Explain...

[WildWolf]

Hello! I'm new here, and I'm new at raiseing bunnies. I actually only have 2 bunnies. Right now they are just pets, but I would like to possibly start breeding. I've done research, but this is the first place I found that talks about raising rabbits in colonies. Why would you keep your rabbits in a colony rather than in seperate hutches? I know they would socialize more, but there seem to be a lot of topics about fights. And how do you prevent them from digging out- how far do you burry the wire? or would providing them with something to easily dig in prompt them to stop digging in the ground (we have clay here)? Would a colony setting still benefit the rabbits even if they weren't breeding?
Thanks in advance!

 

[Pink]

:hi: Where are you from? What kind of rabbits do you have?

My bucks are kept in spacious cages, while my does are maintained in a colony set up.

There is no way I could keep my bucks together, unless my intentions are to witness a deadly bloody flight.

My does seem much more content in a colony setup. They love being able to stretch their long bodies onto the cool cement in the summer, and huddle together when it's cold. Rabbits who are provided with sufficient space to run around and get exercise, are less prone to contacting lack of exercise-related illnesses. Besides, it's the way rabbits were meant to live - happy and free!

I've been blessed that my does are very friendly, and enjoy each others company. Although my older doe got quite a bit of fur pulled out on their first day together in a colony setup by one of the alpha's, there has been no serious fights.

The flooring of my rabbit room is cement, so they have no option to dig out. Other rabbit owners with dirt flooring, bury a layer (or two) of wire mesh under the ground to prevent them from escaping. I have no idea how far you should put it, but I'd say at least several inches. I suppose if you buried the fencing several feet into the ground, you could bury the mesh where they meet.

Again, my boys are in cages and my ladies are in the colony set up. If I suddenly decided not to breed my rabbits, there would be no issue in ceasing production as my breeders are segregated.

Psst... I want to see pictures of your bunnies!

 

[trinityoaks]

This may not exactly answer your question, but I had strongly considered the possibility of a sort of "indoor" colony. I eventually decided against it, for several reasons.

First of all, I live in fire-ant territory. I don't relish the idea of losing kits to fire ants.

Secondly, and perhaps more pertinent to your situation, if you have any need at all of pedigrees, for instance for show or for selling to others for show, you will NOT want to raise them in a colony. It would be near impossible to keep track of which kits belong to which doe.

Similarly, if you are raising for the pet market (or for show), you will have a difficult time getting them human-socialized with a colony setup.

If you are raising only for meat (yourself, pets, etc.), then these last two may not matter.

It seems to me that a colony would be a lot more work to maintain than cages, but maybe that's just me.

 

[Mary Ann's Rabbitry]

This may not exactly answer your question, but I had strongly considered the possibility of a sort of "indoor" colony. I eventually decided against it, for several reasons.

First of all, I live in fire-ant territory. I don't relish the idea of losing kits to fire ants.

Secondly, and perhaps more pertinent to your situation, if you have any need at all of pedigrees, for instance for show or for selling to others for show, you will NOT want to raise them in a colony. It would be near impossible to keep track of which kits belong to which doe.

Similarly, if you are raising for the pet market (or for show), you will have a difficult time getting them human-socialized with a colony setup.

If you are raising only for meat (yourself, pets, etc.), then these last two may not matter.

It seems to me that a colony would be a lot more work to maintain than cages, but maybe that's just me.

x2

 

[WildWolf]

I live in North Carolina, US. I got my rabbits when a family friend got a huge litter... they breed rabbits for pets. They are mixed; their mom was a lionhead and their dad was a Tenasee Red. I have siblings- a brother and a sister. I know I can't breed them, but I hope to get more rabbits (probably no more than 2 more) once I become more experienced with them. Right now I have a hutch for the buck that is about 3ft by 3ft with a "shelf" about 3ft by 20inches, and a box attatched that is about 2ft 10inches by 16inches. The doe has a 3ft by 4ft hutch with a 2ft 10inches by 2ft box attached. I'm working on expanding the buck's hutch about 20inches by 28inches so that the hutches touch each other. We built our hutches on two 2-by-4s suspended between two trees. That way we didn't have to deal with termites or rotting where the hutches would have touched the ground. We also were able to put a poop-catcher underneath them. We built a run from the trees out to about 20ft. The only way for them to access it is by me picking them up (which they hate) and by me lifting them out in a box (they sometimes find that uncomfortable, but soon get over it). I'm working on bulding a ground level hutch and divding the run in half. I would either have it accessable at all times, or I open it to let them out. I'm not sure which would be better...

