Colony for the summer

[Charliehooks]

I'm thinking about putting 20 does and 2 bucks in a colony outside for the summer months (may - October) how many kits could I expect from that time?

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

I think that depends on a lot of factors but my first thought is that you would have A LOT of rabbits. That is a lot of does! How big of an area do you have for the colony? I’d be concerned about overcrowding and does fighting unless you have a huge area for the colony.

 

[jaxmarblebuns]

Disclaimer: I'm not always the greatest at math, feel free to correct any mistakes.

The buck to doe ratio is a bit off, usually you want one buck for every 3-5 does. With that many rabbits you going to need a L O T of space as well to void fighting, overcrowding, and unsanitary conditions. It is recommended by most that each buck get ten square feet and each doe get 20 square feet (20 square feet also counts for her kits, hence why its twice the space) so you would need at least 420 square feet, but bigger is better

Now, in theory, if your rabbits were producing as much as they could here is what to expect. Rabbits can breed about every 34 days (on average, sometimes more, sometimes less) and good, healthy meat rabbits roughly have 6-8 kits per litter.

may 1st--oct 1st is 153 days
153 days divided by 34 = 4.5 litters per rabbit
lets average the litters to 7 kits. 7 multiplied by 4.5 = 31.5 kits per doe
and lastly 31.5 multiplied by 20 = 630 grow-outs

So, if everything worked perfectly and they bred as much as they possibly could you would get roughly 360 rabbits per the 6 month period which is roughly (if the kits were the average 3lb dressed weight) 1,080 pound of meat. Now, most things do not happen ideally, so i would take off about 25% from both those final numbers which would roughly be 270 grow-outs with 810 pounds of meat.

 

[Charliehooks]

Yes I'm thinking 2 10x20 areas and I sell them live weight so it sounds like it might be a good venture..I mainly want to feed more hay since I won't have to worry about it clogging up my cages and get a small boost off my already 13 doe setup

 

[BuffBrahmaBantam]

I think you will likely need more space to prevent fights. 10 does and 1 buck in a 10 by 20 ft area seems risky. But maybe you are thinking in different units. Are you thinking 10 by 20 yards, or something else?

It depends on the rabbits temperament but my sense that is not at all enough space. The numbers given by jaxmarblebuns are minimums, and you are proposing less space than those minimums, and with 10 does together in one enclosure! I think there is a high potential for some bad fights. Does can be very aggressive against each other.

Are there others on rabbit talk that can weigh in on colony floor area/size for such a large number of rabbits? We have a semi colony set up but provide far more space for each of 2 does.

The density of does you are proposing is not something I have experience with.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

I'm thinking about putting 20 does and 2 bucks in a colony outside for the summer months (may - October) how many kits could I expect from that time?

I have a large colony enclosure, last year had 3 does and a buck I butchered over 100 fryers.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Yes I'm thinking 2 10x20 areas and I sell them live weight so it sounds like it might be a good venture..I mainly want to feed more hay since I won't have to worry about it clogging up my cages and get a small boost off my already 13 doe setup

I raise rabbits in a colony set up. I use one buck at a time as you will find one buck will become dominant. I have 8 does and change the bucks out every 3 months. My pen is 2500 square feet with 3 artificial warrens made from straw bales and I put covers on top. My rabbits do burrow and have made their own tunnels as well.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

My colony

 

[Heartbased Homestead]

It depends on the rabbits temperament

I think this is the key more than anything, I'm breeding for colony temperament to test this theory. There's this video that I always come back to when I wonder what is possible. They don't seem to be showing signs of stress, or fighting. I assume in a warren rabbits naturally live in very close quarters.
My solution to increasing floor space is to stack pallets on top of each other to create a solid "hotel effect" where the buns can hide and run away from each other as needed, 4 "rooms" in each pallet perfect size for buns. A similar rabbit hotel could be slapped together with just some 2x4s and a basic square-stacked design.

I'll post pics of my set up one of these days soon when I have a free weekend

 

[Heartbased Homestead]

My colony

This looks divine, loving the idea of the cages around the trees to get them established. This is just brilliant. 3 questions: do you harvest your male fryers first or how to you separate before puberty? What are your watering and feed station set ups for this large of a colony - and how often do you have to refill?

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

This looks divine, loving the idea of the cages around the trees to get them established. This is just brilliant. 3 questions: do you harvest your male fryers first or how to you separate before puberty? What are your watering and feed station set ups for this large of a colony - and how often do you have to refill?

