# How much/when to breed Holland Lops?



## Fiasco (Apr 20, 2018)

Hi! I'm raising a few Holland Lops, and someday I hope to sell their kits so that I can at least break even on their feed costs. I've read many times that it's not good to breed rabbits excessively, but exactly how much is healthy hasn't been clear. Basically, what's recommended, and what would be the maximum number of times per year? And would it be in short bursts of a few litters, then a break, or evenly spaced out? I live in Nova Scotia, and it's fairly temperate here. I think I could deal with the cold and heat with warming pads and frozen water bottles as needed. But I'm new to this and I'm still trying to figure it all out!

Any advice would be appreciated! Thanks in advance!


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## bluebird (Apr 21, 2018)

I breed each doe only two or three times a year.i dont breed when its very cold my rabbits are in my garage its warmer than outside.i dont think holland lops could really tolerate more than 3 or 4 litters per year.it depends how many babies they have what kind of condition the doe is in after she weans her litter.you must feed a good quality feed when breeding,what feeding is ok for pet rabbits wont work when you are breeding.


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## woahlookitsme (Apr 22, 2018)

We were a small rabbitry and I only bred maybe once a year with some of my does but that’s just because we had a lack of space. I also hated how hard it could be sometimes to even get one litter a year so I would recommend against that and say at least two to three times a year. You need to at least give them a couple of months off between litters so they can regain that nutrition loss. Gestation and milking has the highest nutrition requirements than any other life stage so just keep that in mind.


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