Housing for pasture based breeding stock questions

[nast.urtium]

Hi all, I'm trying to get back into rabbits after a (very) long hiatus and I wanted to bounce some ideas off folks. I'm in the Western Hemisphere where summer is our grass season and winter gets a lot of snow. I'm interested in running fryers through pasture in the summer months and only keeping breeding stock through the winter. I'm planning to start with one buck and 1-2 does. I'm curious about a few things:

Is there a way to run breeders through pasture without that complicating breeding schedules or aggression between does becoming a problem? Is it better to house breeding stock individually in cages and keep them there? I'm not set up for a colony style pen, it would have to be either cages or pastured pens. individual pasture pens seems excessive but I'd love to hear people's experiences and ideas on this.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Preitler]

How I do it:

I had 2 pairs of breeding does, 2 pairs because one old one was too dominant and didn't get along with the other two. Back when I got them I didn't know much about keeping rabbits and missed the opportunity to get them used to each other, and didn't bother later on. Also kept them apart in seperate garden patches.

That is changing now, old Fury died at 11 and I connected all the hutches two weeks ago, so I'll have 4 does together, two of them retired (9 and 5years old). Once they settle their hierachy and if there are not any completly inompatible characters I don't see any aggression between does, with my current flock there were none at all. Some humping and the occasional tuft of fur can be normal at times though, that's just them being rabbits.
Enough structured space helps, so they can get out of each others sight if they feel like it - now their housing are 5 hutches, connected with tunnels.

Currently there are 13 rabbits living together, 2 old ones (9yo Red and 5yo Chantal who is recovering from EC), 4 16week old doelings, and 6 5week old kits. I'll keep one of the doelings.

If I can't give away the bucklings to other breeders (with 2 active breeding does I have more than enough) I block off one hutch and garden patch and keep them there from 10-16 weeks.

Anyway, they spend the days outside grazing/lounging or whatever they like to do, return to the hutches in the evening. I use pellets as a treat to train them to go back to their hutch. The kits start to roam the garden at about 3 weeks, if it's easier for them to get back home than out (they have to jump a 10-12" step to get on the ramp to get out) I don't have to do much, they are back in the nest at dawn waiting to be nursed.

I feed fresh forage whenever available, hay in winter, and also some apples, pumpkin and topinambur. I offer one feeder with hay throughout the year, just for the case they might need it for their tummy.
I use the pellets as treat, all together get two handfull in the evening.