Bucks

[WildWolf]

If you have an un-neutered buck, do you have to breed them every year for them to be happy/ not get aggressive? Can you keep neutered bucks together? I heard that being neutered is very very stressing for rabbits; is it?

I want to have a buck, just for the option of breeding, but I might not breed a lot. I may only breed once, if I don't get enough buyers. Haha, I'm in a bit of a conundrum: I want to breed; I'm not sure if I want to breed for meat; I'm not sure I will have enough rabbit buyers... I do have room to build another hutch and keep more rabbits if I can't sell, though. I would keep the does in a colony set-up, and the bucks in separate cages- unless I can keep neutered bucks together.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

If you have an un-neutered buck, do you have to breed them every year for them to be happy/ not get aggressive? Can you keep neutered bucks together? I heard that being neutered is very very stressing for rabbits. I want to have a buck, just for the option of breeding, but I might not breed a lot. I may only breed once, if I don't get enough buyers. Haha, I'm in a bit of a conundrum: I want to breed; I'm not sure if I want to breed for meat; I'm not sure I will have enough rabbit buyers... I do have room to build another hutch and keep a lot more rabbits, but I would have to separate all the bucks.

You only need one buck for every 10 or so does....

 

[ottersatin]

I do have room to build another hutch and keep
a lot more rabbits, but I would have to separate all the bucks.

Actually you should be separating each Rabbit
to it's own cage. one Rabbit to a cage.
Even Does can become aggressive and quite
territorial and may fight to the death of one
or the other or both. One Rabbit to a cage allows you
to know who is bred to who and when. This also allows you
to keep accurate breeding records which is very helpful
when trying to sell breeding stock.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[tnelsonfla]

Very few times does keeping rabbits together work out as a good thing. Some people have no problem if introduced at a young age with each other(same sex, neutered or un-neutered) and then some people raise rabbits in a colony and have little or no problems. If you don't have to I wouldn't. Also if you have a breeder near you they may be willing to offer a "stud" service,that would allow you to give breeding a try. Just have and plan and be prepared for the kits after they are born.

 

[WildWolf]

OK, I see I caused a little confusion... I have a colony set up right now with 2 does. If I had to keep more rabbits (meaning if I couldn't sell the offspring) then I would keep the does together in a colony set-up and have the bucks in separate cages. I'm going to edit my first post so that's more clear.

Thanks, tnelsonfla, for the tip about a breeder's stud.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

I would not "stud out" one of my bucks, nor would I breed to another person's buck unless they had purchased it from me and they had only bred it to does from my rabbitry. Rabbits can have venereal disease and/or be carrying disease that your rabbits are not resistant to.

If you want to give breeding a try but are unsure of having a buck, why not buy a bred doe?

 

[WildWolf]

Thanks for the warning, MSD.
It's not that I'm unsure of breeding, its that I'm unsure of being able to sell. That's why I'd like to know if I can keep a buck, and keep him happy, without breeding him- or only breeding him once or twice a year.

 

[curlysue]

i have bucks that are not being bred anymore.they dont get aggresive.some bucks i dont use often with no aggression issues.i have a lot of bucks because i show.they are kept in seperate cages.

 

[WildWolf]

I'm glad to hear that un-neutered bucks don't get aggressive, unlike dogs or a lot of other animals.

 

[skysthelimit]

I'm glad to hear that un-neutered bucks don't get aggressive, unlike dogs or a lot of other animals.

I show German shepherds, they are all unaltered, and I don't have aggression issues. I think that's pro peta anti breeder propaganda.

 

[6riversfarms]

I'm glad to hear that un-neutered bucks don't get aggressive, unlike dogs or a lot of other animals.

I show German shepherds, they are all unaltered, and I don't have aggression issues. I think that's pro peta anti breeder propaganda.

I think you may be right sky. I have had numerous dogs throughout my life. I haven't ever had
a neutered male but in my experience some of rthe females I have owned have seemed more aggressive than any of the males.

