What Age Can Meat Rabbits Start Breeding?

You’ve got your breeding pairs or trio, and you’re eager to get started breeding. So, how old do your rabbits need to be before you can breed them?

Here’s what to know.

Jump to:

• A Fair Amount of Variation in Breeding Age Recommendations
• What’s the Right Age to Start Breeding New Meat Rabbit Breeders?
• Can you breed rabbits too early?
• Is Your Rabbit Physically Ready for Breeding?
• Body condition
• Mature body weight
• Other physical signs
• Don’t Wait Too Long to Start Breeding New Breeders
• My Experience with Breeding Ages from 5 to 7 Months
• Expected Life and Longevity of Breeder Meat Rabbits
• Signs it may be time to retire or replace a breeder:
• Management and rabbitry considerations for replacing breeders
• The Last Work on Meat Rabbit Breeding Age

A Fair Amount of Variation in Breeding Age Recommendations

Oddly enough, there are a lot of varying answers to this question, even from expert resources.

The Merck Veterinary Manual says, “Rabbit breeds of medium to large size are sexually mature at 4 to 4.5 months, giant breeds at 6 to 9 months, and small breeds (such as the Polish Dwarf and Dutch) at 3.5 to 4 months of age.”

Michigan State University says, “Small breeds (such as the Polish) can be bred at 4 to 5 months of age. Medium breeds (for example, New Zealands and Californians) become sexually mature at 6 to 7 months of age. The giant breeds (such as the Flemish Giant) should be at least 7 months of age when bred.”

So when should you plan to start breeding your meat rabbits?

What’s the Right Age to Start Breeding New Meat Rabbit Breeders?

Many other resources and most breeders would agree more with Michigan State.

*Six months is a good, solid age to start breeding new meat rabbits.

The exception to the rule are large or giant breeds. These rabbits grow more slowly. They need more time to mature and more time to grow to their adult size. Large and giant breeds of rabbits are not considered ready for breeding until 8 or 9 months of age.

Most meat rabbit breeds can be bred as young as five months or 20 weeks, though there is more variability in the success of the act at earlier ages. (For the purposes of this article, from here forward, we’re talking about “medium” rabbits -- the most common and efficient breeds for meat production.)

Younger rabbits haven’t always sorted themselves out and may not show enough maturity or interest at 5 months. If you’re eager to get breeding, you can try at 5 months, but don’t be surprised if there seems to be some reluctance or confusion. This is especially true if both the buck and the doe are young.

*These ages hold true for most rabbit breeds. Small rabbit breeds generally mature earlier and may be ready for breeding as young as 14 to 15 weeks. However, we are talking about meat rabbits here, medium and large breeds, and for them, 14 weeks is too young. (That said, it is sometimes possible for breeding to occur, so separate rabbits by sex by 12 weeks.)

Can you breed rabbits too early?

Yes and no.

Obviously, rabbits will not successfully breed before they are sexually mature. If the eggs and the sperm are not viable, fertilization will not occur.

However, it is possible for eggs and sperm to be potent while the rabbit is still growing and before the body has reached its mature size and development.

Gestating and nursing kits take a lot out of a doe’s energy and resources. Those are resources that the young doe would be putting into her own body development if she were not incubating kits.

A doe that has not fully developed her skeleton and size can have difficulty delivering, especially if the kits are large.

If a doe is bred too early at too small of a size, she may never attain a full mature weight. Or she may take longer to do so.

Something else to consider is that the younger the doe at the time of her first breeding, the more likely she is to be a poor mother. That is not to say that she will stay that way, and that is not to say that she will for sure be a poor mother if she is bred at five months, but it is to say that you’re increasing the chances at that age. Her mothering instinct simply may not be well-formed or may not have kicked in.

More often than not, if you have trouble with a doe having poor mothering instincts, it is because she is young and/or inexperienced. By the time a young doe has her second litter, she will be at least seven months old and more like eight or older. The combination of older age and experience may correct the matter.

Poor mothering includes issues like

• Using the nest box as a litter box
• Failing to build a good nest
• Failure to pull enough fur to keep kits warm
• Delivering kits outside the nest or on the wire
• Not feeding or tending to the kits (keeping in mind she will only do this twice a day and you're not likely to see it happen -- see this article on meat rabbit birthing and this article on caring for kits in the first two weeks for more on what to expect and how things should go).

Notice that I also mentioned mothers being too inexperienced to be good at it. Sometimes, even if you breed at six months or older, a doe just isn’t a good mother. Sometimes, it takes several breedings for her to become one.

