Breed Based on Doe Condition

Assess the doe's body condition before each rebreeding rather than following a fixed calendar. Feel along the spine, hips, and ribs: a doe in good breeding condition has a slight fat cover over the bones without feeling overly thin or obese. Only rebreed when she scores 3-3.5 on a 1-5 body condition scale.

Why It Works

Does that are rebred while underweight produce smaller litters, have higher kit mortality, and burn out faster. Condition-based breeding adapts the schedule to each individual doe's recovery rate, extending productive lifespan to 3 or more years for healthy animals.

Tips

• Learn to body-score by palpating the spine and hips; a score of 2 or below means delay rebreeding and increase feed
• Record the doe's condition score at each breeding to track trends over successive litters
• Combine condition assessment with a minimum 4-week post-kindling interval as a baseline