Co-housing bucks, colony style?

[Stormy]

Has anyone co-housed bucks in a colony or large pen where there was ample room? I spoke to a breeder who had, although her bucks were still fairly young, like a year old. I'd introduce young animals. I imagine it'd depend on their personalities, my buck is very social, although socialized with cats and humans I would think in the wild world of rabbits that the bucks live in the colonies alongside all the does too, so I would think this is doable.
Anyone have personal experience? Again, I'm aware that bucks who are used to living alone will be territorial and fight, so specifically bucks raised socially does it work out. Thanks!

 

[MaggieJ]

I posted my reply to this question on your other thread, Stormy. I hope you find my suggestion useful because I do believe it is much safer than housing bucks together. You really only need one buck.

Edited to add:
I decided to copy my reply from the other thread here, for future reference:

Although some people have had success keeping two bucks together, I really do think it is asking for problems. It may work okay when no does are in sight, but when a buck comes back from a breeding session, I'll bet there are problems. In my opinion it is far better to partition a section of the colony for the buck. Have a bunny door that can be hooked open when you want him in the colony. Close it to seclude him when the does are kindling or needing a break. This helps to keep him from getting lonely and will also allow him to remain a member of the community. If the bars of his area are about 2 inches apart, he will get frequent visits from the young kits. They love snuggling with Daddy.

 

[ottersatin]

Stormy,
whatever anyone chooses to with or however they wish to
house their rabbits is there decision and theirs alone.
I do submit this theory that Rabbits be they Buck or Doe
can be extremely territorial. While they are growing/maturing
they may put up with much more than they would or will after they
reach adulthood. When they do a confrontation could [and probably will]
take place. A fight so brutal that one or both could end up dead.
Hey, the decision is yours, but I would not ever house two Bucks together,
but that's just me!
Ottersatin. ldtimer:

 

[Stormy]

@Maggie - thanks for your response - and I didn't know babies and daddy could get along like that thanks for the tip! Its true you only need one buck in a standard breeding for meat only operation. However, I have two different kinds of endangered breeds of rabbit! I have a Belgian Hare buck, and two American Blue does. I could not find a Belgian Hare doe, yet. And I can see he's far too skinny to really raise that breed for food. (he's a pet) So I'm hoping the Americans will be better for food, and while I will try crossing with the Belgian and see what the results are like - if they don't grow as quickly or as fully as Americans I will want to get an American buck. Plus to help keep the breed alive as they are critically endangered. I figured introducing bucks while young might alleviate territory issues. But I am taking your comments in, and waiting to hear if anyone else has a different experience. What I'd have to do then if I want the American buck is to create yet another corral. Is there any danger of bucks attacking babies that are not theirs? If I had the setup like you suggested.
And Maggie, do you raise colony style yourself or is this what you have learned from others?
Thanks all!

 

[MaggieJ]

I've been raising colony style for about a year and previous to that I have wintered does together in a colony setting, but not breeding them. Sometimes our buck has been relegated to a large dog crate inside the colony to prevent overbreeding. The kits loved to crawl in with him and he was very good with them. I don't know how a buck would be with kits that were not his own or that he had not been around since birth. No experience with that, sorry.

 

[Jack]

Um, you end up with one, eventually, and will take a while to reach there
MOSTLY, but there is an exception to every rule.

 

[ladysown]

I have successfully kept two bucks together up until they were 8 months old.
Both had matured by then. Both were mini rex. One was two weeks older than the other. They lived in a 4 x 4 cage. i would NOT have put them into a cage any smaller than that. They had a two week period where they scuffled off and on, but they they settled.

I also had a mature buck manage to live quite well with a young maturing buck (it was supposed to be a doe) but only after the bigger mature buck thoroughly put the other in his place. it could have gone very badly but it didn't. and there was NO WAY i was reaching my hand into that cage to pull them apart (have since learned to double check). They both lived to tell the tale.

Would not willingly put two bucks together who were mature. I would quite willingly put two young bucks together if they had sufficient space to be away from each other. I would NOT introduce them to girls unless I could have both of them breed at the same time and be away for the same length of time.

Let me add this.
when I say YOUNG bucks... I mean weanlings within two weeks of age of each other. and I would be quite mindful of what they were doing.

