How Long Does A Rabbit Period Last

How Long Does A Rabbit Period Last

Rabbits are one of the most popular domestic pets. They are cute and cuddly, small in size and easy to care for. If you are a rabbit breeder or just an owner of a female pet rabbit, it will be useful to be aware of its reproductive system. You could have the female rabbit spayed or else, occasionally mate it with a male rabbit when you need her to reproduce babies. This is why at OneHowTo we'd like to tell you how long a rabbit period lasts.

The Reproductive System

Talking about their reproduction systems, rabbits usually mature at the age of 5-8 months, depending on the size of the breed whether small, medium or big. The gestation period is 31 days (pregnancy).

Whilst the doe can reproduce until it is 4 years old, a female rabbit does not go through a fixed menstruation cycle but produces an egg every time a male rabbit mates with it by mounting it. This means rabbits are induced ovulators. You can say they are constantly in heat. However, the chances of producing an egg are maximized if there is a gap of at least 8 hours between mating sessions. It is therefore a common practice for breeders to replace the buck in 8 hours after the first attempt.

You might notice that the doe is more receptive to the buck at certain times, like when she seems to be a bit more aggressive than usual or raises her rear when you tap it a little bit. Her vagina too may appear a bit more red than normal. All these are signs that her hormone levels are up and she’s at her peak for breeding. Female rabbits are nearly ready to mate at all times, it’s just that the hormones keep going up and down in cycles. So you can safely say, female rabbits do not have a period and they are constantly receptive to male rabbits. Therefore, there's no use in saying how long a rabbit's period lasts.

Oestrus and Dieoestrus

Though it is possible for the rabbit to get pregnant at all times. The rabbit does go through a period of heat called oestrus, which will last 12 to 14. After this period, the doe will lose interest in mating (i.e dieoestrus), even though this is not considered a rabbit's period, as it's still possible for the buck and doe to breed.

Image: flickr.com

Concerns when breeding

If you are interested in rabbit breeding you should take care of a few aspects:

Only mate rabbits of the same breed.

Check for any diseases with the buck and the doe.

Make sure you know how long a rabbit is pregnant.

Take the doe to the buck’s cage instead of the other way round.

Always keep a record of mating time and dates, kindling and weaning.

For more on Rabbits check out these OneHowTo articles:

  • How to tell if my rabbit is male or female
  • How to look after a pet rabbit

 

If you want to read similar articles to How Long Does A Rabbit Period Last, we recommend you visit our Pets category.