Breeding Your Netherland Dwarf
So you want to start breeding ND rabbits....
The most important thing you will need: PATIENCE, AND LOTS OF IT. Because this is a very small breed, there are many complications that can and will occur. You will need to be able to handle a doe passing away because she is too small to deliver, kits who are born with and extra dwarf gene and will not make it, kits who seem fine and healthy but fail to thrive after being weaned.
This advice comes from what we have learned over the years of breeding. It is by no means comprehensive, but we hope it can help you on your way to breeding healthy bunnies.
Start with a healthy buck and doe. Neither should be overweight. If the buck or doe is too heavy, they may not have any interest in breeding. An overweight doe might have too much fat around her ovaries that would make it difficult for eggs to be released. It is best to keep your best looking does as show rabbits and even not use them to breed if they are particularly small Sometimes we use a BUG (big ugly doe) as a breed doe. This does not mean she would be fat, but is usually a non-show doe from the same litter that produced a beautiful show animal because this would mean that she probably carries the same genes and has the potential of producing her own prize-winning kits. Don't be afraid to use a doe that has a great pedigree, but not the potential for being a great show doe. But for your buck, choose the best quality animal that you have or can afford to buy. Some breeders will let you use their buck for a fee or a pick of the litter. A buck will influence more litters than a doe.
Breeding your pair. The best time of year to try to breed is in the spring. If you breed in the summer you run the risk of having kits ears grow too large in the heat, unless you have a climate-controlled environment. If you want to breed in the fall or winter, you may need to influence the seasonal effect of shorter and cooler days by keeping your lights on longer and slightly increasing the room temperature. Rabbit are "induced ovulators"--that means that they don't have a reproductive cycle like many other mammals, but that they release eggs 9-13 hours after mating. Bucks sterility can be greatly affected by the heat. If your buck is exposed to temps over 80 degrees for more than a day, it can sometimes take a month before they become fertile again.
First time Netherland Dwarf does should be mated around 6 months of age because their pelvic bones fuse after 12 months. If a Netherland Dwarf doe is not bred within the first year, it can be impossible for her to give birth to a live litter. Breeding a doe also helps prevent uterine cancer in later years.
ALWAYS bring your doe to the buck's cage. A doe may become territorial and aggressive if you place the buck in her cage, and bucks can become "distracted" with the scents of a different cage. Usually mating takes place within minutes of putting the two animals together. If it does not, and the doe seems extremely aggressive or unreceptive, remove her after 5 minutes and try the next day. Mating can be a very comical thing to watch since the buck often lets out a squeak and can fall off the doe and appear to be momentarily incapacitated from the excitement of the encounter....And, you do need to watch to make sure that the pair has mated. You may want to leave the doe in a few minutes to allow for multiple matings, and even put her back in the cage with the buck for a second mating within 12 hours of the first to help increase the chance of pregnancy.
Gestation in Netherland Dwarfs is usually 29-30 days. If you want to try to palpate the doe to feel if she is pregnant, this should be done about 10-14 days after breeding. You should seek training from a veterinarian or an experienced breeder; we have not had luck learning this technique. Instead, we usually place the doe back in with the buck 14 days after breeding. If she allows mating, she is not pregnant. If she goes crazy and starts vocalizing, we get her out of the cage as quickly and safely as possible and feel pretty confident she is pregnant. To get ready for her new kits, a doe will usually begin nesting about a week before she is due. We give a next box about 4 days before so that it doesn't become a litter box. Give your doe lots of soft hay for her nest building. She may build a nest and then eat it for lunch a few times before the final next is to her liking. A good quality nest is important for the survival of a litter. If you doe stops eating as much feed as she usually does shortly before she is due, that is normal.
When rabbit does deliver, it is called kindling. Try not to disturbe your rabbit during delivery time. In young or first time mothers, often kits are stretched coming through the birth canal and do not survive. Sometimes does will have LIVE kits on the floor of the cage. RABBITS WILL NOT PICK UP THEIR KITS AND PLACE THEM IN A NEST BOX, YOU NEED TO DO THAT FOR THEM. We made this mistake with our first doe's litter, left her alone to care for her kits, only to return a couple of hours later to find them all dead. If the you find the kits alive but cold on the cage floor, warm them up in your hands before returning to the nest box. Don't worry about getting your scent on them. If your rabbit behaves perfectly, makes a nest in the box and kindles in the box, wait a day before checking on the litter. After 24 hours check to see if the kits are alive and discard any dead young. You may find some "peanuts" alive in the box. These kits are smaller than the other kits and usually have disfgurations. Some people will remove them immediately and do away with them, others will leave them in the next box until they naturally pass away (usually within a couple of days). If you choose this latter method, you will need to check the next box daily so dead young do not stay in the box with healthy kits.
