Mixing litters of juvenilles?

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cereshill

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I have a batch of three that are a month and need to be weaned as I accidentally rebred momma. I also have an orphan/sole survivor that is slightly larger at 9 weeks. All females--ok to mix in a cage?

thx
 
Have they been near each other at all? I'm no expert on rabbits, but maybe a day of being in the cage together, but with a divider of wire between them? so they get used to each other.

I'd probably put in a box that the little guys could get in to...so they could have a hidey hole to get away from the big guy. Although the bigger one may welcome the company :)

oh..and welcome to the FORUM!!
 
I wouldn't pull the month old babies til the last minute .. but yes I would say if there is enough space they could live together - let them meet through wire first then if possible put them all into neutral territory with lots of things to do and places to hide

watch (of course) but I'm betting all will be ok
 
It should be okay... but there is quite an age gap. If you let the younger ones have possession before adding the one older one, that should help even the playing field. Letting them get acquainted through the wire is a good idea, if you can swing it. :) Nice to see you over here, CH!
 
four week old kits with one 9 week old kit?

I'd put them all in a new cage all at the same time and give them a whack of hay as soon as they are all in. Give them a box to play with and they'll be fine. four week old kits will do the "i'm submissive" thing and the older one will chill out.
 
I put one in; the older one has chased a little. the younger is submissive; I may add another tomm too. I want the doe to have some time to rest as she is due in 2 weeks; mistakenly rebred after a night out (claude looked lonely so I gave in...)
 
cereshill - how many popples do you have now?
you have expanded so fast :) it's amazing ...

have you processed any of your fryers yet? or found a market?
 
Brody,
We have a market and have processed since Sept. (irregularly). After taking 30 minutes with the first, I have it down to about 10 per bun.

I have three potential restaurants, hence I am working hard at feed and breeding regimen; our pricing is quite attractive as well.

BTW, the mixed group is doing very well--they settled in and eat and seem to live harmoniously.

__________ Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:41 pm __________

oh--bunny count:
4 bucks
25 does
14 juvenilles
19 popples

and four due this week...
oh, 4 more are bred for Jan deliveries...

Crazy eh?

don't even ask about the ducks, chickens, turkeys or geese.<br /><br />__________ Sat Jan 02, 2010 8:48 pm __________<br /><br />BTW, I have found Craigslist to be fantastic for cages; I am averaging $15 per cage. I don't need pans as the ducks eat the droppings and spilled feed...
 
The steepest learning curve has been muscovy's in winter.... and keeping weaner pigs in their electric fence paddock.

Rabbits are much easier, they have their own challenges though. Again, my goal is to get to around 50-75 breeding does by end of Summer to hit autumn market. I am hoping for around 500 fryers this autumn.
 
wow - how many of you are staffing all that?
I thought you lived off farm? do you have an on site person?
 
I should add that over the past week, the group has acted more like a mob when feeding.

I get total cleanup of feed--little wasted--all hay is mowed down and they are growing quickly.

Lessons: wean closer to 4/5 weeks and use a slightly smaller growout cage than they were born in. Does are in 3x3 wire--growout is 18"x30". I am keeping around 7-8 in this size--any more and they could fight.
They are docile and focused on eating and growing. Also, they huddle together for warmth and comfort consistantly--a good sign for me. As long as there is plenty of feed/water/hay, I believe that the animals will not get anxious and territorial. I tried this is a larger cage before and frankly, many ambled around and weren't as focused on eating etc.

Granted this may seem small, but I am after buns/juvenilles that are able to eat/convert feed and grow. Half are going to a buyer tomm (live!) at a good price $20 ea---and it saves me further growout and I don't have to butcher either (yay)<br /><br />__________ Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:56 am __________<br /><br />correction cage is 3' by 2'.
 
cereshill":ig9slxqx said:
I should add that over the past week, the group has acted more like a mob when feeding.

I get total cleanup of feed--little wasted--all hay is mowed down and they are growing quickly.

Lessons: wean closer to 4/5 weeks and use a slightly smaller growout cage than they were born in. Does are in 3x3 wire--growout is 18"x30". I am keeping around 7-8 in this size--any more and they could fight.
They are docile and focused on eating and growing. Also, they huddle together for warmth and comfort consistantly--a good sign for me. As long as there is plenty of feed/water/hay, I believe that the animals will not get anxious and territorial. I tried this is a larger cage before and frankly, many ambled around and weren't as focused on eating etc.

Granted this may seem small, but I am after buns/juvenilles that are able to eat/convert feed and grow. Half are going to a buyer tomm (live!) at a good price $20 ea---and it saves me further growout and I don't have to butcher either (yay)

__________ Wed Jan 06, 2010 9:56 am __________

correction cage is 3' by 2'.
Click to expand...

If this is working for you, that is good... but it has not been my experience. I don't think it is a good idea to draw such large conclusions from such a small sample.
 
confinement farming isn't my style .. so it wouldn't work for me - period
 
Hi Brody,
I would want to be argumentative, but a couple thoughts:

Rabbits are totally confined. All this really is, is a small grow out cage.
What I am witnessing is akin to "mob grazing" for rabbits. Joel Salatin uses this for many of his animals and it can be highly effective in raising them.

All the buns are happy, closely related and were previously caged nest to each other with dams. So, I can see you interpretation, but don't necessary agree with your conclusion.
respectfully,
CH
 
I don't want to argue either - but I don't mind discussing ...
my rabbits aren't confined in anything typical of a rabbit cage size .. the smallest pen they have is 2 feet by 3 feet (and that's for the paralysed rabbit)
more typical is 5 by 5 or 2 by 6

I also don't breed or raise rabbits for meat though - so we can agree to disagree I'm sure ;)
 

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