How Do I Get My Rabbits to Mate?

Although the idea of a cage teeming with baby rabbits is not necessarily an attractive one, sometimes you need to mate your rabbits to sell as pets for children or farms. Whatever your reason for needing your rabbits to mate, the process is a relatively uncomplicated one that requires only a bit of trial and error. Observing how they interact with each other will help you figure out which rabbits are best suited for each other. Being well versed in rabbit behavior will help you determine mates for your rabbits all the more easily, and will teach you signs of rabbit aggression and tension.

Things You'll Need

  • Materials for a small rabbit pen (such as chicken wire)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set up "dates" with your rabbits to find out which ones will be a good match. Construct a pen in an area for such dates that neither rabbit has marked as its own. Place only two rabbits in the pen at a time.

    • 2

      Observe the rabbits' behavior. If either rabbit shows signs of aggression, such as raised tails and ears back at a 45-degree angle, separate the rabbits immediately. Dominance, which often comes in the form of one rabbit attempting to mount the other, is normal, though try to gently push one rabbit off the other to avoid the submissive rabbit from getting annoyed. Indifference toward one another is a positive sign; in this case, it means the rabbits are actually communicating and figuring out whether they can trust one another.

    • 3

      Have your rabbits meet a few possible mates, and observe the differences in behavior to determine which rabbits are best suited for each other. For example, when rabbits are a few feet apart but are grooming themselves, eating or lying down/taking naps, they are showing you that they are completely comfortable with one another and do not perceive the other as a threat. Rabbits that dislike each other will fight.

    • 4

      Place rabbit mates in their own cage for mating and bonding purposes.