Doe facts. Does nurse only once a day for less than 5 minutes and do not "brood" (stay with the babies in the nest). Does do not care which kits they nurse or if a kit is left out. The doe will decide when she is done nursing and leave the nest box whether or not the litter is done nursing. It is important to check the cage frequently when kits are very young and cannot get back into the next box themselves since occasionally a kit will stay attached to a nipple and be pulled out by the mother leaving the nest. AND AGAIN, RABBITS WILL NOT PICK UP THEIR KITS AND RETURN THEM TO THE NEST BOX. Does should have a higher protein feed (18%) while they are nursing to help her produce enough quality milk. We often breed two does at the same time in case one mother is not capable of caring for her kits. This way we can foster them to the other nursing doe if necessary (does cannot count and most do not seem to take any notice of newcomers to their nest box).
Kit facts. Kits are born hairless with sealed eyes and ear canals. Netherland Dwarf kits look much like mice and need a good nest to stay warm. If the mother does not pull much fur, try adding extra hay to protect the kits. Kits go upside down under the doe change nipples frequently while nursing. They pee withing a few minutes of the daily nursing but are also stimulated to urinate by the cold and wet (so don't be suprised that you get peed on when you remove a kit from its warm nest!) The kits fluff up the fur, hay, and other bedding material to stay warm and have primary responsibility of maintaining the nest box. Kits should open their eyes by day 10 after being born. If they do not do this, you will need to open their eyes for them. Gently wipe a wet, warm cloth or q-tip over the kits eye and gently pull it apart. Check them daily for a few days after they open their eyes to make sure that their eyes stay open and do not stick shut again. This is a very important step to preventing eye infection and blindness in kits. Try to minimize handling kits before 11 days of age. Gentle handling after that will positively affect their personalities, curiosity and activity levels.
Weaning the kits. You should provide plenty of hay and feed for the doe and her kits on a daily basis. Kits will often start to eat hay and nibble on feed after 3 weeks while still being nursed by the mother. Netherland Dwarf kits should be weaned from the doe between 5-6 weeks of age. We gradually wean the kits by removing the largest to a separate cage and one at a time remove them daily until the smallest is left. This allows the smallest kit to have a little extra milk before being weaned. Watch the kits carefully to make sure they are eating. Sometimes weaning can cause diarrhea or pellets to become blocked under their tails. This must be removed immediately so their digestive tract can work properly.
Re-breeding you does. You can rebreed your does within a month of kindling. Many does will even be agreeable to rebreeding while still nursing a litter. We try to re-breed first time does, who rarely have a live litter the first time, within a month. This give their bodies time to heal, but not too long of a time to pass so that the birth canal becomes more narrow.
Before getting started on a breeding program, it is a good idea to talk with other breeders and to your vet. Nothing will prepare you for losing babies or a doe, but it is also very exciting to watch a beautiful litter grow. Good luck with your breeding!
This advice comes from what we have learned over the years of breeding. It is by no means comprehensive, but we hope it can help you on your way to breeding healthy bunnies.
Start with a healthy buck and doe. Neither should be overweight. If the buck or doe is too heavy, they may not have any interest in breeding. An overweight doe might have too much fat around her ovaries that would make it difficult for eggs to be released. It is best to keep your best looking does as show rabbits and even not use them to breed if they are particularly small Sometimes we use a BUG (big ugly doe) as a breed doe. This does not mean she would be fat, but is usually a non-show doe from the same litter that produced a beautiful show animal because this would mean that she probably carries the same genes and has the potential of producing her own prize-winning kits. Don't be afraid to use a doe that has a great pedigree, but not the potential for being a great show doe. But for your buck, choose the best quality animal that you have or can afford to buy. Some breeders will let you use their buck for a fee or a pick of the litter. A buck will influence more litters than a doe.
Breeding your pair. The best time of year to try to breed is in the spring. If you breed in the summer you run the risk of having kits ears grow too large in the heat, unless you have a climate-controlled environment. If you want to breed in the fall or winter, you may need to influence the seasonal effect of shorter and cooler days by keeping your lights on longer and slightly increasing the room temperature. Rabbit are "induced ovulators"--that means that they don't have a reproductive cycle like many other mammals, but that they release eggs 9-13 hours after mating. Bucks sterility can be greatly affected by the heat. If your buck is exposed to temps over 80 degrees for more than a day, it can sometimes take a month before they become fertile again.
First time Netherland Dwarf does should be mated around 6 months of age because their pelvic bones fuse after 12 months. If a Netherland Dwarf doe is not bred within the first year, it can be impossible for her to give birth to a live litter. Breeding a doe also helps prevent uterine cancer in later years.
ALWAYS bring your doe to the buck's cage. A doe may become territorial and aggressive if you place the buck in her cage, and bucks can become "distracted" with the scents of a different cage. Usually mating takes place within minutes of putting the two animals together. If it does not, and the doe seems extremely aggressive or unreceptive, remove her after 5 minutes and try the next day. Mating can be a very comical thing to watch since the buck often lets out a squeak and can fall off the doe and appear to be momentarily incapacitated from the excitement of the encounter....And, you do need to watch to make sure that the pair has mated. You may want to leave the doe in a few minutes to allow for multiple matings, and even put her back in the cage with the buck for a second mating within 12 hours of the first to help increase the chance of pregnancy.
