Crossbreeding a Rex and Mini lop

Question
We have a mini lop rabbit (female) who has an amzing disposition.  We have no idea about her pedigree as we actually found her when she was about 6 weeks old and have raised her since.  Our friends have a Rex (male) that is the same size as our rabbit and who also has a loving and gentle personality.  We would like to breed them.  We have families that would like the bunnies as pets and have no intention of breeding them further.  Our friends would like the offsprings of our rabbits because of their dispositions.  Is this wise and could there be any risk to our female beyond the normal risks of giving birth?

Answer
Hello Maureen

There are definitely certain risks to consider.

First of all, look at the size of the rabbits. Is the male larger than the female? The structural size has to be considered first. You want the rabbits to be about the same size or the male to be smaller. Reason being, if the male is larger, than your lop may have trouble passing the kits successfully on her own. If she can't pass them, then they may become stuck during delivery and this can cause death in the kits and your female. If the kits die inside her, then they can mummify and she may become septic or she may pass them later with a subsequent pregnancy (If it happened) Or she may re-absorb the tissue and be just fine. It's hard to say how each bunny will respond.

Breeding rabbits with unknown backgrounds can be risky. Most breeders research the genes thoroughly to wean out 'bad genes'. Although there is no known 'down syndrome' in rabbits, sometimes the 'bad genes' can surface when breeding with another rabbit who also shares these 'bad genes' and the results can be successful or, you can end up with rabbits with deformities such as spayed legs.

The rabbits being different breeds will eliminate some of the risks by breeding rabbits that are too closely related. They won't be purebred, but if they have good homes to go to this won't be a problem for you. Rabbits can have anywhere between 1-13 kits for a mini lop. If she has a large litter, would you be prepared to find this many homes? Selling the rabbits on kijiji or other free advertising sites often leads to bunnies being snake food. Sad but true.

If you do decide to breed, (ultimately the decision is yours and I am just presenting the facts) then the most successful way to do so is to put the female in the males cage. Never the other way around. Even passive females can be known to be severely aggressive if the male is in her space and many males have been seriously injured as result.

You would want to introduce them in the males cage and let them be to sniff each other and get to know each other. Some rabbits will mate right away, some will decide they don't like each other and will fight right away. If they fight, remove them immediately. I would try a slower pace at this point and put the cages side by side for awhile and try again later.

You want to mark the date that they mate. Rabbits ovulate each time they mate and the most successful way is to let them mate a second time the next day.

Rabbits are 32 days usually from mating to birth. You want to know the time frame because if your female is more than three days overdue, then you would want to get her to the vet so he/ she can administer drugs to bring on delivery. Being too long in the uterus exposes the kits to high feces contents and can kill them alike humans.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me and I will walk you through the process should you choose to proceed. I care more about the health of your rabbit and avoiding catastrophes then telling you whether you should or shouldn't breed your pet.

Alice



http://www.rabbit.org/adoption/why-not-to-breed.html
Rabbits reach sexual maturity between three and six months of age. A rabbit differs from other mammals in that the female ovulates after being mounted by a male. This is called induced ovulation. This is the only time she produces an egg. This also means that after a rabbit has given birth, if the male is still present, she can and most likely will become pregnant within 24 hours of giving birth. Just imagine how you would feel if you had a baby and within 24 hours you were pregnant again!

Problems that can occur with rabbit pregnancies are magnified if the rabbit is young when she gives birth. Whether, young or old, the following problems may occur.

She may be confused, and might not build a nest for her babies, causing them to die of exposure. Her milk might not drop, or she just may not feed them, leaving the human caretaker to hand feed them. Mortality for hand fed babies is extremely high. If the father was larger than the mother, she may have difficulty during delivery and the babies may not survive. If the mother was not particularly healthy, she can become sick from the stress of carrying and delivering the babies.

http://www.debmark.com/rabbits/bunnies.htm

This article is rabbits from conception to weaning so you know what to expect.