I made the mistake of getting our blue heeler Daisy spade when she was young and I deeply regret it. It makes me sad to think that a dog as intelligent as her and with her personality and athleticism will not be able to pass her great genes to the next generation.

 

[skysthelimit]

Yes, unaltered girls are another story. My girls are awful, and I find does get pretty wiggy when they want to be bred.

 

[WildWolf]

I'm glad to hear that un-neutered bucks don't get aggressive, unlike dogs or a lot of other animals.

I show German shepherds, they are all unaltered, and I don't have aggression issues. I think that's pro peta anti breeder propaganda.

I think you may be right sky. I have had numerous dogs throughout my life. I haven't ever had
a neutered male but in my experience some of rthe females I have owned have seemed more aggressive than any of the males.

Yes, unaltered girls are another story. My girls are awful, and I find does get pretty wiggy when they want to be bred.

Well, maybe the propaganda says that males and females must be neutered, but maybe its just the girls? When you think about it, it makes sense- the females go into heat, whereas the males are just on the look-out for females in heat. Although, I bet that neutering, and spaying, does reduce their want to be dominant- because the dominant ones are the ones with the most breeding rights in the pecking order.

So, that answers my fist question... Anyone know answers to the other 2: Can you keep neutered bucks together? I heard that being neutered is very very stressing for rabbits; is it?

Thanks, everyone on this forum is so helpful!

 

[Stormy]

Hi Wildwolf-
You might want to check out this thread I started awhile back regarding co-housing unneutered bucks. The answers are as varied as the people: co-housing-bucks-colony-style-t4635.html

What I believe is happening is the people who believe in one rabbit per hole to keep everyone safe stick to their belief that is the only way to do it. I'm of the mind that rabbits are highly social creatures, being domesticated from the wild European rabbits who live in warrens of hundreds of rabbits. Those warrens had multiple bucks, for sure. I think - mind you - do not yet have the experience but will soon - that bucks who are given plenty of room, are introduced young, will adapt and tolerate each other. Check back with me in a few months to see how my buck is doing with his son. So far he loves his babies. He has 2 acres to roam on as he is free ranging, and tame. The other young buck I was planning to co-house with him so I am not sure how its going to work yet.

Did you ask about neutered bucks getting along? to my knowledge, neutered rabbits get along best with each other as they are less likely to have hormonal temperaments - but like people, do not always like each other so it probably really depends on the rabbit!

 

[skysthelimit]

Hi Wildwolf-
You might want to check out this thread I started awhile back regarding co-housing unneutered bucks. The answers are as varied as the people: co-housing-bucks-colony-style-t4635.html

What I believe is happening is the people who believe in one rabbit per hole to keep everyone safe stick to their belief that is the only way to do it. I'm of the mind that rabbits are highly social creatures, being domesticated from the wild European rabbits who live in warrens of hundreds of rabbits. Those warrens had multiple bucks, for sure. I think - mind you - do not yet have the experience but will soon - that bucks who are given plenty of room, are introduced young, will adapt and tolerate each other. Check back with me in a few months to see how my buck is doing with his son. So far he loves his babies. He has 2 acres to roam on as he is free ranging, and tame. The other young buck I was planning to co-house with him so I am not sure how its going to work yet.

Did you ask about neutered bucks getting along? to my knowledge, neutered rabbits get along best with each other as they are less likely to have hormonal temperaments - but like people, do not always like each other so it probably really depends on the rabbit!

I have two bucks in a cage together, they have been that way from 6 weeks and 10 weeks. They are currently 15wks and 19 wks. No humping, but this is a slower line and some from another line had to be removed because they started humping at six weeks. We will see what happens when one is bred. I doubt I'll be able to put them back in the same cage again.

 

[Kyle@theWintertime]

I show German shepherds, they are all unaltered, and I don't have aggression issues. I think that's pro peta anti breeder propaganda.

