Question about rabbits living together

[Attal.Rabbits]

Hello I have a few questioins that i need awnser i tried lookng them up on google but not one seems to really know. i want some of my rabbits living together in the same cage so they can have company and such. im not worried about the cages being to small becasue they will be able to get out and excerise through the hole day and just sleep in the cages at night. i of course will make sure they have enough room to hope and play in there cage but they will have loads of time outside of it too. my question is can i keep two females together in the same cage. also can you keep two males together in one cage? i want to controle how many littlers of rabbits i have so i dont just want two females living with one male. i feel like i wont have controle of how many litters they will have and such. so i really want to have two males in a cage and two females in a cage. ok another question. can i let all the females out to play in my full fenced in back yard all at the same time or will they fight? because there is so much room for them to move and play and jump in the back yard. and yes i am careful non dig under the fence. also can i let all the males out when its there turn to play in the back yard? will they kill eachother? i wont be letting males and famles out at the same time. i will only be letting males our with males and females out with females. i really need help and i just dont know much about keeping rabbits together. :bunnyhop: :bunnyhop:

 

[OneAcreFarm]

You *may* be able to get away with two females living together...if they were sister and were raised together, AND if you have a largish cage. But males absolutely need separate cages. They WILL fight and hurt or kill each other.

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

ok great! what about a mom and her baby girl?

__________ Wed Jan 09, 2013 2:15 pm __________

oh also say if i kept a mom with her daughter in once cage, and then say if i seprated them for two or three months while one is having babys, can i then put her back with her daugher after or will they fight from being away from eachother?

 

[Secuono]

Ehh, both genders may be fine before they breed, but may get very territorial after. Does may get along up until one is bred and then try to kill the other doe. Bucks may fight just because there is a doe nearby, even across the room, and scent mark all over the place. Honestly, I would buy 4 cages just to be on the safe side. You'll need the other cages for the growers anyway. They may be fine out in a very large area for playtime or one doe/buck may end up refusing to share and pick a fight.
Every rabbit is different and every pairing is different. Best way to know is to just try it and separate when they really start fighting.
I had 12 M/F living together from when they were weaned until 6mo. None really fought, none bred, just lived fine together, but that was a 20x40ft area.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I had 12 M/F living together from when they were weaned until 6mo. None really fought, none bred, just lived fine together, but that was a 20x40ft area.

That is likely why it worked...you had enough space. I would hate to see what would happen if she tries to close two adult does or bucks up in a small cage together...*shudder*...oh wait...I have seen it! NOT PRETTY! Whirling, rolling, biting, scratching ball of rabbit!

 

[Dood]

can you keep two males together in one cage?

No. They will fight. If one or both are neutered it is possible to keep two boys, but they may still fight since there are fertile females around.

can i keep two females together in the same cage.

Sometimes. It really depends on the girls temperaments. You will have better luck getting them to bond if they are both babies and get to grow up togeather, or if they are mother and daughter. If you notice any fighting you must separate them into different cages. You are breeding meat rabbits (New Zealand crosses) so the smallest cage for two does would need to be 48 x 24.

can i let all the females out to play in my full fenced in back yard all at the same time or will they fight? because there is so much room for them to move and play and jump in the back yard.

As long as you can catch them, and they cannot dig under, jump over or squeeze through the fence I don't see a problem. You must supervise them as cats, hawks and other wildlife will try and eat them. If the girls have been living in the same cage, then they should not fight in a big open yard. It is living too close in a small cage that makes them fight, they want distance from each other. A multi level cage is best for two or more rabbits as they can get out of each others eye sight.

You say you plan to breed them. Some does kill other does kits or accidentally squish them, so be very watchful when a doe is ready to give birth, you may need to remove the other one so she doesn't hurt the babies. Some mother rabbits are very protective of their babies and will attack a rabbit they use to get along with, so again, be watchful and ready to move one to its own cage.