As with most things, it’s best to follow the “three strikes and you're out” rule here. Give a new doe three chances to get it right. Deal with her through three litters.

If by the third litter, she has good litter size, builds a nice nest, delivers in the nest, and cares well for her young, she is a keeper (assuming the performance and growth of the grow outs is what you want it to be). If she does not, it’s best to replace her with a doe who will not cause losses of kits because of her mishandling.

Is Your Rabbit Physically Ready for Breeding?

Before you decide to breed a new doe (in fact, before every breeding), assess the doe’s size, weight, and condition. Also, for new breeding does, look for signs of sexual maturity. These can be indicators that the doe is big enough to breed and is most likely mature enough to breed successfully.

Body condition

The doe’s overall body condition should be good. If she seems under-conditioned, take time to feed her and improve her condition before you breed. Growing anywhere from 4 to 12 kits will take a lot out of her, and that will stress a poorly conditioned doe even more.

Some things to look for:

• The body feels full and firm, with good muscling
• You cannot feel ribs sticking out
• Though you will feel the spine almost always, it should not feel bony or overly protruding
• The coat is full
• Coat feels soft and healthy, and not dry and ragged
• The coat has a good shine to it

If the doe is under conditioned, increase her feed. Also, consider adding in something to boost the feed, like black oil sunflower seeds or oats.

You may want to bump the feed up to a higher percentage of protein (for example, from 16 to 18%). For some does, they just need a little bit of a boost, while others will do perfectly well on a 16% feed. Sixteen percent protein is adequate for most rabbits, but if there is an issue with condition, increasing the protein should help.

Mature body weight

Reaching mature bodyweight is a good sign that the breeders have matured and they are likely to be of good breeding age.

Higher than typical mature body weights are not preferable. That signals overfeeding/overeating and fat in the rabbit.

Target Adult Body Weights for Common Meat Rabbit Breeds

These weights are based on the ARBA Standard of Perfection for intermediate (rabbits 6 to 8 months old) and senior rabbits (rabbits over 8 months of age, at mature weight). The weights they list are for showing criteria, but they are a good guide for appropriate rabbit weight at breeding age.

Senior age is considered 8 months and older. Practically speaking, a mature rabbit can breed before that and maybe a pound lower than these weights or may be perfectly healthy and ready to breed at the low end of the scale.

Rabbits are considered to be at a mature breeding weight if they weigh at least 75 to 80% of their potential senior rabbit size for their breed.

Many show breeders do not breed before eight months because they want to give their rabbits all the opportunity to reach their full potential senior weight at eight months. This is because it then becomes a part of their permanent pedigree.

• Californian: does 8.5 to 10.5 pounds, the ideal is 9.5; bucks 8 to 10 pounds, the ideal is 9 pounds
• New Zealand: does 10 to 12 pounds, the ideal is 11 pounds; bucks 9 to 11 pounds, the ideal is 10 pounds
• Champagne d’Argent: does 9.5 to 12 pounds, the ideal is 10.5 pounds; bucks 9 to 11 pounds, the ideal is 10 pounds
• Silver Fox: does 10 to 12 pounds, ideal 10.5 pounds; bucks 9 to 11 pounds, ideal 9.5 pounds
• Rex: does 8 to 10.5 pounds, the ideal is 9 pounds; bucks 7.5 to 9.5 pounds, the ideal is 8 pounds; *Rex are listed as seniors at 6 months and older
• American Chinchilla: does 10 to 12 pounds; bucks 9 to 11 pounds

Other physical signs

Other physical signs you can look for that indicate a likeliness for reproductive maturity are:

• The formation of the dewlap in does; pronounced dewlaps usually become present at breeding age
• Deeper color in the vulva of does; if you check the doe’s vulva and it is pale pink, she is less likely to breed, but darker pink-purple color or dark pink indicates breeding readiness (pale pink is not a definite sign of sexual immaturity but darker vulva color does help back up other findings and is a sign that can be used for older does, too)

Don’t Wait Too Long to Start Breeding New Breeders

Time is not your friend when it comes to holding off for too long on breeding age.

Rabbits are made to breed. When they don’t, after they've reached their mature weight and development, they just start to pack on fat. That causes problems for the does especially but it can be an issue for bucks, too.

Fat does will have constriction around their reproductive organs and reproductive tract, which impedes egg release and fertilization.

Fat bucks can become lazy and disinterested and tire too easily during breeding.

