cage setup... newb

[MichiganCurt]

I'm wondering how long can multiple juniors stay in the same cage until they need their own? I want to start with 2 does and a buck. I want to keep the litters until they are big enough to sell. (Sell or eat). Basically I want to keep it as small as possible for now. How many cages should I have?

 

[eco2pia]

Normally I would have said you could get by with one normal and two large cages, and butcher or sell directly out of the doe cage, but my recent experience suggests that I was just extremely lucky in the past.

At 10 weeks I had two bucklings shredding each other, which is unusual.

I think a better plan would be 5 cages--one for the buck, a largish one for each doe, and 2 grow out cages, one for girls one for boys, and stagger the breedings so you are growing out one litter while the other doe's is still in the nest box. And anyone shredding anyone gets butchered early!

 

[MaggieJ]

I agree with Eco2pia's suggestions.

 

[ottersatin]

Rabbits are much like eating potato Chips,
you can never have just one!
In fact it seems that the more you have the more you want.
That being the case, I would suggest that as time and money permits
you should build a few more cages than you think you will need.
The Rabbit Habit seems to grow faster than you can build
cages for them. You never know when that extremely type
Doe or Buck appears in that new litter and you just don't have
time to build a cage for it or them! Ah, those cages I built last week!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[MichiganCurt]

I can forsee that I'll want more and more...just wanted to know what I need to get started so I can plan accordingly. Thank you for the help!

 

[akane]

Separate does and bucks by 2 months. I had a doe get bred that young. The rest you can play by ear. So far most of mine are fine in same sex groups until 4 months. We've only had the occasional nervous or uppity rabbit that will start trouble earlier. They get their own cage or just butchered early. Occasionally I've put the buck group in with an adult buck when cage space was short and I've yet to have a problem. My bucks just don't fight. It's my does I have to watch and are best down in the colony where they have space. Then I worry I'll mistake one buck for a doe and get the whole lot bred. There are currently 2 dozen does growing out down there. Just waiting for it to happen.

 

[Jessykah]

If you stagger the the breedings, you won't have too many fryers at once since you are a newbie. But if you breed the does at the same time you will have a foster mom if one has a really big litter. You need to decide what you would prefer to do. I would also make an extra, "quaranteen" cage, just in case.

 

[JT_Hunter]

I have only been at this for a month...same thing...one buck....two does....already building more cages and want to get a second buck....I guess I got the rabbit habbit easy eh...