The Myth of ‘Breeding like Rabbits’
Are rabbits really as profolic as everyone says?
Have you ever heard the the ancient saying “breed like rabbits.” This phrase is giving to animals or things that seem to multiple overnight or reproduce quickly. Due to this phrase many people are under the impression that rabbits breed and multiply very quickly … but do they really?
“Breed like rabbits” … this saying is not true at all. In fact, some rabbit breeds are drastically reducing to the point of a few hundred members left of that certain breed in the species. As owner of my own rabbitry, I find it important that I debunk the false idea around the phrase “Breeding like Rabbits” because it is preventing people from seeing the actual breeding problem that exists with rabbits.
However, before we begin, I want to look at an article written by Matt Soniak, called “Are Rabbits as prolific as everybody says?” In this article the author concludes that rabbits breed very quickly by begging the question and assuming, however, the author does not consider the difficulty and success rate of rabbit kidding (act of giving birth) as well as the rabbits survival rate.
With the problem of certain breeds reducing… society must figure out what and where the breeding problem is and I believe I have found it. The problem lies within wild rabbits and not within domesticated rabbits.
“I see rabbits all over my neighborhood… if I step outside I will see at least 1 or 2.” Stated by Stafford Milligan.
What Stafford doesn’t realize is all of these rabbits that he sees are all under one. This is one of the major problems that exists with wild rabbits. Wild rabbits seldom live longer than a year.
This occurs because rabbits are prey animals and they have many predators such as foxes, snakes, badgers, stoats, weasels, buzzards, wild cats such as bobcats, domestic house cats, dogs and of course man.
Always on the alert for danger, if a rabbit spots danger, it will warn others by thumping with a hind foot. The flash of white from under its tail as it runs for its burrow (underground holes) also acts as an alarm signal. If and when a rabbit is confronted by a potential threat, a rabbit may freeze and observe, then warn others in the warren ( herd) with powerful thumps on the ground.
Rabbits try to survive predators by burrowing, hopping away in a zig- zag motion, and, if captured, delivering powerful kicks with their hind legs. However, other than that rabbits are at the mercy of their predator, due to the fact, that their claws are not sharp enough to deter a predator and the bite is not scary enough to stop and scare a predator.
Rabbits have a very rapid reproductive rate. In one year, a doe can produce more than 20 offspring. This prolific and rapid breeding is usually balanced by many deaths caused by predators, disease, road traffic, shooting and trapping. In fact alot of rabbit deaths occur even before the kit (baby rabbit) leaves the burrow. Why?
Baby rabbits are blind, deaf and furless at birth with the mother only visiting them for just a few minutes each day to allow the kits to suckle. She seals the nest chamber with soil to conserve heat and safeguard against enemies. This works for the most part, however, if a predator were to find the nest, all of the litter would be lost, and not just one kit.
Another reason why kits could die is because they are a peanut. Peanut’s are very prominent in the smaller rabbit breeds that carry the dwarf gene. Although, not very common in the wild there still has been hundreds of cases involving peanuts. So what is a peanut?
A peanut is a kit with the double dwarf gene. Due to the genetic makeup it cannot grow. Most peanuts will always die within a few days after being born. Some peanuts can live to grow fur, and, extremely rarely, open their eyes. But they will always die. And while their siblings double their birth weight in just a first three or four days, the peanut will not grow, and will not thrive. They might even get smaller.
Rabbits are are unique in that they can be rebred almost immediately after kindling (giving birth). Even though they can breed as soon as they give birth, this is a horrible practice because they will not have enough time to wean off their last litter.A rabbit’s gestation period (pregnancy) is 28–34 days, while the weaning period is 42–56 days. Which means a doe will have to leave her first litter to deal with her new litter. This type of breeding is not seen in domesticated rabbits however, is commonly seen in the wild. When a doe does this her 3 weeks only kits are left to fend on their own and often die. These are just a few problems that rabbits have when it comes to breeding however, there are so many more.
Needless to say, wild rabbits definitely have a breeding problem… but what about other breeds like the New Zealand and Holland Lop?
A New Zealand doe can have up to 8 newborn rabbits (kits), however, it is unlikely that this will occur. A New Zealand doe will normally have 4 – 6 kits per litter. The easiest rabbit to breed is the New Zealand, because New Zealand does, being a larger breed (9–12 Pounds), are blessed with eight nipples, whereas smaller breeds (2–5 Pounds) have six. New Zealand’s produce large litters and are unique in that they can be rebred almost immediately after kindling (giving birth).
Due to the fact that New Zealand’s are easier to breed, and they can bore more kits,it became the most popular breed of rabbit for meat production. In fact, it is estimated that 90% of rabbits raised for meat are of this breed. A doe will become fertile around 8 to 12 weeks of age and can be safely bred at 17–18 weeks of age. If you breed a rabbit before 18 weeks of age you can cause harm or death to the doe and/or her kits.
Although, rabbits are fertile all year long, your chance of getting a successful breeding will increase during the months of September, October, and November. In hot and humid climates, like Florida, it is too hot for breeding in other months. New Zealand’s however, seem to not care because breeders in Florida have had kits in the middle of the April heat. Therefore, New Zealand’s are one of the rare rabbit breeds that do seem to “breed like rabbits.” But, what about other breeds like the Holland Lop?
Although, a Holland lop doe can have up to 6 newborn rabbits (kits), it is unlikely that this will occur. A Holland Lop doe will normally have 2–4 kits per litter. Unlike New Zealand rabbits, Holland Lops are very difficult to breed, because does tend to get large butt ruffles (large fold of skin around butt) and this can get in the way during breeding, decreasing the chance of a successful pregnancy.
Holland Lops only weigh 2–4 pounds and are classified as a smaller breed. Therefore, the only have six nipples, which can limit the amount of kits they can successfully have. Holland Lops, like New Zealand’s can be breed as soon as the kindling takes place.
The above chart shows you how much of any issue there is within the wild rabbit community. If wild rabbits live to only be 1, and their entire kidding process from their gestation to there weaning takes 3 months. This means that one doe will only have 4 litters her entire lifetime. With the first litter always dieing, because the doe does not know how to care for kits yet, that leaves only 3 litters left for that doe. On her 2nd breeding, with half of her litter dying before breeding age that leaves, from a 4 kit litter, only 2 rabbits left, imagining that one is a buck (male) and one is a doe (female), their is one 1 doe from that second litter that will be able to breed to grow the wild rabbits.
Fish and Wildlife has noticed the drastic reduction of wild rabbits and has tryed to help by putting in place a law that makes rabbit hunting illegal without a permit. Even with a permit there are very particular rules and regulations they must follow such as limiting the number of rabbits they can hunt each month. With these new rules in place, the number of rabbits in the wild grew…but not to the point where we can just forget about and stop all the efforts to try to increase there numbers.
I believe if the numbers, mortality rate wise, where to decrease, rabbits in the wild would increase. Furthermore, if the predators of the rabbits decreased … the wild rabbit numbers would increase.
I’m sure there are many other reasons why domestic and wild rabbit might not have a successful breedings, however, these are just a few common reasons why a rabbit might not have successful kits. Therefore, the next time you look to purchase a Holland Lop and find a $100 price tag, don’t wonder why Holland Lops cost so much more than that cute bunny you saw on craigslist, keep in mind all the problems that can occur when raising rabbits.