# Possible sibling breeding



## tomorrow264 (Jul 12, 2009)

*Two months ago I got what I was told were two female rabbits. When I was trimming their nails yesterday I notice that one is in fact a male. I seperated them right away. They turn 4 months old on the 25th. What are the odds that my female is already pregnant? And if she is what should I be expecting? I know sblings shouldn't breed and that she is too young. I had no intention of breeding and now I'm freaking out. Thank you for any advise.*


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## Erins Rabbits (Jul 12, 2009)

If rabbits are allowed to breed, they will. Expect baby rabbits, and prepare a nest, just in case. How long have they been togther? 
Male rabbits can and will breed as soon as their balls drop. If his have, again, expect babies.
And don't worry about the fact that they're siblings- these breeding are commonplace and don't seem to affect the offspring much at all.


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 12, 2009)

*Theyve been together since birth so almost 4 months. *


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 12, 2009)

When asking what I can expect I was referring to problems. I looked online and what Ive found says that if my female is pregnant that she will more then likely have unhealthy or dead kits due to her young age and inbreeding and has a 50% chance of dying as well. I was just wanting to know what people who actually have bred rabbits think is a likely outcome and not just some caresheet I found on line.Thank you and sorry for being unclear.


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## sheandg (Jul 12, 2009)

hi

my girlfriend got a bunny for Easter as a present and a few weeks later had babies. The mom was only 3-4 months old and all the kits did die but the mom was ok. She had no idea she was pregnant and one morning found the babies.

Sorry you are going thru this when you thought you had 2 females.....



welcome and I'm from MN too where are you located???


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 12, 2009)

I live in St.Paul.


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## sheandg (Jul 12, 2009)

I'm in burnsville....hi neighbor:biggrin2:


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## Jerry in So IL (Jul 12, 2009)

*tomorrow264 wrote: *


> When asking what I can expect I was referring to problems. I looked online and what Ive found says that if my female is pregnant that she will more then likely have unhealthy or dead kits due to her young age and inbreeding and has a 50% chance of dying as well. I was just wanting to know what people who actually have bred rabbits think is a likely outcome and not just some caresheet I found on line.Thank you and sorry for being unclear.



Wild rabbits have been breeding in the wild at young ages and they still seem to be around! Relax, sometimes TOO MUCH info is a bad thing. Just because situation A happens, doesn't mean B, C, D, and E will follow. They might, so just be prepared.

A piece of info that a wise old breeder of dogs, goats, and rabbits once told me.....Mom Nature tells the animal when its ready to breed, not its owner. Animals are not like humans, a teenage girl starting to have periods is NOT like an animal in heat for the first time. If the animal is to be used as a brood, then its best to breed on the first heat and allow the Mommy parts tosetup for it from here on out.....take it for what its worth.

Now don't think your kits are going to come out with three legs and four eyes! Inbreeding will force recessive genes to show, for good and bad. But usually only the bad will come from a narrow gene poolin tightlypedigreed animals. Out crosses, like pet rabbits have a zillion gene combos and a close relative breeding shouldn't hurt.

Now you are just going to have to raise a litter and find good homes for them. That should be the biggest worry on you mind right now!

GoodLuck!

Jerry


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## Pipp (Jul 12, 2009)

Jerry in So IL wrote:


> Wild rabbits have been breeding in the wild at young ages and they still seem to be around!Â  Relax, sometimes TOO MUCH info is a bad thing.Â  Just because situation A happens, doesn't mean B, C, D, and E will follow.Â  They might, so just be prepared.
> 
> Now don't think your kits are going to come out with three legs and four eyes!Â  Inbreeding will force recessive genes to show, for good and bad.Â  But usually only the bad will come from a narrow gene poolÂ in tightlyÂ pedigreed animals.Â  Out crosses, like pet rabbits have a zillion gene combos and a close relative breeding shouldn't hurt.



LOL! Great post, Jerry. I still like scaring the begeezus out of potential breeders of young rabbits and siblings because it really can cause delivery problems and you don't know how much in-breeding has gone on before this one or what kind of health problems will surface a few years down the road, etc, but its still just a chance of problems and definitely not a certainty. 


sas :goodluck


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## aurora369 (Jul 12, 2009)

I, personally, would prepare for babies. Get a nest box ready and put it in the cage in about two weeks.

Prepare for the worst, and hope for the best. Because she is so young, there is a good chance that she is not pregnant. Females mature a bit more slowly than males, so luck might be on your side.

Another option, is to find a vet to spay and neuter both your buns as soon as possible. If the boy has testicles visible, then he's ready to be neuter. 4 months is a bit on the young side for a spay, but an experienced vet should not have a problem with that. If you where planning on spaying/neutering your bunnies anyways, then this will just move your plans ahead a couple of months.

Regardless if you decide to spay/neuter now, I would find an experienced vet now. You want to have someone to call if your girl gets a stuck kit or has some other birth complication. Talk to the vet ahead of time and find out if they have a 24 hour number to call or some way of contacting them if she gives birth in the middle of the night and needs help at 3am.

