introducing does

I have 3 does I want to put together in a colony when we get done sterilizing and modifying the former chicken coop. I have a 4 month old-Yukiko, 6month old-Amako, and 18month old-Twix. The last 2 possibly pregnant. Today while cleaning all cages and rabbit supplies I tried letting them loose together on the 6x12' enclosed porch with supervision. Twix and Yukiko got along just fine. They were exploring together when I put Amako on the floor. She immediately took center stage and seemed to get on the nerves of the older doe who tried to mount her. Amako got rather upset about that and suddenly there were rabbits bouncing everywhere trying to mount each other and avoid being mounted while I watched for any real aggression. Yukiko really just wanted to be out of the way but the others kept trying to prove their dominance to each other and mounted her as well. For awhile it looked like things might settle down but for some reason they got worked up again. Twix and Amako circled until Twix pulled her to the ground. There were minimal noises and thumps (mostly from Yukiko as she tried to hide or jumped over the others to get away) with no blood shed and only a possible missing tuft of fur but I decided that was enough and immediately threw a towel over them and scooped up Amako. I put her in a cage on the floor of the porch and went to finish spraying down cages while Twix and Yukiko continued exploring together with a few lingering thumps from Yukiko.

So how do you get does together for a colony and at what point do you separate during introductions? I know not everyone that has a colony started with all young does or siblings and many people detailing their colony setup mentions adding and removing does of various ages. The only info I can find about introducing them though is for caged or house rabbits which mostly just starts with "spay your rabbit". I'm thinking part of it may be bad timing. Amako has always had plenty of attitude but has been extra bratty the past month and Twix is due to kindle on Thursday. Should I introduce them one at a time or all together once the building is ready? I'm also debating switching Amako and Yukiko since currently Twix and Yukiko are in a divided cage with only wire separating them while Amako is in a nearby 2x2' cage. With Twix and Amako being the most difficult ones right now I'm hoping that would help.

my suggestion... put them all in together at the same time and provide a TON of hidey holes. LIKE WAY more than they really need. This gives everyone a chance to hide and get away and just stop. Not just hidey holes but things to jump over, crawl under, bound past and so forth. add a few tree branches that make for natural breaks.

I haven't done colonies. But when I started with rabbits I put strange adult does in together all the time...but made sure I put hidey holes in with them. Found it worked with a buck pair as well.

I wouldn't put them in a colony until the kits are weaned myself. Pregnancy hormones may be playing a role here. What I would do is to put Akako's cage right next to Twix for the time being, so they can get acquainted through the wire.

Lots of hidey-holes is a great idea, but I'd be inclined to put the least dominant doe into the colony first. I think that may give her a territorial edge and the others may not give her such a rough time. Another way to approach it is to divide the colony temporarily and let the does each have an area that is theirs. When the dividers come down, the territories should remain in the does' minds at least for a time. Aggression "should" be less when a doe retreats to her "own" area.

Let me finish by saying that while I have housed does together in a colony over a couple of winters, the does were mother and grown daughters. There was some chasing etc. while momma established her position, but no real aggression. So I'm not sure my situation was typical.

Sometimes you'll meet a rabbit who simply refuses to get along with another ... my Pongo HATED other rabbits .. and Popple is also proving impossible to buddy up

that said in my modified set up 9 rabbits are out together in the day time here and then in hutches overnight ... they were originally quite funny about making sure the same sets went to bed together - Daisy, Joy, Qtip, Dustbunny, one black baby in one
The Mrs, Tegan, Niobe and one black baby in another

now Puff has moved into alternate accomodation so a thrid hutch has opened up - the bunnies are swapping roomies like there is no tomorrow - quite funny to see

I always try to give the rabbits a chance to meet through wire and start bonding ... even to the point of setting up a corner of a colony (usually made of a neat idea cube wall sip tied together) so they have their own space
lots of bolt holes are always a great idea - shelves and toys are nice distractions too as is lots of fresh food and hay

preganancy could be adding to the issues - but sometimes raising baby rabbits is a greta communal activity for rabbits who hardly knew each other ... so the timing is tough - nothing is perfect without a workign crystal ball

I am new to colonizing rabbits but this post has made me think of what I would do in this situation (which I'm sure will come up at some point).

