Adding rabbits to a colony?

[D.T.]

I suppose this is for doe OR buck- any tips for adding new animals to a colony?

Last summer I had my colony on pasture (great idea until the electric fencer broke!)
I put in 2 does and a buck and had zero problems.

Last week I tried again- with my 8' x 12' stall in the barn. Started with two does. For two days they were chasing each other a bit and a bit of fur on the ground. I figured they'd settle it. Nope!
One night (day 3?) I went out and one rabbit had torn a strip of scalp off the other- looked like she had 3 ears!! It was awful. I had to put her down of course.
The injured doe was the daughter of the other.

Now, I have a buck in a cage in there- the single remaining doe spends much of her time hanging out with the buck (beside cage) but I do fear releasing him- he is a bit smaller and young still (6 months vs her 2 years).

I'm paranoid and don't want to have another problem. Any general introduction tips??

Thanks!

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I'd be paranoid too after that!

I raise in cages myself, but how about putting the doe in the cage and letting the buck out instead since does are more territorial? It might help to have more than 2 in a colony setting also so if there are "territory wars" they can spread their aggression around a bit. When we add new chickens to our flock we introduce at least 6 at a time so no single one gets beat up by everybody.

There are lots of members here who colony raise, so I'm sure you'll get some good feedback!

 

[akane]

That doe may not be suitable for colony life. A few just can't adjust. I doubt you will have any luck introducing another doe to her. I would only attempt to keep a daughter out of her and never separate them. The buck should be safe however. Does can sometimes be territorial or get annoyed by a buck who won't take a hint but in a large area these problems don't usually happen. The does charge the buck, the buck stands there oblivious and tries to hump their heads, and the does leave in frustration. Since your doe has acted so violently though I would suggest supervising for awhile before thinking about attempting to leave them alone longer.

 

[home*sweet*home]

We were just really lucky. We had two does together and then we added a mother sister, The buck has always been with them. One of our does died due to the heat when my husand was in charge while I was at a conference. Now we have 3 does and a buck. They get along great, they all cuddle and preen each other. I am not sure why we got so lucky. We have decided to get one more doe, but we are going to keep a kit from one of the up coming littles. That is probably your best bet, or just keep to does from the litter and let the older one go (she sounds like she does not know how to play nice with others)

 

[Secuono]

I would of tried to save the scalped doe and cull the evil one, but that's just me. good luck

 

[D.T.]

Thank you, all!
Yes the evil doe is actually a fantastic mother, generally raises 11 per litter without trouble. And prior to this she did 'play well'. In my books she is ideally a keeper- the doe she hurt was her daughter also with experience successfully raising 11 sadly.
With an injury such as a 2.5 to 3" gash (as big as an ear!), I am not really keen on bringing the poor thing through all the pain of healing. That's just me anyways, I don't like to see things in pain.

 

[MaggieJ]

Perhaps you can increase the number of does in the colony by saving a couple of the "evil" doe's daughters. If they are born in the colony and never leave it, they should know their place and not trigger aggressive behaviour from mom.

 

[D.T.]

That's a great idea. I will keep a young doe from her next litter for sure which I'm sure will work.
She has become a pet in some ways and would be tough to cull. Well, maybe if she has blood all over her face it would be easier!!

 

[DumansArk]

I too chime in with the anecdote that some just don't adjust to being kept colony style. I have a pair of sisters right now that were never seperated, but when they reached 7 months or so they started squabbling. It got progressivly more violent to the point that they had to be split up and kept singly.

But yet I've kept entire families (mother and her daughters) successfully as well as putting unrelated doe kits in a grow out pen, then moving them to the breeding pen together and had no issues.

You just get all kinds

 

[mommaebear]

I would like to hear more about your pasture/electirc fence setup!

 

[D.T.]

Well, it did fail but here was the set up!
I used two, portable 120' (?) electric mesh goat/poultry fences and made a big rectangle- and doubled up the fence. Holes were still a bit big so I got 2' tall chickenwire and tired that to the inside of the fencing- so it was also electrified! For a fencer I used a plug in 50 mile unit, so it was hot and snappy. Not sure what fried it, it was likely the rain as I didn't protect it well.

Within the pen I put 3 pallets in somewhat of an L shape. They were raised off the ground about 8-10" with blocks of firewood- and spaced in a way to compartmentalize it a bit in there for nesting. Then I put a big pile of hay on top the pallets which kept the most of the summer heat out of the nest, I was very impressed with that- mind you it was a cool summer. They ate much of it as well as the natural grass.