--Dawn


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 12, 2009)

The plan had been to get them both spayed at 6 months because my vet won't spay younger then that butI guess I'll be calling tomorrow to find out about getting the male neutered instead.


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## aurora369 (Jul 12, 2009)

When you call around, you can also see if any of them will spay younger than 6 months. Most dwarf breeds are fully grown by 4 months, and that is the biggest reason for waiting till 6 months.

If there are any rabbit rescues in the area, you can contact them and ask which vet they use to spay/neuter their rabbits. If a vet is spaying/neutering for a rescue, then they should be very experienced and should be okay spaying a bit on the young side.

--Dawn


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 12, 2009)

I don't know what breedthey are but the female is already 5.5lbs and the male is 4.5. The guy I got them from said the parents were about the size of cats but they were no longer there so I wasn't able to see them.


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## Jerry in So IL (Jul 13, 2009)

*Pipp wrote: *


> Jerry in So IL wrote:
> 
> 
> > Wild rabbits have been breeding in the wild at young ages and they still seem to be around! Relax, sometimes TOO MUCH info is a bad thing. Just because situation A happens, doesn't mean B, C, D, and E will follow. They might, so just be prepared.
> ...



Pip you are absolutely right! And I didn't take that in account before I posted.

I should have stressed the importantance of getting the OP ready for those kits, and the fact that now the OP is going to have to place those kits from an unplanned litter. That is the real problem with any animal be it dog, cat, rabbit, or cavy. OP, now you can read up!

Jerry


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## BlueGiants (Jul 13, 2009)

Have any photo's of your bunnies that you can post here? Might help determine breed.

You got good advice. Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Your girl is a bit young to be breeding, but it can happen. 

As you're found out, there are a few things that can go wrong. Hopefully they won't, but there isn't anything you can do right now. As Aurora369 mentioned, get a nestbox ready. The box should be just big enough for her to hop in and turn around. I prefer to use a thick layer of shavings to absorb fluids, covered with soft hay. The mom will (should) dig a hole and pull fur to make the nest comfy for the babies. 

Keep an eye on your girl and if you see her gathering hay (hay mustache) or pulling fur, put the nestbox in where ever she starts her nest. (Do not put it in the corner where she poops and pees.) Or put it in the cage in 2 weeks. Gestation is 31 days. Let her do what comes naturally. 

Most vets will neuter a buck at a younger age than spaying a doe. (It's not difficult once their testicles drop. And after neutering, he has to be kept away from her for 8 weeks.) It might be smart to go ahead and neuter him now. If she does have a litter, he'll be all healed and "safe" (sterile) by time she weans her litter.

Good luck with her and keep us informed how she is doing.


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## Blaze_Amita (Jul 13, 2009)

I have done that before too, when I first got started, I went with an experienced pair of breeders to pick out two holland lop does, and brought them home (Tort and a black to go with my two bucks, broken orange and a broken blue) 
My tort shared a cage with the black for a long time while I got 'her' cage done up the way I wanted it, took 'her' to a show and was very embarressed. After that, I had the judge show me how to sex them and I haven't been wrong since, on any of the three breeds i've gotten into(holland lop, dutch, mini rex). 

pics fo the parents would be great, and all the advice you've gotten has been phenominal, you don't need my input on that one! prepare for the worst, hope for the best!


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 13, 2009)

The white and black one is Dottie my female she is currently 5.5lbs and the black one is Basil my male and he is about 4.5lbs.


I guessing they are a mix because they were being sold for meat or as pets and were onlt $5.


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## BlueGiants (Jul 13, 2009)

They look so young! Did you see any "mounting" behavior from Basil?


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 13, 2009)

No I haven't seen him mount her so Im really hoping I noticed soon enought that he was a he.


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## Jerry in So IL (Jul 14, 2009)

They look young! Are you sure his testes have even dropped?

Jerry


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## TinysMom (Jul 14, 2009)

Gracie (Cali) broke into her brother's cage last year and had 6 kits....1 of which had problems...the others were fine.


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 14, 2009)

*Jerry in So IL wrote: *


> They look young! Are you sure his testes have even dropped?
> 
> Jerry


When checking I was able to feel both of them.


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## BlueGiants (Jul 14, 2009)

You may have caught it early enough that he isn't "functioning" yet. But you still have to be ready "just in case". Keep them apart and have patience....


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## OakRidgeRabbits (Jul 14, 2009)

*tomorrow264 wrote: *


> *Jerry in So IL wrote: *
> 
> 
> > They look young! Are you sure his testes have even dropped?
> ...


If they have dropped, they would be sitting on the outside of the body. You'd be able to see them.


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## tomorrow264 (Jul 14, 2009)

*OakRidgeRabbits wrote: *


> *tomorrow264 wrote: *
> 
> 
> > *Jerry in So IL wrote: *
> ...


I saw what looked like testes thats why I checked.


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## SilverBirchRabbitry (Jul 16, 2009)

I highly doubt she is pregnant. They look like New Zealand or Flemmie Mixes. Large female rabbits normally don't start breeding until they are around 9 months.

But I would be prepared just in case :]


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