 

[akane]

I don't really have any problems doing it. There was a little chasing between them today because Kousou had her litter Saturday so she's been ready to breed again but that's it. I've had some lost fur when bucks climbed the walls in to smaller pens with each other like 2x4' sections but never a serious injury. Usually whoever lost is just cowering in the corner while the winner ignores them. There was that one time the big champagne buck pulled Akemi off a doe and pinned him to the ground until he screamed but he suffered no actual injury and was a better behaved buck for awhile until he was separated from everyone for a couple months. If I'm quite confident all does are bred or occasionally when I'm breeding mutts and don't care who gets bred by who I'll throw extra bucks down in the colony to make temporary cage space for a month. I've done it with mature adults several times and I have less issues than when combining does. The does usually spend a day or 2 sparring and chasing while the bucks solve things in about 5mins with the bigger one generally coming out on top. The largest buck flexes his muscles and that's that. The smaller buck gives in to the larger buck from then on so there are no more arguments. They don't have the hormones that kick in when the does go through pregnancy, birth, and coming back in to breeding condition so the status quo never changes unless I remove or add a buck. Unlike does who have spats periodically as they get pregnant and get ready to give birth. I can tell which doe just got pregnant or is due next by who is starting fights all over the place. The bucks also don't seem so much territorial as wanting to claim does. They don't care about space but about who gets to breed. Whoever thinks they are on top may get annoyed and react if they see a lower down buck trying to breed does. Then someone gets threatened or if the standing of each rabbit hasn't been sorted yet suitably punished for the attempt. If it's just who gets to walk and sit where they completely ignore each other.

Rabbit arguments in colony seem to look a lot worse than they actually are. They'll both jump all over the place slamming in to each other and trying to knock each other down, which they succeed in sometimes, but that doesn't usually lead to injury. They are pretty durable towards falling down on the ground and in to other rabbits or objects in their path. Then as someone starts coming out the loser there is chasing and grunting. I worried so much they were going to injury each other but it just hasn't happened except a few does who don't get along. I've learned to only worry when 2 rabbits ball up instead of jumping around and chasing. Chasing is actually a good sign. It means 1 rabbit has given in and run away so the disagreement should be settled shortly after they do a few circles for bucks or about 12-24hrs of periodic chasing for does. Provided there is enough space and obstacles to hide behind that the loser doesn't feel they have no choice but to turn and defend themselves even though they don't really want to fight. It's when you put them in too small or open of space for the loser to escape that they decide they have no choice and tear in to each other.

Sometimes caged raised rabbits that are a little older like around 2years or more will be a bit more aggressive because they aren't used to others invading their space but after a few months they chill out a lot. I got my champagne d'argent doe at 6months and then about 4months later got my 2 year old creme d'argent doe and I had to make separate colonies because they just could not handle seeing another mature doe that could get in their space. After late winter through summer in colony though they are now all sharing space again and it's only the younger does being hormonal with their first litters giving me any trouble. The 2 bucks running around the colony right now are the least of my problems. It's the weasel attack, doe squabbles, first time nesting attempts, the creme doe deciding to dig out clean bedding and refill the nest box with the dirtiest stuff she can come up with because I didn't get her new straw in time, and Miyuki stupidly sitting under the cages to get peed on and look all ratty that are my real concerns.

 

[Jack]

So, put conditions on it, not a cage raised adult, and LOTS of space

 

[Stormy]

Yes Jack I think that is the requirement
Thanks everyone for sharing their experiences. I am still not quite sure if I am going to risk it. I would really like my Belgian buck to have a friend, he wants some attention so much from everybody - rabbit, cat, human, doesn't matter. He's 7 months now, so if I am going to try it I'd guess I'd have to locate that buck now. My concern if he does get along with the other buck, is will he mount him constantly or otherwise sexually harass him. I guess this is rabbit behavior but I wouldn't want another rabbit to have to endure that indefinitely.

 

[mommaebear]

I have kept 7 bucks, of differnt ages, all reaching maturity in said 8'X14' pen, sucessfully in one area for at least months. while I witnessed certain territorial behaviors and physical agression, I found that they really figure it out and we may have found a few war wounds but never to the point of infection or to a degree where I had to remove a buck to spare said aggressions. They were acting as rabbits and after initial dipolmacy establish a respect to the degree of having a harmonized mature buck pen fairly quickly. I believe fear creates a position of beliving it is not possible because normal rabbit behavior to establish dominance is seen as a threat and interupted before it has time to establish effect.

 

[Stormy]

Thanks for chiming in Mommaebear, I appreciate it. I am getting the feeling that people separate all their rabbits from one another because they do witness that initial wrassling and then separate them. My two little does at around 3 months really went after each other, wrestling, biting fur out, thumping and grunting etc. over a few days, the instinct is to separate them but thanks to reading posts here and elsewhere, I just watched. They sorted it out and are best of friends again. There is no fighting, fur pulling,nothing just hanging out together and grooming each other, etc happy as can be.

Do you witness your bucks actually being friendly together, grooming each other, etc? Do they seem to prefer the companionship? Did you introduce them all as babies? And are some of them bred and returned to the pen without issue or does this invoke fighting? Thank you!!

 

[home*sweet*home]

I keep one buck in my colony because the bunnies are pedigreed and I need to know who daddy is. But he stays full time in there without any issues