starting in late summer, before they recommence breeding. It is always wise, in a commercial setting, to ensure that your breeding stock, and particularly does, also have a regular rest between litters, as this will ensure that they do not burn out before their time.

Since you can control the climate to a degree, when you are running a commercial rabbitry, this rest period need not be during a particular season - you could stagger your breeding program to ensure that you always have new stock being born, while still resting your does for around three months of the year.

If you observe rabbits in the wild, you will notice that does are fiercely protective - particularly around males. Ensure that your does have nesting boxes in their cages too, and they will naturally pull out their own fur to line them, while at the same time exposing their nipples for the kits.

Rabbit breeding is certainly a lot less difficult than breeding many other commercial animals, yet there are tricks, like these, that will make your rabbit farming production endeavours a lot more successful.

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Successfully Breeding Mini Lop Rabbit

If you want to successfully breed Mini Lop rabbit is you have to really run as a professional breeder. There are a number of reasons for this. Rabbits are very easy to breed. This would be a problem if you do not have a good market. Young rabbits grow very fast and are sexually active after eight weeks, so the process continues without interruption.

If you already have a good market then this is not an obstacle for you to breed rabbits mini loop systematically.
  • Select rabbit who has a history of good breeding productivity and strong genes.
  • Have a note to know the derivation of superior rabbits as parent.
  • Choose a rabbit out of the same race.
  • Accuracy in checking pregnancy 10-14 days after breeding.
This can be found by feeling the abdomen down the rabbit as it is a small marbles. You have to separate them in the nest box. The period of pregnancy is about 31 days. little rabbits born in still closed eye and surrounded by the parent rabbit fur. Usually about 4 -10 little rabbits.