Rabbit Colony...? and pregnancy question

What is a rabbit colony? Is it when your rabbits don't live in cages but with eachother?
If so then I guess I have a mini colony... I only have 4 does and 2 bucks. It will be 1 buck soon but first I have to figure out of one of my does is pregnant. So I went to a show last Saturday (23rd) near me and got a chinchilla mini rex doe (4 months old), a frost pearl holland lop buck (9 weeks old), and a black otter Netherland Dwarf buck (2 years old). I have 3 other 11 week old does. I noticed that the dwarf stays around the mini rex a lot, I haven't seen any mating though. I want him to mate with her but I'm not sure if he has yet. She spends a lot of her time in a nest box, that's only when I am around though.
She is not as nice as my other rabbits who are very social and sweet. In fact today she tried biting me a few times to get out of my lap and when she runs back to the nest box she always thumps her foot. She seemed super nice at the show though.. Is moody behavior a sign of pregnancy?
Also my holland lop buck is being picked on, I'm not sure who but I would guess the moody mini rex or the dwarf buck. He stays out of the dwarf's way more than the mini rex so I'll lean more towards him. He already has a home with 2 does he is familiar with but first I need to know if he got the mini rex pregnant.. Last question, the dwarf does not hump constantly or seems interested in mating that much, even though I was warned by another rabbit owner that bucks are very horny and need to be kept separate from the does. Is that true or is it normal for rabbits to lead normal lives with out constantly mating?

He stays out of the dwarf's way more than the mini rex so I'll lean more towards him.

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you should NEVER keep two adult males togeather in the same cage, no matter how big that cage is. The more dominant male will attack the submissive one and can do serious damage, often they try and castrate each other and a wound on the scrotum can easily spread internally creating a puss filled abdomen and a slow painful death - several of our members have experienced this tragedy.

Is that true or is it normal for rabbits to lead normal lives with out constantly mating?

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Yes this is true, especially in a colony setting since the rabbits will not have pent up sexual tension and can perform normal courtship behaviour like mutual grooming. The reason to keep bucks away from does is so the poor girls are not pregnant non stop. Having a litter of kits every month is very taxing on the body and your does will start to get skinny, loose muscle mass and not live as long. Plus you have to find homes for all theses baby rabbits, unless you plan to euthanize them.

Dood":3aa86ais said:

He stays out of the dwarf's way more than the mini rex so I'll lean more towards him.

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you should NEVER keep two adult males togeather in the same cage, no matter how big that cage is. The more dominant male will attack the submissive one and can do serious damage, often they try and castrate each other and a wound on the scrotum can easily spread internally creating a puss filled abdomen and a slow painful death - several of our members have experienced this tragedy.

Is that true or is it normal for rabbits to lead normal lives with out constantly mating?

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Yes this is true, especially in a colony setting since the rabbits will not have pent up sexual tension and can perform normal courtship behaviour like mutual grooming. The reason to keep bucks away from does is so the poor girls are not pregnant non stop. Having a litter of kits every month is very taxing on the body and your does will start to get skinny, loose muscle mass and not live as long. Plus you have to find homes for all theses baby rabbits, unless you plan to euthanize them.

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The older buck is already separated. I found fur early this morning so off he went, he is staying with a trio of japanese bantams They get along with eachother.
I see. Well the does won't be pregnant all the time, once the holland lop becomes sexually mature I will have controlled breeding. Any babies will not be euthanized or killed, I am against selling rabbits for snake food. Yuck.<br /><br />__________ Wed Nov 27, 2013 10:34 am __________<br /><br />Except the fur was gray fur, which I found odd, as the dwarf doesn't have any gray fur, but he's with the chickens anyways.

Yes, it's when they live in a group. Does and bucks or just does. (I prefer to keep the buck separate and control breeding)
Yep, you have yourself a colony-set up Wether it's a good colony or a bad one depends on how it's cared for. Are they going along well?
She might be biting because she's getting into her "teens", because she wants to be bred or because she just has that temper. It could be a pregnancy as well. She is rather young to be mated, it doesn't necessarily have to be bad (I read some experience that young does do better their first time) but it may be that she doesn't lift or ''get it'' yet. Wait a month after separating the buck and check her vent for readyness if she hasn't had kits yet by that time.



