colony questions

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pastelsummer

pastelsummer

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ok what do you actually use for a colony. I do not like my cages i have right now. i want something to put the females in where they are all together but safe from predators and curious children. But also that i can walk into, I have a gravel driveway that is packed down, i was thinking of putting it in a part of there where it is out of the way but easy to get to for chores.
 
you could get a shed and fill with lots of hay.<br /><br />__________ Wed Sep 29, 2010 6:10 pm __________<br /><br />okay, so my last response sucked, so I came back. But really, I think that a shed with hay could be a very economical choice, were you able to get a shed on the cheap. you could have a stool, so you can sit in there, too, and not on ucky hay. If ucky hay bothers you, that is. Boxes, ramps, you could really do a cool setup in there. It's what I want to do.
 
Until I have the time to put wooden walls up to cover the plastic and insulation, my breeding pair are in a pair of REALLY big dog kennels in my garden shed, zap-strapped together so they can run. The shed has electricity, and enough room for 8 bales of hay, a load of willow branches, and a lawn chair for me :)
 
You have choices with the breeding. If the colony is quite large, you can leave the buck in permanently and just let them do their thing. Other people prefer to house the buck separately and take the does to him for conjugal visits. :roll: This does give more control over the breeding, but is a bit more work.
 
I think that would work very well, personally. Seems anything really works well, one person on here had her colony in the back of her pick up truck. Can't remember who it was, though.
 
Depends why you are breeding the rabbits. I can use all the rabbits produced, so I am looking forward to a colony setting for them because I really dislike the hassles of breeding. I'll be glad to let them do their thing on their own time.
 
I keep the buck for my angora colony in a separate pen adjacent to the does. When I want to breed the girls, I put him in with them. There is about an hour of "why are you in HERE!!" from the dominant doe, but then things settle down and they start lavishing him with treats and ear rubs. He stays in with them for about 2 weeks, then I take him out and back into is own section so that he doesn't interfere with the kindling.

As to what to build...If you give them some hidey holes, nest boxes that are more TUNNEL then the normal type of box, you should be just fine. Some kind of covered area for feed. colonies are free fed so they can come and go as they want. There is one LARGE colony that uses hay bales to create a maze for them to go into..rather like a warren above ground. It's covered with plywood and a tarp so it's safe, dry, and warm.

Rabbits can, and will, dig in gravel. They're tough little buggers. Just keep an eye on them to be sure they don't start digging out. You might want to put a layer of fencing around the inside of the perimeter so they don't dig there.

walls...something really safe from predators :) Or put a line of electric wire around the base.
 
i only breed for meat for my family and maybe a few friends if they want it so i dont need alot of babies<br /><br />__________ Mon Oct 04, 2010 7:10 pm __________<br /><br />dh says we can do something like that ourselves we have some old calf hutches and some chicken wire. we have enough to do 2 hutches if we want to lol i may do a small pen for the male babies before we butcher
 
my colony is in the chicken pen, has been for the last 3 years or so? they dug their warren under the coop and it works wonderfully for me, the coop is 8x8 set up on cinder blocks at the top of a slope under several big trees, the rabbits use a cinder block laid on its side in front to get under the coop and have dug and re dug lots of tunnels under there going back up into the hill between the tree roots, they eat with the chickens and just pretty well hang out. the buck stayes in the colony all the time, and the does decide when they want to breed back, normally they take a break at the hottest part of the summer, when i need to harvest some i eather corner them up inside the chicken coop or if they dont want to cooperate i use a .22 to pop them in the head when they are not looking,

the chickens and rabbits basically have a whole grain diet with some pellets mixed in from time to time, also all the weeds and grass and other vegetation they can eat, Kudzu down here is great for both,
 

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