Thank you for getting back to me. First of all, there is no way to be certain a rabbit is infertile without having a veterinary specialists do a lot of expensive testing. However, when we wait to long to breed a rabbit for the first time, she often is unable to conceive. The best age for a first litter with a small-breed rabbit is 6 months. Large breeds can wait a bit longer, but after one year of age, the chances of a rabbit conceiving a first litter drop, and the chances of her having problems if she does conceive are greater at that age. In my experience, the fertility problem is just as likely to be with male as with a female. Despite the old saying of 'reproduces like rabbits,' it is much more difficult to breed domestic rabbits than most people imagine.

Hormone imbalances, uterine infections, and tumors or cysts on the ovaries or other reproductive organs can trigger false pregnancies. You can read more about false pregnancy here

http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/furloss.html#falsepregnancy

If you're rabbit is undergoing a false pregnancy, you'll want to take her to a vet to rule out health problems. This link will take you to a directory of rabbit vets in the UK:

http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/Vet_EU-UK.html

Rabbits need to be supervised when being bred to make sure everything proceeds as it should. You need to take the male to the female's cage. They usually will sniff each other, run around in little circles, and both of them may try to mount the other. When they're ready, the female stops and slightly lifts her back end. The male mounts her. Mating is very quick, and the buck often (but not always) lets out a little squeal and falls on his side when they're finished. If the doe seems aggressive when you first put them together, separate them, and leave them in adjoining cages over night. Try breeding again the next day. Once they do actually breed, return the female to the male a couple of days later. If she's willing to mate again, it means she didn't get pregnant. If she growls at him or runs from him, she may be pregnant already.

The babies are normally born 28 to 32 days later. You'll need to provide a nest box and bedding. A few days before giving birth, the female will probably carry bedding around in her mouth and arrange it for her nest. She'll also pull hair from her stomach and chest to line the nest.

If you plan to try breeding again, you do need to be aware of other problems that may appear. Most rabbits (about 75%) do not care for their first litter. They may give birth on the cage floor instead of the nest box. The babies may then die of exposure or even be trampled by the mother. Some first time mothers kill their babies, and may even eat them. Some chew off ears or toes. Many first litters are simply still born. I'm only telling you about these possibilities so they won't surprise you if they do occur.

Here's a site where you can read more about breeding and raising rabbits:

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

If you have further questions, just let me know by clicking on REPLY. I wish you success.

Anna

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