Sexing
Girls have a slit opening, located just above the rabbits bottom which is just above the tail.
Pictures to come if we get in any female rabbits.
Does usually hit puberty at around 4 months.
Rabbits have a gestation period of approximately 28-31 days. They are born naked and blind, they live in a safe nest that mum has prepared. Rabbit young are called kits. DO NOT touch the young or anything near them for atleast 3 weeks or you risk mum killing her litter as they will have human scent on them.
Litter size varies usually between 4 and 12 kits, with the larger breeds producing larger litters. To build her nest the doe burrows and kicks her sawdust and bedding into a cosy little pile then proceds on to pulling bits of fur from the dewlap (loose bit of skin under her neck), flanks (sides) and belly to line the nest and expose her nipples for her kits to feed from. Labour usually occurs in the early morning, and the kits are helpless. Passive immunity is acquired by placental transfer before birth. Rabbit milk is exceptionally nutritious and nursing only lasts a few minutes once, or twice a day. Kits emerge from the nest at about 2-3 weeks of age and can be weaned at 4-5 weeks. Kits can leave their mother when they are eight weeks old.
The best age for Does to be spayed is 6 months of age.
