Should I be breeding rabbits in the winter?
Well, that will depend on a few things, so let’s dive right in!
The does receptiveness to breeding in the winter months may be one of the biggest hurdles you will encounter with winter time breeding.
It’s not uncommon for does to not allow the buck to mate with her, especially when the daylight hours are at the shortest. If the buck successfully mounts and breeds the doe, it is possible breeding may not result in a successful pregnancy.
Something you may try is using a full spectrum light in the area the doe is kept for 12 hours a day. Sometimes that helps get the does back in the breeding cycle. These are commonly referred to as “grow lights”, and are not intended for use outdoors, so please consider the space your doe is kept in before purchasing one. These lights also come in various watts. I use a light that clips on to a side wall in my barn, however you could also use a screw in bulb in your current light source.
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Suppose the stars were in perfect alignment and you had a successful breeding! Your doe will require extra nutrition and calories. Now the nutritional requirements will be higher not only due to the cold winter weather, but also because she is expecting a litter. You will want to make changes to her diet slowly so as not to upset her digestive system. Gradually integrate a feed that has a higher protein and make sure she continues to have unlimited amount of timothy hay. When integrating the new feed start with adding just a tablespoon of the higher protein feed at a time, until her entire feeding consists completely of the new feed.
The average gestation for our mini lops is 31 days, so approximately 3-5 days prior we add the nesting box to her cage with extra hay for her to begin building her nest.
Although many people breed successfully in the cold winter months, and the kits do well, this is the time I bring my doe inside to begin acclimating to her new environment before she kindles (gives birth).
I have had a couple of bad experiences where either the doe had a very small litter, or the kits simply didn’t stay together in the box, and they died due to the cold temperatures. So my best advice would be to prepare yourself to have some indoors bunny guests for a couple of weeks, until the kits have enough fur and fat to maintain body temps. Try to introduce them to the outdoors when the temps are more mild outside. Monitor them closely! Keep them from any drafts and provide plenty of straw and hay for bedding to help maintain warmth.
If the cold weather is too extreme you may want to consider a rabbit safe heating mat. I have used these successfully in the past as well.
So, as you can see, there are definitely challenges and risks to breeding rabbits in the winter, but with a little extra effort it can be done.
This is my 10 day old litter of mini lops that I will be acclimating out to the barn in about another 5 days or so, depending on temperatures.
Make sure to read Raising Rabbits In The Winter for more information about winter time rabbitry.