I've found my does only deliver babies 2 weeks after I remove the buck, if the buck has been in there for a few months. And this is despite that I see them mate and fall off regularily.. I do think the does are able to re-absorb kits. (since they deliver 2 weeks after the buck is removed, they must be 2 weeks pregnant already then.. and absorbing seems more realistic than that they are fortune tellers and know weeks before that I'm going to take him away). That being said, this can be because of the winter season as well, rather than depending on the does condition. They would probably keep the kits if it was spring, buck or not. And once started maybe they jusy continue and loose condition.. But tis far I have had no success as long as the buck stays with them, but got nice litters with him out of the colony. I still advice to keep the bucks separated from the does as the rule, and with the does as the exception once in a while. To spare the does. Never with the does unless you want kits, of course.

Separating the bucks from each other was a good idea.

I don't mean to be blunt, but I get the feeling you could benefit from reading a bit more about colony raising. Pros, cons and so forth..? Here are lots of threads with good ideas and advice (and of course it's great to start new ones as questions arises, as in this thread). Not that I see anything wrong with your questions, I just get the feeling that some parts of the rabbit puzzle could be better filled in with a bit of reading and research, maybe it can spare you a few mistakes in the future. It's not like we don't all make enough mistakes anyhow! :lol: I sure made my share.
Maybe I'm misinterpreting your way of writing though.

Do tell us about your set-up and show pictures of your rabbits! What are you breeding for? Pet, show..?

Moochie":16jx9of5 said:

... Any babies will not be euthanized or killed, I am against selling rabbits for snake food. Yuck.

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I do not breed rabbits; I have (so far...) one pet rabbit whose function is "Garden Assistant."

From what I've read on RabbitTalk the past few months, very few (if any?) RT participants breed rabbits *specifically* to be food for snakes or reptiles. What I've understood from reading the forum is that this is more a service the reptile owners/dealers provide for rabbit keepers when baby rabbits die untimely deaths or must be euthanized due to unsurvivable health defects. Rather than a complete waste of the baby rabbit's (short) life, s/he serves another purpose.

once the holland lop becomes sexually mature I will have controlled breeding

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males can mature surprisingly fast. I had a 14 week old Mini Lop get his mother pregnant, thankfully none of his sisters. I would be separating him from your 4 females sooner rather than later and just keep him with the one you want bred.

Moochie":2b69hkcr said:

Any babies will not be euthanized or killed, I am against selling rabbits for snake food. Yuck.

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I understand this sentiment, but I feel compelled to say...there will come a day when you have to euthanize a rabbit, whether a kit or a grown one. Whether it's due to illness, injury, or some other reason, it WILL happen. Better that you accept that fact up front, before you are faced with it.

I am curious as to the purpose of your breeding program- pets? Meat? I am guessing pets. If I am right, and you are breeding mixed breed rabbits, which aren't always sought after, what is going to happen to those rabbits that don't sell?

I am not trying to be harsh, or dissuade you from the wonderful rabbit life, but just curious about your thought processes in this.

DogCatMom":2u1ibdyt said:

From what I've read on RabbitTalk the past few months, very few (if any?) RT participants breed rabbits *specifically* to be food for snakes or reptiles. What I've understood from reading the forum is that this is more a service the reptile owners/dealers provide for rabbit keepers when baby rabbits die untimely deaths or must be euthanized due to unsurvivable health defects. Rather than a complete waste of the baby rabbit's (short) life, s/he serves another purpose.

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I fit this topic. I got back into rabbits accidently this summer.
I have some purebred rabbits, and some mutts. I did not want to
part with the 5 mutt does, and I finally decided, that I would keep them
and let them be mommies. Their babies will hopefully go out as pets,
and any leftover ones, will be headed for snake food to my one buyer.
Those dollars will help with the cost of rabbit food.

I can't keep rabbits for pets. They have to be breeding working animals.
My purebred babies will be sold as breeding animals, or as pets.
A few purebred babies that I like real well will be raised for breeders
to increase my numbers. I have one litter currently of mutts. Two of the
mutt does are bred. My pure NZW doe is also bred but her babies will also
be mutts as I do not have a buck to match her yet. Her next litter will
be bred to my young Californian buck as he will then be old enough.

My rabbits are in stacking cages. No way would I feel comfortable with my
set up trying to do a colony. And if I did try such a setup, the buck
would be in a separate cage after the first 2 weeks. My son tried a colony
setup. He had about 10 rabbits gifted to him last year.
It worked real well, till the little escape artists dug their way
out. Had babies undergound in tunnels, etc. So he sold off all the bunnies
he thought, but somehow a few managed to hide under his chicken coop and
now he has wild domestic bunnies running around his property.
Now when he gets a rabbit given to him, he brings it to mom. Like today