It is, actually, propaganda. I've known SO MANY dogs, neutered and unaltered...and if they are agressive, they are agressive wether or not they have testicles...if they aren't agressive, they aren't agressive, be they neutered or intact.

I DO believe that intact dogs have a higher energy and drive to do stuff, and many pet owners cannot keep up with a highly energetic dog.

Growing up all my family's dogs were intact, we've only ever had one that has been agressive and his bloodline has a history of it.

 

[Stormy]

Hi Skysthelimit- what is the big deal if they do hump each other? Rabbits are highly sexual creatures. My two does humped each other like crazy shortly after I got them at 9 weeks - sisters even. They were going crazy from the smell and sight of the buck. They kept up that behavior off and on until they were bred. They were not hurting each other. I think rabbits signify the archetype of sexual energy for a reason! It seems like that is all they think about.

When my does were fighting for dominance, they were scuffling and boxing in addition to just jumping on each other, pulling fur, etc. But thanks to advice in this forum, I just let them be even though it looked pretty rough for a day or two there. They sorted it out and have been peaceful ever since! And genuinely like living together. The original sister died and the remaining doe became so depressed I went back to the breeder to get a niece. That made her happy again and she went back on her food and up to her usual energy. Sure, now we had a much younger doe and went around with the dominance struggle, but they've been fine ever since. Since they've been bred and had a couple litters they do not have pent up sexual energy it seems, and don't bother with humping each other. I imagine if I waited too long before breeding them again, they might get frustrated again.

I'm using the same rationale with the bucks - if they hump on each other doing what rabbits do - and aren't hurting each other, what is the big idea? I feel like we as humans want to control animal sexuality but in nature its not all as tidy as we'd like it to be, ie. bucks only hump does, etc. and as long as there isn't a bloody fight, that's all I'll be looking out for - I'll bet they'll sort out their dominance just as they would in nature. I do not have experience with breeding a lesser buck and putting him back, but I will try that as well and see how it goes. I think alot depends on the individuals, as well. And, a huge part - how social they have been raised. My buck was raised with 4 cats, so he's actually highly socialized, and seems to enjoy his 8-week old children just fine. Hope this helps.

 

[WildWolf]

I wonder if you had enough room for every rabbit to have, say, 5 or 10 square feet to themselves, and enough does... could you house 2 un-nuetered bucks together? You wouldn't have any control over how many litters and when, so you would have to be able to get rid of a lot of rabbits quickly. I think that if there were enough does, then the does would be able to declare for themselves when enough is enough. Has anyone tried it? Of course, it would also probably depend on the personalities of the rabbits, but it would be mimicking what's happening in the wild.

edited to add:
there are a lot of reasons why it isn't practical to do this. Mainly, you don't need 2 bucks if you have less than 20 does, and most people do need to control litter rates because they don't have a way to get rid of rabbits fast.

Do rabbits in the wild stay with their birth warren or go out by themselves?

 

[ottersatin]

I would never house two Bucks together,
but that's just me. I also would not house two grown Does together in thew same cage.
The problem with Does humping each other continually is: It leads to "False Pregnancy".
Should you have plans to breed that Doe you will have to wait until
she runs through that false cycle. I go by the One Rabbit per cage rule.
I like to know who my Does are breed to and when, I also like to be the one that makes that decision. I guess I'm funny that way.
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[skysthelimit]

Hi Skysthelimit- what is the big deal if they do hump each other? Rabbits are highly sexual creatures.

Stormy-- I show rabbits, and it something gets nicked, cut or a piece of ear torn off, and this has happened, there goes how many months of planning and a perfectly good show rabbit. Why risk it? My herd sire broke off a toe nail cage fighting with my holland show buck. That ended his career right there, which was very sad because he was a very promising young buck. Not only will rabbits not be housed together, but I am going to put solid dividers between the bucks, and possibly does.