Is anyone raising rabbits in a colony?

[boskelli1571]

As an update to the outsider rabbits...I have been trying(!) w/o too much success to capture and re-integrate. I am slowly coming to realize this is probably not feasible or wise.
The few that I have managed to catch were all suffering from a bunny inflicted wound which quickly became infected and they died. A couple that I had checked carefully but saw no sign of injury I quarantined and although they had healed superficially it's likely they succumbed to overwhelming infection.
Secondly, the 'tame' rabbits don't in general welcome them back with open arms. They don't fight, but they don't integrate either.
Thoughts anyone?

 

[The Moonshiner]

Your colonies are all does right?
The outsiders are does and bucks? Are they bucks with the injuries or does too?

 

[boskelli1571]

Your colonies are all does right?
The outsiders are does and bucks? Are they bucks with the injuries or does too?

I have does and bucks separated into 2 colonies. I have found both does and buck 'outsiders' with some terrible injuries, frankly I'm surprised some of them are still alive. One outsider buck has all but lost an eye and still continues to fight with others.

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

I have does and bucks separated into 2 colonies. I have found both does and buck 'outsiders' with some terrible injuries, frankly I'm surprised some of them are still alive. One outsider buck has all but lost an eye and still continues to fight with others.

How very sad. I think if it were me I'd try to capture the free-ranging rabbits and then butcher them for the family table. I never asked if you are raising these rabbits purely as pets or whether they are lifestock. I know that wild rabbits in my area have all sorts of predators to deal with and I can't imagine my domestic rabbits thriving for long without the protection of hardware cloth between them and the foxes, coyotes, bobcats, bears, raccoons, hawks and owls that prowl the area.

 

[boskelli1571]

How very sad. I think if it were me I'd try to capture the free-ranging rabbits and then butcher them for the family table. I never asked if you are raising these rabbits purely as pets or whether they are lifestock. I know that wild rabbits in my area have all sorts of predators to deal with and I can't imagine my domestic rabbits thriving for long without the protection of hardware cloth between them and the foxes, coyotes, bobcats, bears, raccoons, hawks and owls that prowl the area.

Yes - we do raise them for meat or pets if someone wants one. That is the general plan - to shoot for the table as Fall rolls around. We are blessed with 2 Beagles that don't chase the white rabbits (!) but do keep predators away.
We have been very fortunate having these dogs, they don't bother with the chickens or rabbits so they have full range around the coops etc. which helps to keep the majority of predators away.
We have had crows move into the area also and they now keep the hawks away - fortune smiles on us

 

[The Moonshiner]

I have does and bucks separated into 2 colonies. I have found both does and buck 'outsiders' with some terrible injuries, frankly I'm surprised some of them are still alive. One outsider buck has all but lost an eye and still continues to fight with others.

They're truly free right? Plenty of room to get away from each other? Places to hide , lots of cover? I'm sure food is not an issue.
We have a couple that stay away from everyone. They moved to a different part of the property. The girls move all over. The boys seem to have territories but they overlap and at dusk I can usually see 3 or 4 bucks all eating together. At this point it seems the boys hang out together but the girls not so much.
I can't tell you the last time I've seen or heard a fight and haven't seen any injuries.
I have noticed some that have went awol but there's always predators around and they are outside all fences a lot of time.

 

[boskelli1571]

They're truly free right? Plenty of room to get away from each other? Places to hide , lots of cover? I'm sure food is not an issue.
We have a couple that stay away from everyone. They moved to a different part of the property. The girls move all over. The boys seem to have territories but they overlap and at dusk I can usually see 3 or 4 bucks all eating together. At this point it seems the boys hang out together but the girls not so much.
I can't tell you the last time I've seen or heard a fight and haven't seen any injuries.
I have noticed some that have went awol but there's always predators around and they are outside all fences a lot of time.

Yep - they have grass lawn, woods, trails - total 15 acres, but they all seem to hang out near the livestock and human housing, very few are totally adventurous. They do 'get together' in the evenings and mornings and seem to be ok.
I really don't have to integrate them back in, I guess I'm being OCD over keeping 'my rabbits in a row'

 

[bernie131]

An update on my rabbit colony. I came out one Friday morning 5 weeks ago and thought to myself: "Wow, when did my little buff female get so big?" and then realized "Wait! That is my big buff male! How did he get in there?" He had escaped the bachelor apartment and was in with the females. I put him back in his hutch not knowing whether he'd been loose for 5 minutes or 9 hours. 31 days later I had three does kindle, #1 with ll kits, #2 with 10 and #3 with 7. The first one kindled her litter right where I wanted her to in the little next box burrow I had opened for her several days before. #2 and #3 I had moved into individual cages in the garage because I didn't want my first experience with colony litters happening all at once.

