How old do rabbits need to be to get pregnant?

Question

I got two 5-week-old rabbits from a breeder and have had them for almost a month. They were still young so I kept them in the same cage for a little while so they could be together while adjusting to a new home. Yesterday I let them run around on my sisters bed and I had to run out for about 1 minute. When I come back I walk in on the boy humping the girl bunny. Could she be pregnant? I wasn't sure they were doing it until I broke them up and noticed the boy chasing after the girl in circles and trying to do it over and over. My mom really does not want to have any more bunnies so I'm worried that the girl might be pregnant. I was planning on getting her spayed when she was a little older because she is still so young. Can anybody help me?

Answer 1

Wow, what breeder rehomes their rabbits at only 5 weeks old? That's very young.

Anyway, no, they shouldn't have hit sexual maturity yet. The humping is pretty normal, but I'd still recommend you split them up until you have them spayed/neutered. You could probably keep them together a little longer without pregnancy, but your male might still hump everything that moves and some females don't appreciate that! Some female rabbits hit sexual maturity at 4 months, but I've found most vets prefer to spay at 6 months just because it's a little riskier on younger rabbits. Neutering males is less invasive, so some vets will do it as soon as the testicles descend, somewhere between 3 and 5 months.

You'll want to give them time to heal after their surgeries, so give them several weeks after before you reintroduce them.

Answer 2

No she shouldn't be pregnant as rabbits can only first start breeding at 3-4 months old i am not at all suggesting to do this as its not a good idea but i'am just stating the age. 6 months for small/medium rabbits and 9-12 months for a large rabbit is the most suited age to properly breed them at. Some males do go through a 'Humping age' where they 'try' it out but unless you can see his nuts/balls he isn't able to reproduce anything and any way if you can see his nuts/balls she isn't old enough anyway because males delvelop quicker than females so he could be when she isn't. There still is a chance though as some females form quicker than others. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

A small breed doe is normally ready to mate when she is 5 months old, and a buck is ready at 6 months. The medium size doe is ready to breed when she is 6 months old and the buck at 7 months. The heavy breed doe is ready at 8 months and the buck is ready at 9 months.

It's usually a good idea to select rabbits to breed whose ancestry has evidence of good productivity and good genetics. That's where productivity records and pedigrees listing show winnings come in handy. Keep productivity and show records of your herd just for this purpose.

You may keep a ratio of one buck to 10 does if you wish. The buck may be bred up to 7 times a week effectively. Sometimes, you can use the buck twice in one day. The most I use a buck is twice a week.

Answer 4

i think they would need to be fully grown say about 6 months old. but it might be a good idea to see your vet