The doe should be placed in the buck's hutch for mating, and not the other way around as the doe will resent the buck and probably attack him.
There is no infallible way of deciding whether a doe is ready for mating, but the signs may include a swollen or enlarged vent, irritability of the doe or the doe rubbing her chin on parts of the hutch or feeding trough, or carrying bedding around.
After mating, the doe should be removed from the buck's hutch and preferably placed in the hutch where she will kindle (give birth).
The doe carries her young for an average of 28-31 days and will make a nest between 2 to 10 days before giving birth. If a nest box is used, and this is an advantage, it should be placed in the doe's hutch a week before kindling.
The doe should be handled carefully when pregnant and should not be disturbed when kindling. During the last half of the pregnancy the does should be very well fed. It is difficult to overfeed at this time. Water should always be available and this is particularly important when the doe kindles.
The day after the young are born the nest should be examined to remove any dead or malformed babies.
The litter should be weaned between six to eight weeks old and the youngsters should be carefully observed over several days before weaning takes place to ensure that they are feeding well. Early weaning should only take place if the rabbit keeper is sure the youngsters are feeding well, and the novice is well advised to leave the youngsters until six weeks.
After 6 weeks the doe should be carefully observed to ensure that she is not chasing the youngsters or nipping at them - this is her natural way of weaning the youngsters and in this event they should be separated before any fighting occurs and to avoid the stress to the youngsters. If possible the youngsters should be left in the hutch in which they are born and the doe removed.
One of the most fertile periods for the doe is within three days of weaning her litter.
Four litters can be obtained from each doe during the year if she is bred immediately after weaning. Unless management and feeding are very good, however, better results will be obtained if only three litters are bred from each doe per year.