Why Do Rabbits Have Trouble Conceiving?

1 Causes of Poor Conception in Rabbits

Causes of Poor Conception in Rabbits

1. Body condition: a doe fed too much protein, fat, and carbohydrate with too little exercise grows fat over time; fat deposits in the ovaries and the follicular lining degenerates, leading to no heat or poor conception. Low husbandry or parasites make a doe eat but not gain, disrupting whole-body metabolism and reproductive function, causing infertility.

2. Missing nutrients: breeding depends on the doe’s own nutrition. Lack of certain nutrients — for example vitamin A or B deficiency — can cause nutritional infertility. Nutrient shortfalls are a major factor in doe infertility.

3. Environment:

(1) Light closely ties to rabbit sexual activity. Too little light strongly affects breeding. Breeding does usually need 14–16 hours of light a day; too much or too little disrupts ovarian activity.

(2) Climate also affects heat and breeding. Rain or snow can stop a doe in heat from cycling for a short time. The best mating temperature is 15–25°C; in winter a doe normally cycles only above 5°C.

4. Reproductive disease: disease that impairs the pituitary or other glands, or congenital defects such as a closed vagina, underdeveloped uterus, or poor cervix and ovaries, or inflammation like oophoritis or endometritis, all stop heat and lower conception.

5. Weak bucks: poorly developed testicles — slow sperm production, deformed or low-count sperm — make mating hard and cause infertility. Summer heat makes the buck’s testicles drop and risk scrape infection on the cage floor; winter cold can freeze them. Both lower semen quality so a doe mates but does not conceive.

In short, many things cause poor conception. Besides the above, the autumn molt and older age also lower a doe’s heat and conception rates. Find the specific cause before dealing with infertility.