I'm going to set up a couple 'Guest Rooms' in my colony. It will be an area that is separately fenced off from the rest of the colony but will share some of the fence line so that the rabbits can meet safely through the fence:



These 'rooms' will have fencing along the bottom so they can't dig but will have shelters for them.

great depiction of exactly what I meant

some rabbits will fence fight (dear Popple has quite the scarred nose - twerp!) so watch them anyhow of course .. but the fence does help everbunny make friends at their own rate

So far separating rabbits by fence/cage wire for awhile ahead of time makes no difference. They still either get along or they don't to the same degree after they've been housed next to each other as before. Hiding places only make a slight difference. Obstacles actually make things worse. They'll have a scuffle, get on opposite sides, forget about each other, and then seem to suddenly remember another rabbit was there and start in even worse than if they just kept staring at each other from across the pen. I'm thinking the trick is to add several rabbits at once. I've had little problems when adding a doe and several kits or several does at once but no luck adding 1 doe to the group. The top rabbit of the group in several different combinations of rabbits refused to let off all day every time she saw the other rabbit irregardless of pen design or keeping the new rabbit in a cage on the floor of the colony. Eventually tufts of fur start getting pulled and I separate them only to have it work later when I have multiple rabbits to add at the same time.

I've had some pretty aggressive top does that really asserted their dominance and made some fur fly on introduction, but it ALWAYS has sorted itself out with no real injuries to speak of. Not even any breaking of the skin, just tufts of hair pulled. When I just let things go as they will with the girls, without fail it sorts itself out. I have tried this with multiple combos over the last year, introducing new does in established colonies, introducing different caged rabbits together into a new colony, etc. It seems scary, but it is NEVER like what happens on the occasion that I had two bucks inadvertently in the same space. When you see what true aggression is like (as in bucks) you realize that the girls are just establishing a pecking order, not out for blood. I feel like this has been the case regardless of the status of the girls, pregnancy wise. With top does, they will assert themselves pregnant or not, regardless of their familiarity with their surroundings, and impervious to hidey holes and other animals in the vicinity.

I house my rabbits in separate cages,
I do not colonize but I agree with Rachel.
The rabbits, any rabbits tossed together
in the same close confined area will have a few
confrontations while getting the pecking order established.
You might do better allowing a bit more time for them to
get themselves settled. Of course this would require
intense attention to the goings on.
I hope you can get it all worked out to the satisfaction of each involved.
Ottersatin.

When I was talking to my husband about it I was comparing it to introducing 2 horses. They'll kick at each other as close as possible playing chicken and occasionally scraping each other's skin with teeth but eventually someone decides they aren't good enough at playing this game and it all stops with no more than a bit of skin lost. I'm not sure how far some of the rabbits will take it though and I wonder if caged rabbits have the same problems as overly stalled horses. If a horse didn't grow up with other horses they do not know when they have won or lost and just get beat up or beat everyone else up. I also cannot watch them all day to see what happens.

I plan to try again after this doe has kits since she's way too close to her due date for being stressed by the current top doe. I might try putting her and demon rabbit back in the colony at the same time but demon rabbit was removed for non stop harassment of the other mini rex instead of just starting fights. She picks on anyone smaller than her and keeps them from food or warm sleeping areas. The other does may have arguments but once the argument is over no one is kept from eating, drinking, or shelter. Now that there are more rabbits in the colony and Raz has gotten big enough to defend herself everyone might keep demon rabbit in her place this time. Raz actually stopped the biggest d'argent doe from pushing in to the straw pile she was sleeping in.