It is recommended that if you want to breed Mini Lop rabbits successfully, you should leave it to professional breeders. There are a number of reasons for this. Rabbits are born in large litters, so a lot of space is required to care for them unless you already have a market for them. Also young rabbits grow very fast and are sexually active after eight weeks, so the process continues relentlessly.
However, if you plan to breed them yourself, choose a doe older than six months and use an unrelated male a bit younger. Check the bottom of their cages for evidence of diarrhea and also check the genitalia for redness and swelling. Select rabbits that have a good history of reproductive productivity and strong genes and keep strict breeding records in order to show the animals in the future. One male to ten males is sufficient for breeding purposes and the male can be bred seven times a week. Only rabbits of the same breed should be bred together and the breed must be pure, going back four generations. Take the doe to the dollar. The breeding pair should not be left together after copulation has taken place, as the male may continue to pester the doe afterward, which could lead to fighting and harm to the doe. However, for a higher chance of pregnancy and a higher number of kittens, the female can be replaced with the male 1 to 12 hours after initial copulation.
The female should be checked for pregnancy 10 to 14 days after the initial insemination. This can be done by feeling under the doe for growths the size of small marbles. You should place the nest next to the doe 29 days after mating. The gestation period is around 31 days. Baby rabbits or kittens are born totally hairless with their eyes closed and the litter is usually 4 to 10. Kittens should not be handled for the first week as they can be killed by the doe. From the age of three months, rabbits should be kept in individual cages as they mature faster.
The female can be bred again at 6 weeks and the kittens should be weaned between 5 and 7 weeks. Small breeds like the Mini Lop produce around 14 kittens a year. The female’s reproductive cycle can continue until she is about 4 years old. Designs should be reviewed quarterly to determine which animals breed together and which do not. Many do not conceive from October to December during the moult. The lights in the rabbit run will help with this. Also, the male produces less sperm during the particularly hot summer months.
The Mini Lop rabbit’s ears are erect when he is born, but they will fall down over time. There are a variety of different colors in this breed, some examples are: chocolate, blue otter, cinnamon agouti, agouti, black and white butterfly, and white and fawn butterfly.
Strive to maintain a good standard by obtaining the ARBA Standard of Perfection Booklet so you know exactly what is expected of the breed.
