honeybunnies
Active member
Hi,
I have posted in a different section of the forum on my topic, so the post may sound familiar. I thought I would try this section & see what others may have to say.
I have 3 puppy pen wire enclosures in the house with me, each in a rectangular shape with the back of each pen against the wall, so they are in a line with a small amount of space between them. I currently have 2 Mini Lops in each enclosure, 1 doe & 1 buck. This is why I am not sure that you would call this a colony?
They are just my beloved pets of various colors. I'm not into meat or showing.
Anyway, I'm trying to get them to breed, but in just over a month, I have not seen one mating during the day & they just seem happy & content to be together.
They snuggle, groom each other & just chill basically. There is no chasing, mounting or bullying going on at all. We are in the second month of Autumn here.
Occasionally I will see one of the bucks sniff the does tail & then he just sort of stops & looks like he thinks to himself - no not ready. I take it they know by the does scent when they are ready to mate which must be the natural way in nature.
I have a nest box in each enclosure but when I put hay in there, one of them or both I'm not sure, soils it, so I'm not sure what to do, so as to be prepared in case one of the does kit in the night when I wasn't expecting it. I think one doe may be in kit as her droppings have become larger, but I can't be sure that any of them are in kit. It certainly would have helped if I had of actually seen a mating, especially in the beginning.
The only idea I can think of is to see if the doe starts to make a nest, when I put a bit of nesting hay in the enclosure, but so far they just nibble on it.
With them being content together in couples I wonder, should I seperate them at some point or not, as I don't see why the buck would suddenly turn nasty & kill newborn kits.
That doesn't go along with nature to me, that they would do that, otherwise I would imagine instead of being the protectors that they are in nature, they would become destroyers & would suddenly become an enemy to the doe.
They certainly seem to be more content, when they are in a buck & doe pairing, than when they are kept on their own or even does kept together.
Approx. ages are:
couple 1 - doe 12mths, buck 4mths
couple 2 - doe 5mths, buck 12mths
couple 3 - doe 6mths, buck 18mths
Any advice would be welcome, especially if anyone else has been in the same boat with their bunnies.
Thanks Honeybunnies :bunnyhop:
:all-ears:
I have posted in a different section of the forum on my topic, so the post may sound familiar. I thought I would try this section & see what others may have to say.
I have 3 puppy pen wire enclosures in the house with me, each in a rectangular shape with the back of each pen against the wall, so they are in a line with a small amount of space between them. I currently have 2 Mini Lops in each enclosure, 1 doe & 1 buck. This is why I am not sure that you would call this a colony?
They are just my beloved pets of various colors. I'm not into meat or showing.
Anyway, I'm trying to get them to breed, but in just over a month, I have not seen one mating during the day & they just seem happy & content to be together.
They snuggle, groom each other & just chill basically. There is no chasing, mounting or bullying going on at all. We are in the second month of Autumn here.
Occasionally I will see one of the bucks sniff the does tail & then he just sort of stops & looks like he thinks to himself - no not ready. I take it they know by the does scent when they are ready to mate which must be the natural way in nature.
I have a nest box in each enclosure but when I put hay in there, one of them or both I'm not sure, soils it, so I'm not sure what to do, so as to be prepared in case one of the does kit in the night when I wasn't expecting it. I think one doe may be in kit as her droppings have become larger, but I can't be sure that any of them are in kit. It certainly would have helped if I had of actually seen a mating, especially in the beginning.
The only idea I can think of is to see if the doe starts to make a nest, when I put a bit of nesting hay in the enclosure, but so far they just nibble on it.
With them being content together in couples I wonder, should I seperate them at some point or not, as I don't see why the buck would suddenly turn nasty & kill newborn kits.
That doesn't go along with nature to me, that they would do that, otherwise I would imagine instead of being the protectors that they are in nature, they would become destroyers & would suddenly become an enemy to the doe.
They certainly seem to be more content, when they are in a buck & doe pairing, than when they are kept on their own or even does kept together.
Approx. ages are:
couple 1 - doe 12mths, buck 4mths
couple 2 - doe 5mths, buck 12mths
couple 3 - doe 6mths, buck 18mths
Any advice would be welcome, especially if anyone else has been in the same boat with their bunnies.
Thanks Honeybunnies :bunnyhop:
:all-ears: