How to Manage a Breeding Buck Rabbit

1 Management of Breeding Buck Rabbits

Feeding and Management of Breeding Buck Rabbits

A breeding buck generally must meet these requirements: purebred, good growth and development, strong constitution, suitable size, strong libido, and high-quality semen. Lacking any one of these means it does not meet breeding standards. To help the buck meet these conditions, owners can do the following:

1. Provide complete and balanced nutrition.

2. Maintain proper body condition. The buck should be neither too fat nor too thin, ideally at about 70 to 80 percent of full condition.

3. Use the buck rationally. The buck-to-doe ratio should be appropriate, generally about 1:8 to 10. Control mating intensity: no more than 1 to 2 matings per day, and after two consecutive days of mating the buck should rest one day. A young buck should mate only once a day with a rest day between. During peak breeding season, increase feeding amounts to keep the buck well-nourished.

4. Manage the buck carefully. House the buck in a single cage. When mating, bring the doe into the buck’s cage; moving the buck into the doe’s cage would seriously affect mating results. Before mating, check the buck’s reproductive organs; if the rabbit is ill, stop it from mating to avoid passing disease to the doe.

The above covers the feeding and management of breeding buck rabbits. Breeding does are more complex to manage: beyond their own growth they also carry the burdens of pregnancy and lactation, so their care must follow the physiological traits of the open, pregnant, and lactating stages. Details on doe management will be covered separately.