Keeping doe & buck together, in hope of good litter results

[Marinea]

I have no colony raising experience, so I am watching this thread with interest.

In reading so far, if I understand your plan, my concern would be that your does could be having kits any time along a two week stretch of time. I would be worried about doe A having kits, and a week later doe B deciding she wanted that nest. Maybe it's me, but I have found it stressful enough having two does doe to kindle knowing the date (within a day or two). I can't imagine the time and stress involved in checking and adjusting over a two week period to try to prevent losing kits and/or does in that situation.

I hope it all goes well for you. Please keep us updated.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

Thank you MamaSheepdog for all your interesting information. I learn't a lot from that. It was very interesting & easy to follow!

That's great to hear! It's a pretty complex subject, so I am happy that it was easy to understand.

They must know instinctively when the doe is ready to mate & is at her peak by scent.

I think a lot of the sexually aggressive behavior from bucks comes from frustration of not being with the does in a more natural environment.

I am sure that scent is a factor. Bucks near a doe that has just kindled (when they are again highly receptive) get excited. When bucks are kept separate and does brought to them for one reason alone (to mate!) most of them become conditioned to try to breed the doe immediately. All of my bucks are like that- they will mount the does within seconds usually, although some of the does are not quite willing and the mating is not always successful.

Maybe it's me, but I have found it stressful enough having two does doe to kindle knowing the date (within a day or two). I can't imagine the time and stress involved in checking and adjusting over a two week period to try to prevent losing kits and/or does in that situation.

Knowing when to expect the litters does lower the stress level! :lol:

Honeybunnies, I would be sure to have hay available for them at day 28 from when they were first put with the bucks. Most does will gather hay for their nests, and that is usually the first sign that you will have that kindling is imminent.

I could line the 3 pens up close together once I separate the pairs & each doe would still have her own space without losing the close contact that they are used to having with each other, ensuring the kits should be kept safe when they are born.

I think that is a good plan.

Hopefully someone will chime in with when it is best to try to reintroduce the does and their kits.

 

[honeybunnies]

Decided to go with plan B, which I feel will be safer for both the does & their kits. All 3 pens lined up against each other, but separate.

No need to worry Marinea, as I will not keep the pairs together any longer than 3 weeks & less if any aggression starts to show. I figure at that stage if each doe has her nest box & hay all should be safe for does & kits. They were all put into pairs the same day, so kindling times shouldn't be too unpredictable, give or take a week or 2, I suppose. But the main thing is they will all be safe & no stealing of hay or trampling of kits, by the other does will be able to take place & that gives me peace of mind & I'm sure also to all the other bunny lovers, that have been following & advising me on my post.

I think as Syberchick70 mentioned there was a difference in how her buck & doe got along at the 3 week stage & I think that sounds like a fairly good guide to go by, as the does hormones would obviously be changing gears, so to speak a week or so before kindling.

As for their ages:

pair 1: doe is 5 mths, buck 1 yr

pair 2: doe is 1 yr, buck 4 mths

pair 3: doe is 6 mths, buck 18 mths

They are all different colours & just pets, not for showing or meat. I sell the kits within 2 to 3 days of advertising them online where I live, so finding homes for them is no problem & of course I may want to keep or replace in some cases depending on what gives!

Hopefully all 3 does will kindle & look after their young ones well. That is my main wish in the love of my pets & hobby. As for profit there is none really. Breeding & selling them from time to time, just helps to pay for their food & litter to a certain extent, but certainly not completely. Being indoor pets, recycled newspaper pellets adds up a little, but I don't care as it's very practical for indoor use.

 

[Susie570]

I just wanted to add a quick note, instead of having pens directly against each other, you might find it better to have a small chap between them off a few inches for at least two reasons. One, you could potentially have an accidental breeding between the cages. Not sure if it would be a problem for you to have a doe bred by a didn't buck, but I understand its possible. Two, sometimes rabbits will pick at each other through the wire. They can scratch at each other and pull fur through the wire. I think this possibility would be lessened by having the pairs together, but it still could happen.

Best of luck!

 

[Truckinguy]

I'm still currently working out some issues with my colony but when I had one doe and one buck together for a year or more it was working very well. Fred and Morgan got along like champs and she cranked out a litter every five weeks or so for a while. They would lay together in the straw and both were quiet and friendly.

I put Morgan down because she had not had a litter in a few months and was looking kind of ratty. I kept three of her daughters back as breeders. My intention was to keep the two best does and have one in each side of the colony and switch the buck from one side to the other every three weeks. That didn't work out as the first time switched him over the doe chased him aggressively for three days and he hid in the nest box most of the time. I put her down when her litter was ready to process and opened up the full colony to the buck and the remaining two does. I have had issues with over grooming and lost litters so I"m likely going to go back to just one buck and one doe and hope all goes back to normal.

My colony is 5'x18' so there is plenty of room to run around. I leave four nest boxes in there all the time and a clay pipe to hide in and will put other things in there to give them entertainment.

 

[Susie570]

It makes sense that the doe would chase the buck around like that, Truckin.

You put him in HER territory

I think it would work better if you were in a situation where a doe didn't have such a clearly established territory, but probably better overall to have the bucks in large enclosures, let the does stay with them until kindling time, remove does to smaller area for kindling then bring them back after kits are weaned.

 

[Truckinguy]

Yup, I know about taking the doe to the buck but they could see each other through a single layer wire partition so I though that they would at least know each other. Maggie said she had a similar setup that worked so I thought I would give it a try.

I was hoping it would give the doe a break while she kindled without the buck bothering her and it would space the litters out a couple more weeks apart. However, a single buck and doe producing litters would be enough rabbits for me anyway so I'll go with that for now.

I have an area that I could build a separate buck colony and take the does to him when needed then take them back. I just like the idea of them all together for company if they all get along. Fred is a pretty easy going guy, he doesn't even care if the kits climb all over him.

 

[Susie570]

I have an area that I could build a separate buck colony and take the does to him when needed then take them back. I just like the idea of them all together for company if they all get along. Fred is a pretty easy going guy, he doesn't even care if the kits climb all over him.

I think you could basically let the does live WITH him, in HIS enclosure (if it's large enough) until close to kindling time when you have to pull the does out, then you should be able to put the does back after weaning. I think the trick, really, would be to not put the buck into a doe enclosure.

 

[Truckinguy]

I have an area that I could build a separate buck colony and take the does to him when needed then take them back. I just like the idea of them all together for company if they all get along. Fred is a pretty easy going guy, he doesn't even care if the kits climb all over him.

I think you could basically let the does live WITH him, in HIS enclosure (if it's large enough) until close to kindling time when you have to pull the does out, then you should be able to put the does back after weaning. I think the trick, really, would be to not put the buck into a doe enclosure.

That's a good idea. I can let a doe live with Fred for three weeks and then put her back in her space then put the other doe in with him. I guess I now have to add a buck colony to my list of projects...lol! Chicken coop addition for more birds, coop renovation and addition to prepare for turkeys, fencing for turkeys, garden shed, turn over compost bins... I need the snow to finish melting and the frost to come out of the ground ASAP!!

 

[Susie570]

We're getting our first taste of spring here... and man is it NICE!!!
It was in the 60s yesterday... ahhhhhh