I am getting a communal rabbit hutch!!

[FrChuckW]

Everyone, let's keep the discussion civil and on an adult level. If you are unfamiliar with the rules about posting comments on the forums please read them, they are posted. Otherwise the moderators will be forced to lock this thread.

I am just getting back into breeding rabbits, I have one buck and one doe at the moment. I have housed them seperately after one week of being together. My doe kindled a week ago last Thursday, 5 kits, unfortunately one died after 1 week. The rest are doing great.

I will have to build some more hutches it seems though, but I still have about 6 weeks to go before weaning the kits.

 

[warmfuzzies]

I guess there are probably a lot of people romantisizing rabbits. It always bugs me when people do it about chickens too.

I think the does would need places to hide, because, well, they are rabbits, and they live in holes in the ground, so, yeah, they probably appreciate somewhere to hide. I cant think that living in an all-wire cage with no privacy is that healthy for them either.

I am sure there is the possability of abuse, actually I would call it fighting.

THat is why you would take precaustions, watch them, etc.

I have plans for tired does, sick ones, etc. And I am not saying it will work! I just have heard that some other countries do it a lot, it is normal for them. I will try it, and if it does not seem to be working, I will go to the trouble to divide the building up into cages.

But I think it is something that should be looked into more then it is, as a viable option. I think it is always worth considering alternatives to tradition. You never know what you might learn!

And I might learn I am all wet, but we will see! DH always says I overthink things, so I am working on just relaxing and letting things be what they are.

 

[realmofthewoodsranch]

I have mine separate, however I HAVE tried the "communal" method. I ran into the problem of the buck not breeding the doe because they were housed together for so long. As soon as I separated them, he was interested in breeding again, and did so with gusto! In the entire time they lived together, he never tried to breed her and she never had a litter. After they were separated, they had two litters together. I have noticed that in housing them separately that the does seem much happier, but the bucks are a whole lot unhappier. So to be fair, both methods have their ups and downs, both methods have the potential to be "cruel and inhumane" depending on which gender you are referring to, but both have their positive aspects, too. In a communal colony, rabbits get to socialize and play with other rabbits, they are able to choose their mates, and the babies are raised in a "family" environment. In a separated colony, the does are not constantly pestered by the bucks, the babies get tons of one on one time with humans and their mom, and the rabbits get plenty of human interaction.
I say, to each their own.
Rabbits are pets to some, and livestock to others, and both to quite a few more.
One person's definition of "cruel" is different from another's and that's where the trouble begins. I've always objected to the term "inhumane" as it tend to lend itself to projecting human feelings and emotions onto our animals. Yes animals have feelings and emotions, but they are not ours and therefore not "humane" emotions, but rather "animale" emotions.
Not to rant, but that's my stance on it.
Hope no one gets offended by this, I am not trying to hurt anyone's feelings here.
To the original poster, good luck, and much bunny love to you!

 

[RabbitMage]

I can promise you that they do just fine in all-wire cages. We've been keeping ours this way for...geez, nine years now. Very very few issues.

 

[mekasmom]

Actually, I have done this for years. You do have inbreeding, but if they are a food source, it doesn't matter. The does do not fight unless they have nests too close together, but even then it is a spat, not a life/death battle. Angry does will hunch back on their back legs and slap another rabbit and make a hiss-type noise. Bucks do not fight. I have NEVER had one fight to the point of drawing blood. It just doesn't happen. And I have done this off and on for many, many years.

Every fall you cull (put in the freezer) all but a few does and a buck. By spring you have dozens, so you cull again. I usually supply boy bunnies to a bunch of neighborhood kids in the spring, and keep the doelings for production. After a doe produces for a few litters, she goes to the salebarn or in the freezer. They get tougher as they are older, so many times I sell them when they are a year old or so rather than cooking them. You do need to thin the colony several times a year.

I keep a few bales of straw stacked around the floor and about 10-12 nestboxes for them. A fresh supply of hay is constant. And you do have to clean the floor often. I rake out the center of the floor at least weekly, and do a thorough cleaning whenever I thin the colony.

I have kept them both in hutches and the colony. Rabbits like colonies better. They enjoy hopping and hiding. They are happier in the colony. They have more room to run, more grazing and looking around. They are very friendly in a colony because they all rush out to see you because you are the food lady who gives them pellets and treats.

They do become a food source in the majority of cases. They are not pets- they are livestock. If that is offensive to some, then rabbit breeding is probably not the best choice of hobby for them. Same with chicken breeding. If food having a face offends people then they shouldn't breed them.

The one thing that is hard in a colony is trying not to step on them. Whenever I go out they all rush out to see what I have for them. They sit at your feet, even put their front legs on you to reach up to you. I had one doe who was a terrible shoe chewer, so you have to watch your feet. You have to scoot not pick up your feet and walk because they swarm you so badly. It wouldn't be so much if I didn't hand feed them treats so often, but I do. They like that and come running when I come to see them 3-4 times a day. I honestly think a rabbit colony is the very best way to raise them. They are much happier than hutches, and I have done it both ways for many decades.

 

[warmfuzzies]

Thank you! It was encouraging to see a positive side to this! I was begining to think I was crazy! I am actually very excited about this.

I am going to make two or three levels with hardware cloths, and the floor will also be wire, raised off the ground about a foot for easy cleaning out. We will put in ramps, nest boxes hiding spots.

The front is completely open right now, so I am planning to make it wire with several very large doors, so we can reach all the way in, and then have a old rug hanging over the front for cold weather.

I will make the big hutch I have the bucks in right now, into an outdoor run, where they can get some sunshine.

Sound like a bunny condo to you?

 

[mekasmom]

I also need to add that they don't have babies every month. Don't plan on that many babies unless you add more does. Usually it is every other month. They just don't seem to breed any closer than that. Perhaps it is due to nursing the babies that keeps them from ovulating? What ever the reason, don't plan on getting a litter every month from a Mama Rabbit. The does have about 5litters a year, sometimes six.
I have a building with a concrete floor, and in the winter I keep a couple of heatlamps about 3ft off the floor for them to stay warmer. In summer, I give them ice cubes and a fan. The bunnies leave Mom at about 3-4wks to venture into the world on their own and the does seem to rebreed about that time too. They bunnies actually tend to congregate around a buck and lay next to him in piles. You will find in the winter they all lay in piles under the heat lamps.