age of reproduction

Question
I have 2 dwarf rabbits one male and one female. the male is 5 months old, i am not quite sure how old the female is but she couldnt be over 2 months. how old does she have to be before she can reproduce?

Answer
Because they are dwarfs and there is no market for them other than pets, pet stores and showing they really shouldn't be bred unless they are purebred and have pedigree papers.  If they had pedigrees you would know how old she was so I am assuming they don't.  The sad fact is that rabbits that are small and cant be used in the meat market are often sold very cheaply for rapture food, snake food and even the RAW diet food for dogs.  

It is up to you what you do but if you really want to breed rabbits I suggest that you join the American Rabbit Breeders Association.  They send you a very nice book that has all the directions on how to breed them, how old they should be, how to care for the babies etc.  Their website is www.arba.net

For your question she should be at least six months old before she is bred.  Breeding any earlier than that can kill her.  It is possible for her to get pregnant as early as 3 months so she should be kept separated from the buck until she is at least 6 months old to prevent early pregnancy.  

If you have any other questions please let me know.  I am willing to help in any way I can.

Thank you

Pam

Ok excellent.  If she is only 2 months you don't have anything to worry about.  Since you aren't absolutely sure about her age you are going to want to keep an eye on her from 28 - 34 days after they have been together.  If she starts plucking fur and acting all funny then you will want to build her a nest box.  Also if she is that young and she does go in to labor make sure you have a vet all lined up in case she has problems.  

Obviously this is your family pet so it is not a bad idea to take her in for a check-up.  When a rabbit is 14 days pregnant a good rabbit savvy vet can usually feel the babies.  It isn't really something you should try at home because it can hurt them and the mother but the vets know exactly how to feel.  

If she starts acting funny around that time feel free to ask me another question.  I would be happy to instruct you how to set up a nest box and give proper care.  Hopefully it won't come down to that.  

Good luck

Pam