Gestation in Netherland Dwarfs is usually 29-30 days. If you want to try to palpate the doe to feel if she is pregnant, this should be done about 10-14 days after breeding. You should seek training from a veterinarian or an experienced breeder; we have not had luck learning this technique. Instead, we usually place the doe back in with the buck 14 days after breeding. If she allows mating, she is not pregnant. If she goes crazy and starts vocalizing, we get her out of the cage as quickly and safely as possible and feel pretty confident she is pregnant. To get ready for her new kits, a doe will usually begin nesting about a week before she is due. We give a next box about 4 days before so that it doesn't become a litter box. Give your doe lots of soft hay for her nest building. She may build a nest and then eat it for lunch a few times before the final next is to her liking. A good quality nest is important for the survival of a litter. If you doe stops eating as much feed as she usually does shortly before she is due, that is normal.
When rabbit does deliver, it is called kindling. Try not to disturbe your rabbit during delivery time. In young or first time mothers, often kits are stretched coming through the birth canal and do not survive. Sometimes does will have LIVE kits on the floor of the cage. RABBITS WILL NOT PICK UP THEIR KITS AND PLACE THEM IN A NEST BOX, YOU NEED TO DO THAT FOR THEM. We made this mistake with our first doe's litter, left her alone to care for her kits, only to return a couple of hours later to find them all dead. If the you find the kits alive but cold on the cage floor, warm them up in your hands before returning to the nest box. Don't worry about getting your scent on them. If your rabbit behaves perfectly, makes a nest in the box and kindles in the box, wait a day before checking on the litter. After 24 hours check to see if the kits are alive and discard any dead young. You may find some "peanuts" alive in the box. These kits are smaller than the other kits and usually have disfgurations. Some people will remove them immediately and do away with them, others will leave them in the next box until they naturally pass away (usually within a couple of days). If you choose this latter method, you will need to check the next box daily so dead young do not stay in the box with healthy kits.
Doe facts. Does nurse only once a day for less than 5 minutes and do not "brood" (stay with the babies in the nest). Does do not care which kits they nurse or if a kit is left out. The doe will decide when she is done nursing and leave the nest box whether or not the litter is done nursing. It is important to check the cage frequently when kits are very young and cannot get back into the next box themselves since occasionally a kit will stay attached to a nipple and be pulled out by the mother leaving the nest. AND AGAIN, RABBITS WILL NOT PICK UP THEIR KITS AND RETURN THEM TO THE NEST BOX. Does should have a higher protein feed (18%) while they are nursing to help her produce enough quality milk. We often breed two does at the same time in case one mother is not capable of caring for her kits. This way we can foster them to the other nursing doe if necessary (does cannot count and most do not seem to take any notice of newcomers to their nest box).
Kit facts. Kits are born hairless with sealed eyes and ear canals. Netherland Dwarf kits look much like mice and need a good nest to stay warm. If the mother does not pull much fur, try adding extra hay to protect the kits. Kits go upside down under the doe change nipples frequently while nursing. They pee withing a few minutes of the daily nursing but are also stimulated to urinate by the cold and wet (so don't be suprised that you get peed on when you remove a kit from its warm nest!) The kits fluff up the fur, hay, and other bedding material to stay warm and have primary responsibility of maintaining the nest box. Kits should open their eyes by day 10 after being born. If they do not do this, you will need to open their eyes for them. Gently wipe a wet, warm cloth or q-tip over the kits eye and gently pull it apart. Check them daily for a few days after they open their eyes to make sure that their eyes stay open and do not stick shut again. This is a very important step to preventing eye infection and blindness in kits. Try to minimize handling kits before 11 days of age. Gentle handling after that will positively affect their personalities, curiosity and activity levels.
Weaning the kits. You should provide plenty of hay and feed for the doe and her kits on a daily basis. Kits will often start to eat hay and nibble on feed after 3 weeks while still being nursed by the mother. Netherland Dwarf kits should be weaned from the doe between 5-6 weeks of age. We gradually wean the kits by removing the largest to a separate cage and one at a time remove them daily until the smallest is left. This allows the smallest kit to have a little extra milk before being weaned. Watch the kits carefully to make sure they are eating. Sometimes weaning can cause diarrhea or pellets to become blocked under their tails. This must be removed immediately so their digestive tract can work properly.
Re-breeding you does. You can rebreed your does within a month of kindling. Many does will even be agreeable to rebreeding while still nursing a litter. We try to re-breed first time does, who rarely have a live litter the first time, within a month. This give their bodies time to heal, but not too long of a time to pass so that the birth canal becomes more narrow.
Before getting started on a breeding program, it is a good idea to talk with other breeders and to your vet. Nothing will prepare you for losing babies or a doe, but it is also very exciting to watch a beautiful litter grow. Good luck with your breeding!
