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Azorean Steve

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so i reached into my bucks cage and the next thing i know is im getting pee'd on! impressed with his aim i go to rub his head to let him know its ok, he nips me. this is the first time hes ever done anything like this. he always greets me at the door of his cage looking for a head rub. never has he been aggressive. he's almost 6 months old, could this be hormones? now im going to take a shower......thank you
 
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
This had me laughing out loud here in the office.....good thing I'm by myself right now.

The boyos are so .... funny.... That being said, I have my buck cages right beside the doe's... there is 1/2 foot between, but the guys get to see and smell the girls everyday.... I am likely overdue for a soaking now that the heat has broken. (thanks for the reminder to put a spare work outfit in the car from now on)

lol :runaround:
 
It's been almost a weeks since the "Incident" and he's been his old self. I just found it very odd that he acted aggressive. one of the girls hutches is right beside his but divided by a solid wall but i'm sure he gets a whiff of her every now & then. She's 6 months old and just shy of 9 pounds, so i'm not sure if she's still too young to be bred. they are all Silver Fox rabbits, the breeder told me to wait till 8 months or 8 lbs. i think i'll be better off waiting till 8 months or maybe even till early next spring when she'll be approx 11 months. will waiting that long have any negative affect on the buck or doe? or would most breed them by now?

Thank you,
Stevin
 
All of the above responses are interesting and some quite humorous.
BUT.... I want to offer a word to the wise, and a word of caution.
You ''cannot'' have an aggressive buck and be able to enjoyably
raise rabbits. You'll be in contact more with your buck than any
other single rabbit in your herd. He's gotta 'play' nice or you're
in for some long days.

Temperament is an inheritable trait... trust me on this. Of
course rabbits can be teased and made mean, but that's not
an issue with responsible caretakers. Aggressiveness is passed
from one generation to the next and it's not fun feeding a roomful
of alligator's. An aggressive or 'mean' rabbit can seriously hurt
someone. And that someone may well be an unknowing child.

I've dealt with them... and eliminated them... one by one.
IF... one shows a tendency to be disposed that way, they're
not long to stay in my cages. I've got a snake-train coming
through every month or so.. and I'll buy 'em a ticket.. One-Way.

Not counting the 8 replacement does and 3 new bucks in the herd,
all of my old stock have good to excellent manners. I have zero
tolerance for misbehaving. I'm too old and have little to no patience
for such nonsense. Hopefully, your boy just had an off-day.

Best of luck.

Grumpy.

I saw your question on 'how-long' before breeding.
I've got commercial NZW's... The does get bred @ 5months. Waiting too
long to breed one, allows internal fat to build around their ovaries. That
ain't good... and they may ''never'' take because of it. You want a Junior to
grow....without getting too fat... I cut my young adults back to 4 ounces of
feed per day at 4 months of age.
 
Thanks Grumpy! great advice....

you're absolutely right on temperament. i do not put up with any aggressive roosters when it comes to my chickens and i don't plan on keeping any a-hole rabbits. i will however give him the benefit of the doubt and hope like you said after almost 6 months i got him on a off-day.

one question, when you say 4 ounces are you referring to weight or volume?
 
I use 4 ounces as a standard to feed by... each rabbit is a shade different than their neighbor.
I measure by weight... 4 ounces.... and once that amount is ready.. I use an empty tuna
can to hold that amount. Which 'slightly' heaping.. NOT MUCH... but a little bit.
A 'heaping' can is a shade over 4.5 ounces 'which' some of my does actually need to thrive.

You'll quickly learn those does that do need that extra little bit.. While others can get 'fat'
on it. DON'T feel sorry for them... they are the worlds ''Greatest" beggars.

grumpy
 
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