There is no set time when a doe should be bred. As long as she is at least six months old, (older in the larger breeds), then she can be bred any time, any day. The act of mating stimulates ovulation in a rabbit.

Always bring the doe to the buck's cage. Doe's are territorial and will defend their home.

Some bucks will try to mount right away, others will try to woo the doe with nuzzling and grooming the doe's face. The doe may return the affection or become aggressive.

This is why you should always stand by when mating your rabbits. You may need to step in to avoid injury to either rabbit. Never put two rabbits together and walk away for any length of time. Too much can go wrong and you could injure or lose a rabbit.

The buck will begin the mounting process on the doe. Make sure he is at the right end of the doe. If the buck is at the wrong end he risks getting bitten in an area he wouldn't want to get bitten. If he is on her head, reach in to the cage and push his hind end off of her head and around to the correct end.

At this point the doe may do one of three things. She will begin to run circles around the cage with the buck chasing her, she may turn and attack the buck or she may 'lift'. To lift means she stays still and lifts her tail excepting the services of the buck.

The actual mating is very quick. You have had a good breed if the buck falls off the doe to the side making grunting noises. At this point you can wait to see if they will do it again. We let them get as many hits as they like to ensure a pregnancy. In most cases we find after a while, the buck has had enough and we return the doe to her own cage.

Four hours after the first breeding put the pair together again for a second mating and again four hours after that. This procedure can be done two days in a row. This process works for us. We have some does that become pregnant on the first mating and others who need the extra breedings to ensure a pregnancy. Don't do this any longer then two days.

The doe runs from the buck, she will not stop and lift: This is common in first time does. If she is very upset and stressed, put her back in her own cage and try again later. Some have had success putting the buck and doe next to each other in separate cages so they can get use to each other before they get together. Some does need human intervention. If the doe is running in non-stop circles, reach in to the cage, place your hand over her head and apply light pressure. Just enough to stop her from running. Talk soothingly to her, pet her face. This generally works for us, when the buck mounts, the doe will usually lift for him. If she still refuses put her back in her own cage. She may be too young or more recipient in a day or so.

The doe is aggressive: Remove her from the cage immediately. Does can be vicious. You could try the hand over the head as in the above paragraph but watch that you don't get bitten. Some does do better in a neutral location like a table rather then in the buck's cage. But sometimes the buck and doe are so curious about their new surroundings that they pay no attention to each other.

In the beginning we stated a doe that is old enough can be bred any time, any day. This is true. However, some does seem to do better on some days then others.

Some perform better in the evening when it is dark, especially in the warm weather. Some people find they can breed better and produce better litters by breeding by the phases of the moon.

It is not natural for a rabbit to give birth in the winter. Winter breedings can be few and far between. Natural daylight can effect a rabbit's ability to conceive. In the fall, when the days become shorter it can be difficult to produce a litter.

It is not always the doe causing a problem. Excessive heat can cause a buck to go sterile. This effect can last up to four months. This happened to us one summer. We were having an extremely hot August. We were trying for a litter over and over again. It took until the end of October before she finally gave birth. The buck had been sterile.

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