1 doe now or 2 later?

[Zab]

I'm trying to decide now..

I can get one little doe (8week) next week.. or 2 does - same age - in 6 weeks.

I have two does in my colony, expecting their first litter feb 10.

I plan quarantine the new ones 4 weeks.

I'm thinking.. is it better with 3 does in the limited space and possibly add one later?

Or will 3 does make a pair and one left out?

Will 4 does like to be on a 14square metre colony? Or will 3 does be more likely to go along?

Do I want 3 or 4 does?

Any input?

 

[Heritage Homestead]

I am not going to be much help...
But you can never have too many rabbits! If you have the room I would go for 4.

Is there a reason you can't get the one now and the two later? :mrgreen:

 

[Zab]

xD I do not want 5 does!

Since it's a colony, I'm unsure about the room.. I guess if one will be an outcast there's a chanse it messes up the harmony in the group and it might even be easier to keep 4 than 3 in the space.. (and I fel just a tad sorry about the single doe being all alone in quarantine..)

But do I want 4? 3 might be enough and if I have 3, I could add a single one more later if I fall for another breed.. I won't keep 5 in that space.

To make it worse, I could get the single doe plus a french lop doe.. but I don't really like french lops so I don't want it..

How many times a year can you breed a doe without wearing her out? 4 is on the limit according to our standards, but I've read about as many as 8 being done here (though that would wear the doe out quickly). Could 5 be okay?
If I go with 3 does I calculate 96kg meat per year on 4 breedings (imagining I'll get 8 kits a litter, which may not be the case) and with 4 does that would be 126kg... agh.. I want lots of meat to avoid grocery bought ones. But what if I end up not being able to kill at all? Either way it would be about 2kg meat/week for two persons.. I like meat.

I realize my thoughts are not really clear.. :lol:

When is it more easy to introduce the new does to my old ones? When the old ones have weaned but still ''in-the-same-cage" litters or when they're alone? If I get the doe now next week, and if my does get surviving kits, the quaantine will be up when the babies are 3 weeks..<br /><br />__________ Wed Jan 23, 2013 5:28 pm __________<br /><br />It's leaning towards getting the one now.

I think a colony of 3 does are enough for me at the time being... and with 3 I could, if I stumble across the one bunny I just fall for, I could make place for her. I do not want more than 4 does.

I do feel a bit sorry for her being all alone during quarantine, but.. it's not permanent.

Getting her now will let me know if I want to start with the slightly larger breed or stick to the pelts or gotland bunnies.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

But what if I end up not being able to kill at all?

personally i would suggest waiting until you know you can handle everything from the rabbits to the dispatching and eating before getting too many rabbits.
i know i would be so mad at myself if i spent all the time and energy on this kind of project and end up not even being able to follow through with one of the major parts.

though do as i say and not as i do :lol: i started with a trio of lionheads and a pair of dutch with a litter of 4! which became a trio and a pair plus young ones and all the does bred again! :lol:
though i knew i would 99% be able to follow through. having grown up on the farm and hunting and butchering deer and growing and butchering our own chickens and turkeys.

 

[Zab]

:lol: I'm 99% sure I can do it, the 1% is just doubt since I havn't actually done it yet. Koriander - the buck - would be a problem since I've allowed myself to bond a bit with him (to keep that sort of emotions away from the does), but killing my breeding buck would be unwise either way I still have some days were I feel "Right now would be a good time to try to slaughter". Some days are not right, but most of the days feel like I could do it right away. Except that I have no kits yet and the does should stay alive a few more years.. :3

I also have these ponderings on wether I should attempt the kill alone by myself (which would mean no stress over being judged or looking stupid, I could focus better on the task) or have someone more experienced to aid me (like.. if things went wrong..but then I need to find someone experienced and it would have to be on a set day so I couldn't chose a timing when I felt I'm up for it). I know exactly how to do it, I've watched tons of videos, read discussions and texts.. and I know it in theory. But I have yet to DO it.

If I would end up unable to do it I have the backup plan of giving them away to someone who could do it for me.

I doubt I'll have any problem eating them. The weird thing is that I don't think I'll have any issues with the killing or such.. but I'm terribly afraid of being judged. I don't want anyone to think me cruel for killing bunnies..

If nothing else - putting all this work down will force me to deal with it :lol:

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

personally i htink if i were you i would do it on a day where i was comfortable with doing it. and whatever you plan to use to dispatch, have other methods available to use. if you want to do broomstick method i suggest finding a stuffed toy about the size your rabbit will be and practice a bit with that. so you will have the movements down pat and be less worried about not doing it right.

if you plan doing knock on the head, again i suggest practicing your swing on a stuffed toy and thinking how you will be comfortable to hold the rabbit to best hit it for a quick dispatch.

someone slap me if i'm rambling... i'm sitting here putting off other things i need to be doing hahaha...

