Dutch rabbit breeding accident

Question
QUESTION: Well, to start this complicated problem I'd ahve to describe my rabbits. I have a Dutch doe named Oreo, she is a year and eight weeks this past month. I also have a Cottontail rabbit named Peter, he is about four months this month. Peter is very tame for a wild rabbit, he will even allow me to walk him on a leash. But anyways, Peter and Oroe escaped their cages and well.. because we live in a place where its warm all year around, I think that oreo may be pregnant.

What should I do with the kits? Would they have any use besides pets or.. well... the 'other' use for rabbits. And what might they look like, and most important is it even possible for a wild cottontail to breed with a domestic rabbit?  Thank you for your time.

ANSWER: Hello Mycala!

Actually it's not very likely because they have different numbers of chromosomes and aren't that attracted to each other. They have been forced to breed by placing them in close confinement but it's not what happens in nature. And nay offspring usually don't live or the few that do are sterile.

It's not a good idea. While it is possible to breed wild rabbits such as snowshoes or cottontails with domestics, wild rabbits carry several diseases to which they are accustomed, and therefore resistant. Your domestic rabbit, however, most likely has not been exposed to these diseases, meaning it will catch them easily. A few of these diseases are quite fatal.

I have successfully bred a few wild rabbits into my lines. I breed rabbits for meat, and I find it improves the taste. If you are going to attempt it, I offer you these tips:

1) Use a wild buck and a domestic doe. Domestic bucks will most likely attack and kill a wild rabbit. Choose a doe that is the same size as the buck or smaller.

2) Once you have bred a domestic doe to a wild buck, do not reintroduce her to the rest of your domestic population. I find it is best to let her have a single litter and then send her to the stew pot. Also, quarentine her offspring until they mature, to make sure they are not carrying any diseases passed on by the sire. If they grow up healthy, it's probably safe to breed them back into your domestic stock .

3) Do not put the wild buck in with his offspring. He will kill them.  simply because wild rabbits typically do not take well to captivity.


If you breed for meat, I recommend introducing a wild bloodline, but do it carefully and infrequently. If you breed for show bunnies or pets, don't bother.

One more thing to keep in mind: in most states (including mine) it is illegal to keep and/or breed wild animals.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: First, thank you. I'm glad to report that Oreo wasn't pregnant. Her escape ended 'well' I suppose. The rabbit hutches I kept them in had gotten a hole in the mesh type 'netting' I had used, but I've repaired that problem.

But I've noticed a change in Oreo's behavior. While Peter isn't a 'true' wild rabbit I raised him after his mother, also raised in captivity, died a few weeks after birth.

But anyway, Oreo has become very aggressive lately. Biting my fingers hard enough to draw blood. She grunts and lunges at anyone who walks by her cage. She's normally a very well tempered doe and can be picked up and leashed with ease, but now she's extremely aggressive... Should I be worried about rabies?

Answer
Hello  There!
Well I am glad Oreo is OK!
I would not be worried about Rabies!  You do need to keep the bites clean and covered.
If oreo is getting that aggressive It is probable she will stay that way. It is probably due to her being out of her hutch and roaming free she feels like she should be free and when you are around her she wants to bite so she will be set free. this is a resopnse some rabbits get when around a buck and and she is ready to be bred.
Well good luck  and be careful.
Dan