At the 7 day mark all litters are doing well. I took one kit from the mom with 11 and gave it to the one with 7 and so far have had no losses. I can't say I wanted all these babies at once, but I've learned several things. First of all, that 1) Mr. Buff Buck is a determined fellow, because he broke out two nights after the first time and I had to completely change the type of latch on his hutch, and t) Mr. Buff Buck is fertile and has a winning personality with the ladies, and 3) that the colony seems to be a happy, healthy place.

i raised 22 rabbits from 2 diffetent families for 9 yrs

 

[Hummingbird Hollow]

Perhaps I should start a new thread, but thought I'd try here first.

My colony situation has been working pretty well. I do have a new issue right now and I could use some advice.

I just came home from a 19 day vacation leaving all my rabbits, chickens etc. in the care of my adult son. I currently have three females together in the colony pen shown above who get along nicely and four females in my turkey grow-out coop, who also get along nicely. My two males are each in generous bachelor quarters.

Two of my does raised successful litters in the colony this summer/fall, using the nest box/burrows I had set up for that purpose. When the kits were starting to emerge and use the entire colony space I put several smaller hiding places out for them, including a big kitchen drawer which I had cut two small round "windows" and a small door and drilled a few air holes in before placing upside-down in the colony space.

Upon returning from vacation and checking my animals yesterday I noticed with alarm that the drawer had been mostly buried and the openings plugged. I lifted one end and saw the tell-tale mound of rabbit fur and low and behold, 5 bunnies, maybe 10 days old, eyes just starting to open plus off the side one dead one that was much smaller. At first I was completely baffled but then I realized that about 2 or 3 weeks before I left for vacation I had removed the last litter from the colony and probably waited a day or two too late and one of the juveniles had managed to mate with one of the adults.

Temperatures have been as high as 55F during the time I've been gone with lows in the low 20s and the kits seem to be doing fine. However, late this week it is supposed to drop into the single digits overnight, with -2F predicted for one night. I worry that this is way to cold for such young kits, particularly as they start moving around more in the week ahead.

I went out today planning on moving the kits into a nesting box and bringing them and the mother into a cage in the garage, but I couldn't figure out which doe was the mom. I held each on my lap on her back and checked her belly and didn't see any obvious signs that she was nursing.

What do you recommend? I suppose if it comes down to it, I could put together two over-sized wire dog crates in the garage, line the sides with hardware cloth and create a maybe 3'X8' mini-colony an move all three does in together with the kits. It would be harder to keep the cages clean than a rabbit cage with a wire floor, but I'd be willing to do daily poop-scooping.

Advice?

 

[boskelli1571]

Perhaps I should start a new thread, but thought I'd try here first.

My colony situation has been working pretty well. I do have a new issue right now and I could use some advice.

I just came home from a 19 day vacation leaving all my rabbits, chickens etc. in the care of my adult son. I currently have three females together in the colony pen shown above who get along nicely and four females in my turkey grow-out coop, who also get along nicely. My two males are each in generous bachelor quarters.

Two of my does raised successful litters in the colony this summer/fall, using the nest box/burrows I had set up for that purpose. When the kits were starting to emerge and use the entire colony space I put several smaller hiding places out for them, including a big kitchen drawer which I had cut two small round "windows" and a small door and drilled a few air holes in before placing upside-down in the colony space.

Upon returning from vacation and checking my animals yesterday I noticed with alarm that the drawer had been mostly buried and the openings plugged. I lifted one end and saw the tell-tale mound of rabbit fur and low and behold, 5 bunnies, maybe 10 days old, eyes just starting to open plus off the side one dead one that was much smaller. At first I was completely baffled but then I realized that about 2 or 3 weeks before I left for vacation I had removed the last litter from the colony and probably waited a day or two too late and one of the juveniles had managed to mate with one of the adults.

Temperatures have been as high as 55F during the time I've been gone with lows in the low 20s and the kits seem to be doing fine. However, late this week it is supposed to drop into the single digits overnight, with -2F predicted for one night. I worry that this is way to cold for such young kits, particularly as they start moving around more in the week ahead.

I went out today planning on moving the kits into a nesting box and bringing them and the mother into a cage in the garage, but I couldn't figure out which doe was the mom. I held each on my lap on her back and checked her belly and didn't see any obvious signs that she was nursing.

What do you recommend? I suppose if it comes down to it, I could put together two over-sized wire dog crates in the garage, line the sides with hardware cloth and create a maybe 3'X8' mini-colony an move all three does in together with the kits. It would be harder to keep the cages clean than a rabbit cage with a wire floor, but I'd be willing to do daily poop-scooping.

Advice?

If your colony housing is warm and dry and the kits are under extra cover, I would simply add more straw/bedding so they can have added warmth. I currently have some little one - not as young as yours and they do fine. I doubt they will move around too much if it's bitterly cold, although you may have one or two that hung on to the milk bar for too long, so keep an eye open for that.
I do like your idea of the dog crates though - but some might warn against moving them in case the doe rejects them.
Kits this time of year are slow to grow too, so you may have them inside for longer than anticipated.
Good luck and we want pictures