__________ Wed Jan 09, 2013 2:25 pm __________

oh also say if i kept a mom with her daughter in once cage, and then say if i seprated them for two or three months while one is having babys, can i then put her back with her daugher after or will they fight from being away from eachother?

Sometimes.
I would re-introduce them in a large room, they may fight but once they smell each other stop it, or they may keep fighting so they can no longer kept togeather.

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

Thank you so much for everyones information! oh lol you have to understand something, my concept of a small cage is a cage made for large dogs its so big it could hold a golden retriver dog comfortably, or even two cocker spaniels comfortably. this is the cage size i would keep them in and i would give provide them with two rabbits houses. i will not have them have babys sharing a cage! they will be in there own nice private cage while raising the babys. so i would never cramp a poor animal in a small cage never ever! even those cages you can buy at the pet store made for rabbits i think is way to small for anyones rabbit! i like the big dog crates. this is my rabbit cages, i made a rabbit cage on top of it so i have rabbit condos. http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... ,s:0,i:144

__________ Wed Jan 09, 2013 2:35 pm __________

http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... ,s:0,i:135

__________ Wed Jan 09, 2013 2:37 pm __________

i am going to be building my own hucth for the rabbits im putting outside, if i can put two rabbits together the hucthes will be as big as this cage size. but if i cant keep rabbits together i will be sperating this cage size into two parts. so no matter what my rabbits will have plenty of room. just for anyone who was worrying about my cages being to small <br /><br />__________ Wed Jan 09, 2013 2:39 pm __________<br /><br />oh also to clear something up, my current rabbit cages the dog crate i just showed you are inside my house! i know that they are not made for outdoor use, thats why im building my own hucth for the outdoor bunnies that will be comming along.

 

[Dood]

I have that kind of dog cage, mine is only 36 by 24 and way two small for two meat rabbits but I know they come in larger sizes as well. I would add a second level to one half of the cage since cages are taller than a rabbit needs, this way one bunny can hop up on the second level if they need some alone time. Rabbits generally dont like houses to hide in, they usually use any sort of box as a toilet or chew toy and the houses would just take up valuable floor space.

Baby bunnies can easily squeeze through those bars on the dog crate. If you plan to use them for mothers and babies, you will need to put smaller sized wire at least 4 inches high along the bottom so the little ones cannot escape.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

Thank you so much for everyones information! oh lol you have to understand something, my concept of a small cage is a cage made for large dogs its so big it could hold a golden retriver dog comfortably, or even two cocker spaniels comfortably. this is the cage size i would keep them in and i would give provide them with two rabbits houses. i will not have them have babys sharing a cage! they will be in there own nice private cage while raising the babys. so i would never cramp a poor animal in a small cage never ever! even those cages you can buy at the pet store made for rabbits i think is way to small for anyones rabbit! i like the big dog crates. this is my rabbit cages, i made a rabbit cage on top of it so i have rabbit condos. http://www.google.com/imgres?um=1&hl=en ... ,s:0,i:144

That is still WAY too small for two adult does to co-exist in. They would need something more like 4ft by 5ft at LEAST, with two levels.

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

thanks so much everyone for all your posts, so i can get an idea how larg to make the rabbit huts, and how to seprate or who to put together and such and doing levels for the rabbits im putting together. what i will do his make a couple big hucthes for the ones i might pare up, and then i will build on top of it and put indivdual rooms for the single rabbits. also i wanted to let you know, for my two pet rabbits, i have this really big dog cage, i added another level for the other rabbit. and they both of a house, and on top of the house they have there litter box, they always sleep in there houses.... and they never go potty in it. they only go potty on there litter box that is on the top. this is the only place they will go to the bathroom. so thats weired how people think rabbits dont use there houses... mine sleeps in theres all the time... also what i do is i put a border of cardbored all around it,so hay and bedding they may kick out of there houses dont fall over my floor, it keeps its nice and neat and its safe for the babys, i give them boxes to chew on so they leave the cardbored alone that lines there cage. i let them chew on tissue boxes, or the left over toilet paper roll thing. or a cereal box and such. they love to shred them. maybe i have to very uniqe rabbits... i dont know lol.

