Bonded but Separated by a Gate

[ChappieKimchi]

Hello!
I am a first time rabbit owner.
I purchased 2 rabbits one male (Chappie) and one female (Kimchi).
Chappie is one month older than Kimchi and both are nearing 4 months and are not fixed!
My father is really wanting to breed them so I am looking at separating them with just a wall made from the wire storage cube shelves they sell at walmart.

(if you want to see a picture of what I'm talking about)
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Whitmor-Wire-Storage-Cubes-Set-of-6/23750330

So basically one rabbit will get one half of the room and one the other half.

BUT they are so close-they always sleep together, play together, and eat together.
Most books say not to let the unfixed male near the female until she is 6months old-so this means they will end up being split like this for 2 months.

Is there a chance this will make them depressed?
I am worried about their happiness.

 

[Blue eyes]

It is still possible for the male to impregnate the female if the grids are the only thing separating them.

I assume you are wanting to wait until she is 6 months before breeding for health reasons? If so, then keeping them separate so that she does not become pregnant is healthier than putting them together so that they won't "get depressed."

 

[stevesmum]

Why are you breeding them?

 

[BlazeBunnies]

I agree with stevesmum, what is the point of breeding them. There is enough bunnies in the world who are being mis treated and living in pounds and shelters. Im a registered show breeder in Australia and I wait till my does are at least 7 mths. You are a backyard breeder if you do not have a stud name. Please do not breed. Baby bunnies are cute but are expensive and if mum rejects them you have to be there mum including hand feeding them, weaning them onto pellets, make them to pee. Not to mention worming,vaccinations, vet bills. If one has something wrong with it will you leave it to die or take it to the vet. I don't think you have really thought about breeding them. Get your female fixed it's the best thing for them. There is a lot of things that can go wrong with the birthing of the kits so just be careful and make sure they all have guaranteed homes before breeding

 

[ChappieKimchi]

We are going to allow them to mate to experience that part of life with our rabbits.
We had a dalmatian when I was younger and also allowed her to have puppies.

We are not letting them breed to create a profit or show bunnies.
We are ready to care for them for the rest of their life if any babies to not find safe and loving homes.

 

[Watermelons]

Breeding for the "experience" is one of the worst reasons to breed, ever.
Peoole who are not breeding to better the breed should not be breeding their animals at all.

 

[stevesmum]

I agree with the above. You are a first time rabbit owner, so maybe you could experience all other parts of life with your rabbits before making the decision to breed. Not sure why, as a first time rabbit owner, you would immediately decide you want to possibly quadruple your number of pets. Rabbits are a lot of work, in a different way from cats and dogs, and it can be harder and more expensive to get quality veterinary care for them. I mean no disrespect, but I guess I just don't understand what your plan is, and it sounds a bit irresponsible to me. I hope you will reconsider and enjoy the wonderful pets you already have.

 

[Beesandbuns]

If you are insisting on breeding them please make sure they are the same breed, or two breeds which are already being bred to create a new breed in the country you are from, and even if you don't intend to show take them to a show and see how they place before making any breeding decisions.

As a breeder myself I've had to deal with my purebred show quality pet temperment rabbits not getting homes for many reasons (people afraid of a breed that gets eight pounds, too many mini rex in the area creating a glut in the market, animals with dq's not finding a good pet home and breeders not wanting them as brood stock) and that's with breeds that have small to average size litters. If your doe comes from a breed with large litter sizes, (giant breeds (sometimes), market breeds (like New Zealands, Palaminos, Flordia Whites), some popular pet breeds have lines which tend to have larger litter sizes, rhinelanders in some areas) you can end up with a litter with 12 to 16 rabbits. Litters that large tend to be hard on the mother and you will either need to terminally cull the babies, seperate out some to be bottle raised, or raised with another doe who is breed during the same window.

If your rabbits are not pedigreed you'll have a much harder time finding homes for them, even when I've met owners who don't care about pedigrees, because I was willing to put one together, show it to the person and explain what they would be able to do and not do with the rabbit from a breeding stand point if they decided to go that route instead (like for a 4H project) then they would have the knowledge they would need to help them locate a good cross to the rabbit I sold.

Also, a doe and a buck do not need to be around each other in order to breed, I've had does who bred better to bucks they didn't know, and does who needed to be around the buck for a while before they were okay breeding with them, and does who refused to ever breed.

If you are still certain you want to breed then I'd make sure you have plans in case it falls through, and make sure you are producing quality rabbits and not just pet stock. Oops breedings, genetic dqs and show stock rabbits still make wonderful pets, but if you aren't working to better the breed or trying to increase the population of a rare breed I'd recommend not breeding until you've spent time with your rabbits and decided to jump into the showing or hopping circut and you can pick a breed you enjoy and know you will have room to set up cages for.