The reason the doe's hutch is bigger is because they both were in it when they were young. We thought they were both going to be does, but one turned out to be a buck.

Any suggestions or comments on our setup would be very welcome!

It would be nice for the rabbits to have more room to run around in, all the time, and for the doe to socialize with other does. I would definitely keep the buck seperate, from other bucks, although i have no intention of getting another buck, and from the doe(s) until I want baby bunnies. I never thought of burrying a layer of wire that runs the whole length of the run. That would probably be what I would do. Thanks Pink!

Trintiyoaks, and Marry Ann- We don't have a fire ant problem, and I don't have pedigrees. I would like for them to be human-friendly. Would visiting the colony every day, even if it was just for a short time, let them get enough human socialization? And you do bring up a good point- how do you deal with cleaning up the rabbit's messes if the colony is on the ground? Thank you!<br /><br />__________ Wed May 09, 2012 11:18 pm __________<br /><br />I forgot- Pink, I'll post images as soon as I can find time to upload them so that they have a url. Right now they are just in my computer folder.

 

[5dognightfarm]

I had to try several different methods before I found one that worked for me and my rabbits. I have several escapees running around in the yard as proof.

My parents raise pastured poultry, and I commandeered one of the chicken tractors. Since it gets moved every day, they rarely have time to dig a substantial enough hole to escape. They like the fresh, daily grazing and it keeps them from eating a lot of pellets. I provide regular feed, but they don't eat much of it. I keep a couple of seperate colonies, just because they get along best with eachother. Two Californian does live together, and get bred on a regular basis by my American Chinchilla buck. I consider these girls to be the rabbit equivilant of your typical beef cow. They rarely escape and have no ambition to. They're calm, not overly friendly, and eat a lot. I have another pen of three crossbreds and a Rex, and they are much more active and dig more, but they eat less pellets.

I just love that the rabbits are so much more happy outside. They run around and kick up their heels, groom eachother, and are just overall happier animals. That's my goal with my animals, is to keep them happy and content. It's my first priority - if they aren't comfortable and happy, I'm doing something wrong.

That being said, my show rabbits are kept in cages in the barn because they're more valuable (pedigreed, purebred) and they CAN NOT ESCAPE. Also, litters have a better chance in a cage then in the outdoor pen. Less mortality due to weather conditions and predators.

 

[Pink]

Trintiyoaks, and Marry Ann- We don't have a fire ant problem, and I don't have pedigrees. I would like for them to be human-friendly. Would visiting the colony every day, even if it was just for a short time, let them get enough human socialization? And you do bring up a good point- how do you deal with cleaning up the rabbit's messes if the colony is on the ground? Thank you!

I must say, I tend to disagree. It's not impossible to maintain pedigreed, well socialized rabbits in a colony set up. There are many cases where it would not work out - for example, having a herd entirely off New Zealand Whites; the sire is white, the dam is white, all of the kits are white... In my case, however, it's not very difficult determining which kits belong to which doe.

As for not being very human friendly - that's not true for my case, either. Both my bucks and does are very friendly and affectionate. I'm planning on bringing the nest boxes into the home to socialize the kits with guests, pets, men, women, children, etc. From day one, they will be accustomed to people.

Seeing as I have cement flooring, I broom the area twice a day and mop the floors at least once. Baking soda and vinegar are my best friend! I've began litter-box training and they seem to be catching on fairly well...

It is possible to maintain pedigreed, friendly rabbits in a colony set up... It just doesn't work out for everyone's situation.

 

[WildWolf]

Thanks for everyone's imput... does anyone know how to keep the run clean if it has a natural ground bottom? How do you go about litter training them?