 

[Dood]

I am glad that your rabbits get along in your set up and sleep in their houses rather than use them as toilets, they seem to be very unique.

Can you tell me how old your rabbits are?

make a couple big hucthes for the ones i might pare up, and then i will build on top of it and put indivdual rooms for the single rabbits.

I am concerned about this plan. You should not stack rabbits as the ones on top ones will urinate and defecate on the rabbits below and their droppings can land in food and water bowls which is very un-hygienic and can lead to disease.

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

i got my rabbits when they were about 8-12 weeks old. they are fully litter boxed train you can do it with every rabbit it makes is soooo much easyer to clean there cage because all i have to do is clean there litter box, you get a good size container there cheat at walmart, and you put bedding in it, you also put there hay and pellets in bowles and put the bowels inside the litter box when they eat this is when they mostly go to the bathroom, but to start off to get your bunny to pee there, take some dirty bedding that smells like pee and put it there, rabbits will only go to the bathroom in one area, if you want tommrow i can take pictures and post them here of my set up, also i dont belive in letting rabbits sit on wire! i think its cruel and mean! the rabbit on the bottom stand on a pull out try, and the rabbit on the top has tiles i taped the tiles on there creases, it looks nice, and i only have a littler box to clean for each one, they dont pee or poop inside there cages or houses just in the littler box. every rabbit can be littler boxed trained because they are born this way you just have to supply them with the right set up for them to be like this. if your rabbit dosent use the litter box and is using the other corner of the cage to go to the bathroom then move the litter box to that corner because thats the corver the rabbit chose to have as there potty spot. its way less work to clean, i just simply dump there litter box out every few days and put fresh bedding in it. easy and simple. i supply my rabbits with there hosue because i feel like its wrong to have them sleep on a hard surface there whole life, so i i buy another container for there house and fill it with bedding so they have a nice soft place to sleep. and they never mess in there houses or the cages just in there litter boxes. both of my rabbits are the same age so they are 1 year olds. i am planning on doing a litter box for every rabbit i own like i said it dosent take any work to potty train them because they already are like that in the first place, and its easy easy to clean. i will find a rabbit poop here and there, i will clean there houses and change out the bedding due to there fur and dust about once every 3 months, and i will only find maybe 10 little poops in there. and they do that because they actually eat there poop around dawn time. but they wont eat there poop if its more then 3 or 4 days old. i know alot about rabbits, i just need more knowlege about keeping mulitple rabbits to make it easy and less expesnive<br /><br />__________ Wed Jan 09, 2013 11:31 pm __________<br /><br />oh i messed up on something my female rabbit that just gave birth i got her when she was about 8 months old, she was not litter boxed trained when i got her, i just simply added the contaner for her and boom she was litter boxed trained i will get you the video off youtube if you want it, its the video i wacthed before i litter boxed trained my rabbits, and well i took some advice from it but likt i said rabbits just are natrualy trained lol! what else can i say most people dont relize how smart rabbits are. and its so sad how people under estmiate them. when i get my 1 year olds tunnel out to play to crawl through my rabbit will see it and know its play time, and will hope in and out of the tunnel with my 1 year old taking turns one after another for like an hour or so! also my bird is best friends with both of my rabbits, he sleeps on his back and everything i have pics of that too lol!

 

[Dood]

I thought your rabbits might be younger than a 6 months and that is why they still get along, but if they are a over a year then you are very lucky that your girls are still friendly with each other in the dog crate.

My rabbits only defecate in one corner, but accidents do happen. I am glad that the upper cages will have a solid floor so the chance of the food or water being soiled is lessened.

 

[Miss M]

i dont belive in letting rabbits sit on wire! i think its cruel and mean!

Many of us keep our rabbits on wire with no issue and no visible sign of discomfort. I supply resting mats for my rabbits, and they are usually ignored. Why would my rabbits not use the resting mats that I put in there so they could get off of the wire, if the wire was bothering them?

