When bunnies are young littermates, they can be kept together/separated by sex for a few months if necessary, but as they mature, they will need their own space. Females are very territorial about their space and will not tolerate another rabbit in their cage. That is why you always take the female to the males cage for breeding.... and you do not leave her there. If they do not breed within a few minutes, then take her out and try again another day. If you leave her in the bucks cage, she can get fed up with his continual attempts to breed and she will pull hair and bite whatever she can get ahold of. Females together will fight and can damage each other... usually torn ears, pulled hair, scratched noses. Males will sometimes fight as well, although more of the damage to their fleeces is done by them riding each other, which may damage, pull, or matt the fiber. It is always best for rabbits to have their own cages. Sometimes they will even pull hair and bite noses through the wire of an adjoining cage!

Because of lack of cage space last summer, I kept a pair of male littermates together a bit longer than I should have... pushing the envelope as it were. One big beautiful rabbit ended up with ear damage and while I was reserving him for stud duty, he will never be able to be shown...nor would anyone want to buy him like that.

Breeding: Normally, if they are going to breed , they will breed within 5 minutes. I don't leave a doe in the bucks cage for longer than 10 minutes. If she does not breed on that day, wait another day or so and try again. See above. Usually with a successful mating there is squealing, falling over on their side followed by the buck stamping his hind feet.... but sometimes they fool me by showing no overt behavior at all.

Gestation is 31 days. My rabbits are pretty much "on the nose" with this number. When I expose a pair of rabbits (even if I did not actually see them breed) , I put it on the calendar and count forward 14 days to test mate/confirm pregnancy/ palpate... then 28 days to offer a nest box to the doe and at 31 days to watch for babies.

Test mating at 14 days: If she is already bred, she will whine or growl as soon as you put her in the bucks cage. If she is not already bred, she may breed successfully this time. Whatever the results, mark it on your calendar.

Palpating: Another way to tell if your rabbit is pregnant, is to palpate at 2 weeks. This takes a fair amount of practice, but at 2 weeks the babies will feel like a string of pearls or blueberries. Later, at 3-4 weeks they will feel like grapes. The belly will be firm and rounded.

Nestbuilding: A few days before kindling, you doe will be interested in nest building. If you place a handful of straw or hay in the cage , she will eagerly gather it all up in her mouth and put it in her nest box. She will dig out a hole towards the back of the box usually and line it with her own belly wool.

Kindling If she builds a good nest, her newborns will survive even single digit cold. She will cover them at night and uncover them in the day if it seems too warm in there. Stick you hand in the nest daily and make sure it feel warm and they jump under your hand. Check for and remove dead or damaged babies regularly. Don't be surprised that your doe seems uninterested in her nest. They only feed their young once a night.

RABBIT U - A representative from Purina Farms tells me that they are planning to hold RABBIT U again this year, but in a somewhat different format. The last three years, Rabbit U was held in Missouri, Ohio and Oregon. The plan is for this year's Rabbit U to be televised via a closed circuit satellite station direct into their dealerships in September. The actual date is undetermined as yet, but will be announced in Domestic Rabbit and on their website... you heard it here first!