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Evvie

Evvie

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Joined
Sep 16, 2012
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California
I am leaning heavily towards not exactly colony raising my growers, but keeping them in communal pens. As of right now, I have two concerns I can't work out on my own.

How much space do growers need? I've seen everything from 2 square feet to 5 square feet for each rabbit, and if I kept looking I would probably see a wider range of numbers. I have about a 100x100 foot (it seems larger than that but I don't have the exact numbers) yard to work with so I don't have space for five 40x30 foot pens. I plan on not having a huge number of rabbits (hah, we'll see how that works out...) and sending most of the fryers to FC at 12 weeks or earlier. I am so far planning on keeping litters together after they are weaned and only separating them out if there are issues. Which brings me to...

What to do about bucks? Should I be worried about bucks trying to breed and getting in to fights before their time comes? It seems like it would be a hassle to have to keep every single buck it it's own cage while they're growing.
 
I have a very small indoor colony, 8 feet square. Right now I have four does, a buck and ten youngsters of various ages. They are a tad overpopulated at present, but nobunny seems to mind. My rabbits take 14-16 weeks to reach butchering size (they are on a natural hay/greens/grain diet) and I have had zero problems with fighting. Because they grow up together they have the pecking order sorted out before it becomes an issue.

I should just mention that two of the does will be going to freezer camp. I like to raise replacements two or three at a time and see how they do. One has not kindled at all. The other had two small litters which she did not feed. So the overcrowding is temporary. Two does and a buck, plus youngsters, is my usual population.
 
depending on the size of the litter you can get away with a 4 x 4 area for them. In that I would put a couple of J-feeders. Many will raise their growers in smaller cages, primarily 36 x 24 inch cages (I find personally that does well for 4 kits). But a 4 x 4 out on the lawn works really well for litters up to about 11 (with some being culled early).
 
i had two dutch bucks in a 5 by 2ft by 2ft tall cage. they were together from birth until i sold them. they were at least 4months old when i sold them. i wanna say close to 5 months but i dont remember off the top of my head.

they both sprayed though and would chase each other around and hump each other.
 
Thank you guys :) that clears up a lot for me. Being new to the bunny world I'm sure I'll want to try out a few different things, and I just want to make sure my ideas are realistic. I'm not squeamish when it comes to processing the buns, but I would feel a little badly if I found out a grower got pregnant on accident after she's removed. 3 months does seem a little young for that, though.
 
Evvie,

It is a good idea to have two or more does bred at the same time, so you can foster kits to another doe if one has problems.

I use growout pens also. I usually put the doe in the growout pen at first, and after a couple of days remove her. After tattooing the bunnies, I separate them by sex, combining the litters that I have recently moved out. Sometimes the numbers are a little lopsided and one cage will have more than the other, but usually they are pretty close.
 
That sounds like a great system Mama. Mr. Evvie is very insistent that no rabbits will be tattooed; he is a Marine and a big manly man, but he ardently wants to cause the buns no discomfort whatsoever. So I am a little worried about mixing litters because if I see a recurring problem, it might take a whole lot longer to figure out where it's coming from. But for right now I will definitely take your advice to heart and plan on two pens for each group so they can be sorted out.
 
I use a pen tattoo, and the little bunnehs don't seem to mind. My daughter holds them on her lap and covers their eyes, and some flinch occasionally, but nothing drastic.

If you end up having more than one rabbit of the same color, tattoos are very helpful. Accidents happen, and they may get out or you may forget switching cages and forget who's who.

If you ever want to show or even sell rabbits as show stock, they are required to have tattoos.
 
I did look in to tattoo pens for a bit, it would make me much more comfortable to have a sure-fire way to keep the rabbits sorted out, but this one will have to be an uphill battle for me :)
 
My hubby is the same way, he refuses to have anything to do with the processing end of things. He's happy to do the chores but he really doesn't like thinking about freezer camp, nevermind that being the stated purpose of our herd.

Tatto pens and pedigrees are your best friend for record keeping
 
His argument is that since they will be raised for meat, they don't need to be kept straight - just raise them all in a pen and you're good to go. But because I won't be 100% sure of the genetics of whatever breeders I get, and because I might want to keep some of the kits for future breeders, I don't feel comfortable just mixing all the buns together and trying to remember which of the ten NZW is the one I'm looking for. (Then again, if MSD has her way, it'll be Rex, not NZ!)
 
You need to know who your best producers are and you can only know that with records and tattoos.
Remind hubby guessing isn't a good way to run any animal husbandry project
 
3mina":1xsbykew said:
You need to know who your best producers are and you can only know that with records and tattoos.
Remind hubby guessing isn't a good way to run any animal husbandry project
Click to expand...
I am sure I'll win him over... he is always very practical and is used to doing what needs to be done, but he was raised in an urban area and doesn't have experience with livestock. I lived on a mini-farm and my family has always dealt with animals, so I don't feel a few pricks (or even a clamp tattoo) is that serious of an act. He is even against broomsticking (which my dad did to dispatch fowl, and which I feel someone even of my size might accomplish) and I think he intends to have me use a .22 to process them all.

But... I am the woman, so I will win in the end :lol:
 
:cheerleader: Cheering you on. Keep those bunnies identified, other wise you might send that future breeder, to fc, by accident. When there is more than one person helping with the rabbits, things happen and cages can change, in an emergency. You need to know which buck and doe, had the babies. If a doe shows health problems, and you need to cull her, you may want to cull all her babies, too - at the least you would want to know which babies to keep a close eye on!
:cheerleader:
 
Your hubby's concern is to not cause them discomfort at all correct?

then when you tattoo FIRST numb the area with the numbing gell used for babies when they teeth. Solves the problem. :) OH.... and use a pen. :)
 
Since I switched over to the Inkinator after visiting my Sistah, MSD, and seeing how well it worked, it has been so much easier to tattoo the buns. I get nice dark tattoos and doesn't seem to bother them much, if at all.
 

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