Rabbit breeding

[Tiffany Warden]

Is it safe to breed rabbits during winter or wait till spring? Rabbits live outside

 

[majorv]

What kind of temps do you get in the winter? We bred in the winter mainly because our summers are long and the temps get into the 90’s. With some precautions you can breed in the winter.

 

[Tiffany Warden]

I live in iowa so the temperature drastically changes. Today 12/27/18 it was raining and 50 degrees but normal the temperature is in the low 30's. Tomorrow is supposed to snow. Summer temperature is also drastic. Sometimes it is 60 degrees and sometimes it is over 100 degrees. This is the reason why i ask about when to breed.

 

[majorv]

Once temps get into the mid to upper 80’s I would advise not to breed. It’s too much stress on the doe, as well as the kits. When breeding in winter it’s important to protect the rabbits from the cold wind. We would hang heavy tarps around our cages to protect them. As long as the kits are well insulated with hay/straw & the doe’s hair, in a nest box, they should be okay. If temps got in the 20’s we would sometimes hang a heat lamp outside the cage, pointed towards the box, to help.

 

[Blue eyes]

From this chart on average highs and lows in Conrad, Iowa, you may need to be more concerned about the teen temperatures in the winter. It doesn't look like the summers are anything overly concerning.

The average highs in December, Jan., and Feb are all below freezing (32F) with nighttime lows in the teens.

 

[majorv]

Another alternative is when they’re born bring the nestbox inside at night and then take it back out in the morning. This would be temporary, until the kits have a good coat of hair on them, then they should be okay.

One thing I always did when we had new litters in winter was to check on them before going to bed each night...you never know when one might get dragged out with mom, after nursing. The first 2-3 weeks are when you have to watch them the most.