Rabbits have the strange ability to carry two litters at once, which is why it's crucial to not let your does live with bucks. Many times, unfortunately, these “double pregnancies” can confuse the doe. Double pregnancies can be dangerous and should be avoided.
Superfoetation can happen, but it's usually reserved for mice and rabbits. Getting pregnant while already pregnant is called superfoetation. It's been reported in mammals, including mice and rabbits, and there have been a handful of possible cases in humans.
Even though rabbits are biologically supposed to be prolific breeders, it doesn't mean that they all are. Technically rabbits are able to have 11-12 litters per year because their gestation (pregnancy length) is roughly 30 days.
It is better to mate the doe when her young (litter) are 4 weeks old so that they are 8 weeks old when the next litter is born. In this way one doe can produce 6 litters a year. Two weeks after mating you can feel the young through the side of the doe's belly. Traditionally people keep all their rabbits together.
According to the University of Miami, a rabbit will give birth to 1-14 kits in her first litter, with the average being 6. It's unlikely that all of these baby rabbits will survive. A first-time mother may fail to care for her young, so you must ensure that kits are kept warm and well-fed.
Do rabbits get pregnant every time they mate? As with most species, female rabbits can get pregnant easily – it only takes the once! To prevent any unwanted pregnancies or accidental litters, it's important to get both rabbits neutered if they're living together, or if you're planning to try and bond them.
The average litter size for rabbits is five, though mothers may give birth to as few as one and as many as 12! Since young rabbits grow up quite quickly, “doe” rabbits may have three or four litters in a season.
Smaller breeds reach puberty between three to five months and larger breeds at around five to eight months, with does (females) becoming fertile a month or so earlier than bucks (males).
After successful mating the buck usually produces a typical cry and falls down to one side of the doe. One mating is usually sufficient. If a female does not allow in that case keeper should wait for 3 to 4 days or assist in mating holding the female. After mating the doe should be returned to her cage.
The doe can become pregnant again 24 hours after giving birth. Most people raising rabbits for show or as pets rebreed does 35 to 42 days after the birth of a litter. Most medium- to large-sized female rabbits have 8 to 10 nipples, and many give birth to 12 or more young.
Rabbit breeding schedules are usually based on 7-day intervals for ease in recordkeeping. Many commercial rabbit producers will breed does back 14 to 21 days after kindling. A 35-day breed-back schedule is recommended. You can shorten the interval between kindling and breeding as you gain experience.
Larger breeds are slower to reach sexual maturity and smaller breeds sooner. Research has shown the most common cause of breeding problems occur because doe's and buck's are under or over weight for their breeds recommended weight. Underweight rabbits may be physically incapable of breeding successfully.
One breeding pair of rabbits – and their offspring – can create nearly 4 million rabbits in only 4 years! As prey animals, reproduction is the rabbit's only defense against extinction. Females are able to conceive at about 3 months old. Their pregnancies last around 30 days.
Avoid stressing the rabbit: As much as possible, keep your rabbit in a quiet and calm environment. You want to help your rabbit stay stress free so they can have a successful pregnancy. Handle with care: Avoid handling your rabbit if you don't have to.
Superfetation is a rare event that involves getting pregnant a second time while you're already pregnant. It's so uncommon that cases of superfetation often make headlines. Your body does a good job preventing subsequent pregnancies once an embryo is developing inside your uterus.
Rabbit litter trays pose no specific hazard to pregnant women, though standard hygiene precautions should always be taken and hands washed after dealing with rabbit urine and faeces.
Mating itself is a very rapid affair, with the male rabbit straddling the female rabbit with his forelegs, gripping her neck with his teeth. After a few thrusts, he will ejaculate and, rather unceremoniously, momentarily lose consciousness and fall off her sideways.
The most common time to hear a rabbit hum is when you've got a male rabbit (a buck) trying to attract the attention of a female rabbit (doe). The hum from a buck is like a rabbit mating call and again, is a sign the rabbit is in a happy mood.
While a lot of mammals have specific breeding seasons, rabbits are happy to breed all year long, and with females reaching sexual maturity at six months and living up to twelve years, gestation lasting only thirty days, litters including up to twelve babies and rabbits comfortably having nine litters a year, one female ...
Male rabbits can mate many times in the same day. One study looked at the amount of copulations male rabbits had over an 8 hour period. The males were in groups and the findings saw that they had between 5 and 40 copulations over this period. They were unable to determine how often ejaculation took place.
The main reason to separate off the male is that the female can become pregnant again WITHIN HOURS of kindling! He should be housed where he can still see and contact her as separation is stressful. Keep the male nearby and able to nuzzle his mate through a physical barrier, if possible.
The first and second stages of labor in rabbits occur almost simultaneously as parturition typically lasts 30 min (7). Kits are typically born in the early morning and are considered altricial as they are usually born hairless and helpless with both their eyes and ears closed (2,4).
After your rabbit gives birth, you will need to make sure the kits are warm and tuck them into a nest with appropriate nesting materials. As the kits grow it is important to check on them daily, making sure they are all accounted for and fed.
A rabbit's gestation period is typically between 31 and 33 days. When a doe gives birth, it is called kindling. Kindling takes around 15 minutes and usually occurs in the early hours of the morning. The process of giving birth is instinctive and obstruction is virtually unheard of.
Rabbit gestation lasts 28-31 days, and because they are induced ovulators, mother rabbits can be impregnated again within minutes of giving birth. This means that mama could, hypothetically, have one litter per month if she is constantly with a male rabbit.