There are rabbits kept all sorts of ways by the members on this forum. We don't all agree with each other on everything, but you can certainly voice your opinions more diplomatically than calling a large number of us "cruel and mean". Saying "I don't like the idea of keeping rabbits on wire because..." and then supplying some thoughtful reasons is much more palatable, and will help you get along better on this forum.

i supply my rabbits with there hosue because i feel like its wrong to have them sleep on a hard surface there whole life, so i i buy another container for there house and fill it with bedding so they have a nice soft place to sleep. and they never mess in there houses or the cages just in there litter boxes.

You are fortunate. I give things like this to my rabbits, and they usually get soiled. Maybe not right away, but they do. One buck just plays with his. He doesn't get in it. He dumps all the hay out of it, flips it, and throws it around for entertainment. He doesn't soil his, so I leave it in there.

Again, what works well for you won't necessarily work well for everyone else.

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

I am sorry if i offended you, i wasent calling anyone mean or cruel i just personally think if i did it it would make me feel that way, but i dont judge other people and what they decide to do because every rabbit is diffrent and every owner has a diffrent set up, you suplly yotur rabbits with matts.... to get a brake from the wire if they need it, which is a wonderful thing to have this option avaible to them, but like i said i am not a judemental person and i dont know what a person has planned for there rabbits, but for me wire bottom just dosent feel right for me, so i give my rabbits a solid flooring, but u feel a wire flooirng is cleaner, and healthyer for the rabbit... there is nothing wrong with that, and i dont think your mean or cruel. sorrry u felt that way

 

[Dreamerz]

I guess my rabbits are the odd ones on this. I have up to 4 rabbits in a cage (it is large) some cages are all female, some male & a few are mixed, they all seem to get along. I also allow them to run in these groups & have never had a fight as of yet. Maybe it has something to do with the temperment of the breeds, mine are very mellow Jersey Woolys, Lionheads & Mini Lops.

Boys in pen

Girls in pen

 

[a7736100]

It de[ends on the individual rabbits. I have up to 4 males living together and up to 8 females together. Some have to be caged alone and some will get along with one but not another.

 

[Dood]

I have had up to 20 does, spayed does and neutered males in colonies that were 15x15 and 10x10 with few incidents, it was once they are confined to a 4x2 cage that the problems arose and I could house mature bucks with does or fixed rabbits but never with another intact male.

 

[Zab]

thanks so much everyone for all your posts, so i can get an idea how larg to make the rabbit huts, and how to seprate or who to put together and such and doing levels for the rabbits im putting together. what i will do his make a couple big hucthes for the ones i might pare up, and then i will build on top of it and put indivdual rooms for the single rabbits.

Since you're into solid floors and are thinking of hutches.. if you image-google "fack kaninbur'', "utebur kanin" or ''kaninstall" you should end up with pictures of swedish type rabbit hutches. Just thinking it could be an inspiration.

It's a good idea to paint the wood (if you build like these) and put a layer of building silicon (or what that may be called in english)in corners and where wood boards meet, to make the floors waterproof and keep the rabbits beneth each other dry and fresh. Make sure there's no painted edge to gnaw on - either by putting a non-painted piece of wood on top of it (which will need to get replaced) or put the net on the inside. Tey generally don't gnaw on the flat surfaces but will most probably chew off edges.
You might want to change the model to adapt to your climate or if you're habving them indoors etc.

I don't know about keeping rabbits together in that sort of cages and I think they'd prefer to have a run-out and individual sleeping houses if they're to live together, since that's the wild way. I have no experience of rabbits living together - yet. I'm in the start of making a colony myself, but not in cages like this

(Havn't read all of the answers, just skimmed through, so sorry if I'm repeating or contradicting anything)

 

[Attal.Rabbits]

wow you have some beutiful rabbits. thanks all again! i am going to try to keep a mama with her daughter in the same cage. i will wactht hem very very closey together. you all have been a great help. its intresting to hear so many diffrent situations.