• Breed medium size rabbits (most standard meat rabbit breeds) by no later than 8 months of age
• Breed large-size rabbits by no later than 10 months of age (breeds like Flemish giants)

Rabbits pack excess fat inside their body cavity. It surrounds the organs, including reproductive organs, and hinders breeding. When rabbits don’t breed, especially does, the problem is very often too much visceral fat inside the body cavity.

You can try to slim down a fat doe by reducing and measuring their feed. However, it is harder to take fat off than to put it on. It is best to breed at a good, young age, continue to breed on a regular schedule, and avoid the problem of fat does.

You will hear a lot of people saying not to try to breed a doe over one year old. The reason is that they have had too many months after reaching maturity to become fat. Once that problem exists, it tends to stay.

My Experience with Breeding Ages from 5 to 7 Months

This is the age at which I generally start breeding my meat rabbits. If a rabbit looks good and has achieved a nearly full mature weight, I will consider breeding at 5 months. Six months is my go-to rule of thumb.

My experience has been that of the does that I had issues with (difficulty breeding or poor mothering), they were first exposed at 5 months. I find that bucks at this age are not always eager enough and sometimes show confusion and a lack of interest.

By 6 months, they seem more mature, willing, and successful. Six months, for me, has shown to be a more reliable breeding age in both does and bucks.

Some does (and bucks) still seem reluctant at six months, and though I would start exposing them then anyway, I’m not too concerned if it takes another month to get things going.

If by 7 or 8 months I am having a hard time getting a doe to lift and breed, I would put that doe on my radar as a potential problem. If I have not gotten a litter out of them by one year, that doe would be a cull.

One thing to keep in mind when deciding how long to wait to start breeding young meat rabbits is that the efficiency of the animal overall decreases for every month they do not get bred. They become more expensive keepers.

For example, if I have one doe who breeds and has litters at 7 months old and another that took 11 months to get to that point, I have had to invest time, feed, and money in the second doe with nothing in return. This is something to consider from a management perspective when you are selecting breeders and offspring.

Expected Life and Longevity of Breeder Meat Rabbits

You should be able to get a solid three years out of a breeder meat rabbit. You can potentially get up to five years or longer.

Factors vary, and the range is the result of many things, like turnaround time in breeding, how often you breed the does, how many litters they have in a year, genetics, housing, and pathogen and disease exposure.

A young doe that you have raised and managed well from the age of a grow out or weanling kit (2 to 6 months old) should solidly serve you for at least three years.

Signs it may be time to retire or replace a breeder:

• Small litter sizes
• Difficulty getting does to lift
• Lazy breeding bucks

When evaluating breeders for replacement or retirement, consider that either the doe or the buck could be the decliner. Or, it could be both.

Before you make a decision, look for the common denominator -- is it the buck or the doe? Does a buck throw large litters with other does but not the doe in question? Does the doe have large litters with other bucks? Do different pairings result in different results? Or does every doe that is bred to that buck have small litters? Maybe the doe has small litters regardless of which buck you breed her to?

If you only have one buck, consider the ages and stages of life. Then consider that it may just be time to begin replacing both the buck and the doe(s) if they are all from the same era.

Management and rabbitry considerations for replacing breeders

Sometimes, you will decide it’s in your rabbitry’s best interest to replace either a doe or a buck, even though they are all still productive. The main purpose of doing this is to freshen the genetics in your rabbitry. It is easier and often most sensible to replace the buck.

After a while, it can be difficult to raise replacement breeders from your own stock because everything is closely related. Line breeding is not the issue with rabbits that it is with other animals, but there still comes a time in every rabbitry’s existence when it is time for some new genetic material to mix in.

The Last Work on Meat Rabbit Breeding Age

The final word on the breeding age for meat rabbits is that six months is the happiest medium for a start.

Don’t get too concerned if the first breeding attempt or two is a miss. That rabbit might need a little more time to mature, and in a few weeks or another month, everything might turn around.

Keep the productivity of the rabbitry in mind. The sooner you can get breeding -- within reason -- the sooner you can get producing and harvest meat.

Keep mothering and performance in mind, too. A month isn’t really enough time to justify breeding an immature doe if she is not likely to also be a successful mother, and definitely not if she is undersized and there is a health risk to the doe.

By six months of age, the risks diminish greatly, and the odds of success begin to climb. By eight months, you should solidly be there with most breeds. And if you wait too long after that, you begin to risk causing problems by not breeding.

At the end of the day, this issue sounds more daunting than it really is. An informed choice is a good choice. And most of the time, things go right with meat rabbits.