I have many watering containers for summer months and I add Apple Cider Vinegar to them the buns love it. Winter I use head water bowls.
I have two main hay areas at opposite ends of the warren, they always have hay available. I have 4 containers I put whole oats in. I also feed field peas I sprout and they love them, I use a few containers to feed them in different locations.
Summer I supplement with branches/leaves and fresh picked grasses and weeds.
I never feed pellets so I have a red mineral block and a blue salt block for choice by the water station.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

This looks divine, loving the idea of the cages around the trees to get them established. This is just brilliant. 3 questions: do you harvest your male fryers first or how to you separate before puberty? What are your watering and feed station set ups for this large of a colony - and how often do you have to refill?

Sorry I forgot to answer your question about harvesting. I harvest most of mine at 10 weeks for fryers.
The ones I let grow bigger I will know which are bucks and which are does by watching my heard buck as he will chase the other bucks. When I select animals I want for replacement does I simply choose some good ones and the heard buck will tell me if they are does or bucks.
I use a pellet gun to cull, I just put pease in the eves troughs I use for feeding and can harvest when they are distracted. The others hardly even jump from the noise as they want the peas that badly.

 

[Heartbased Homestead]

Such a simple, effective set up. Very grateful to have the chance to peek into it. It's such a surprise that your buck is allowed free roam and it works! There's so many colony myths in the meat rabbit community (not specifically this one, just in general, but I've seen a few here too) that are taken as fact, or even holy truth. It's very annoying to sort through as a newbie, especially when these myths are perpetuated by cage-raisers who have had little to none experience with a real colony. Thank you for your presence and efforts here.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

Such a simple, effective set up. Very grateful to have the chance to peek into it. It's such a surprise that your buck is allowed free roam and it works! There's so many colony myths in the meat rabbit community (not specifically this one, just in general, but I've seen a few here too) that are taken as fact, or even holy truth. It's very annoying to sort through as a newbie, especially when these myths are perpetuated by cage-raisers who have had little to none experience with a real colony. Thank you for your presence and efforts here.

I agree so many people with opinions but have never raised a rabbit in the freedom of a colony.
I have bought a few caged rabbits to introduce to my colony in the past and it’s quite honestly like they are ******** when they become free. A better choice of words may be they have Stockholm syndrome lol.
My rabbits are extremely happy, my Does like the presence of the Buck in the pen, it is very natural. Another interesting thing you will find out is that the Does control the breeding not the buck, if the Does don’t want to get pregnant they just won’t rise for him.

 

[Heartbased Homestead]

Does control the breeding not the buck, if the Does don’t want to get pregnant they just won’t rise for him.

I have heard this once before but haven't believed it was possible until now. It makes sense that the does would have the authority to schedule their own breeding, that's how it is in almost all species which raise young in a group. You hear so many horror stories of the bucks being castrated, or trampling the young, stressing out the does. But I've always wondered about how the pecking order would naturally fall if they were able to work a system out. There might be a little brutality in nature, but selecting for cooperative dispositions seems like an easy and quick solution, though I have no experience with it yet, it should be easy to tell which are strong yet nurturing. Culling the weak and the trouble makers should work in theory.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

I have heard this once before but haven't believed it was possible until now. It makes sense that the does would have the authority to schedule their own breeding, that's how it is in almost all species which raise young in a group. You hear so many horror stories of the bucks being castrated, or trampling the young, stressing out the does. But I've always wondered about how the pecking order would naturally fall if they were able to work a system out. There might be a little brutality in nature, but selecting for cooperative dispositions seems like an easy and quick solution, though I have no experience with it yet, it should be easy to tell which are strong yet nurturing. Culling the weak and the trouble makers should work in theory.

The key is don’t interfere they will figure things out. My recommendation is start with young adolescent rabbits in your colony. I also keep my old Does as they have earned their keep, they also keep stability in the colony.

 

[eco2pia]

This is really neat. I have cages, but I have also observed that in the vast majority of cases the does call the shots unless I interfere. You learn eventually that they know when it is time to breed and they will tell you if you watch closely enough. I wish I had the space to really do a proper colony.

 

[Rabbit Warren Man]

This is really neat. I have cages, but I have also observed that in the vast majority of cases the does call the shots unless I interfere. You learn eventually that they know when it is time to breed and they will tell you if you watch closely enough. I wish I had the space to really do a proper colony.

Good to hear that you see the same things in the caged rabbits.

 

[eco2pia]

I have a question for @Rabbit Warren Man about colony flooring. If you have wire down to prevent dig outs, how often do you have to replace that due to rust, and how do you "muck out"? It seems the wire would catch the tines of my fork/rake. Are you able to use some kind of litter box system to make it easier to keep up on?