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I raise in cages, so don't have experience with introducing rabbits into a colony... but with chickens, I find it is better to add a group of them to an existing flock. That way if they get picked on, it gets spread around, and usually they don't get hurt too badly.

I think introducing two does would probably be best so the two current does can't concentrate on just one.<br /><br />__________ Wed Jan 23, 2013 6:05 pm __________<br /><br />

whatever you plan to use to dispatch, have other methods available to use.

Zab lives in Sweden, and by law she can only dispatch in one way. The rabbit is placed on a platform and struck in the middle of the forehead, and then the jugular is cut while the rabbit is stunned. It is still "alive" at that point so the heart pumps the blood out, but the stunning causes the pain centers of the brain to cease functioning.

Your suggestion to practice is a good one!

 

[Zab]

Yeah I'll be practicing on a non-living thing To get the right swing and such.

I'll have to go for the single kit either way.. I mean I COULD get the two, but there's no reason to get two when dad already think one is too much (I don't get why though, I've been talking of a second pair since I got the first two, sometimes I feel he just doesn't listen.. what's the point of talking if he'll hold up any objections untill after I contacted breeders?). And getting one now gives the advantage of a spare spot.. I'm unsure on weather I want big meaties or smaller. We'll see.

I'm a bit concerned that dad won't stick to quarantine rules either... but I'll talk with him about it when I get the bun. That it's important to me. Sometimes he surprise me by doing exactly what I ask, sometimes he seems to think I'm just silly and does it his way anyhow.
Somehow I don't think it's as common with latent P here or something.. most people I talk with rarely quarantine, some do but has never had a sick bun anyway. But there's no harm in being careful.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

Zab lives in Sweden, and by law she can only dispatch in one way. The rabbit is placed on a platform and struck in the middle of the forehead, and then the jugular is cut while the rabbit is stunned. It is still "alive" at that point so the heart pumps the blood out, but the stunning causes the pain centers of the brain to cease functioning.

huh... i didnt know that... do now though opcorn:

 

[Bad Habit]

Why don't you just raise a replacement doe or two from your first litter, rather than buying new stock?

 

[Zab]

Why don't you just raise a replacement doe or two from your first litter, rather than buying new stock?

Well I'd like to get somethong bigger. More "real" meat rabbit to see the differense. SP is for meat but not the same way as NZ. And I really don't like inbreeding so I won't chose to do that myself.

 

[Bad Habit]

does inbreeding make the meat taste different?

 

[Zab]

does inbreeding make the meat taste different?

probably not but my belief is still that its not good.<br /><br />__________ Thu Jan 24, 2013 3:46 pm __________<br /><br />So on saturday I'll go look at (read ''buy'') the single doe She'll be 7 weeks and 6 days.. I asked if I could et her a day early since I'm driving in that direction on saturday as it is, it's a few ''mil'' away.

I'm excited to see her size and eventually her kits size compared to my others. I'm not sure if I will want ''most productive'' (NZ) or more.. natural.. or what to call it. Both gotland rabbits (ancestors to swedish pelts) and the pelts are concidered optimal household meat rabbits, while NZ are more industrialized or what to call it... And if I mix in gotland rabbits I'll be able to get more colours. Not sure if I want that when making stuff from the pelts - if I manage the tanning part - but pelts and gotlanders are still an okay petsize. Not dwarves but not giants either.. and the breed is active but very gentle. I don't know anything about NZ yet.

I don't know exactly how to go about keeping the herd in the futre, but I figure I'll fix that as I go. One option to avoid inbreeding (I really don't like that, it is my choice to avoid it) is to either change buck and keep Koris daughters, or to borrow a buck of some sort to get a litter that won't be related to Kori. It would be cheaper than to replace all the does, and I'd get the benefit of them growing up together.

 

[ohiogoatgirl]

as to keep from inbreeding...
i'm pretty sure you are the one who has the colony with the buck in a sectioned off area of it. maybe you could just get another buck to do similar with? have him in a cage but keep the cage inside the colony so they can still be near each other.
that way you can breed the does to which buck you want. or if you have someone near you who would do stud, that could be good.

 

[Zab]

Well that is pretty much the same intent, except I only want one buck at a time But, since all current does are unrelated to him and still very young.. and I don't plan to keep more than max. 4 does.. it's notan issue for now. It will be a future thing to think of
I won't buy a completely new doe-stock if I can help it though, but if necessary I can get a new buck. (although borrowing one for stud would be better if Kori is still good to go.. since I've started to like Kori.. :3)