Rough and tumble boys

[EnglishSpot]

I separated the NZR boys and girls last week into gender grow outs. Two days ago I went outside to find one of my boys is missing a giant chunk of the top of his one ear!!!!

These boys are 10 weeks--do they need individual caging already??? The girls don't seem to have this problem.

 

[jeannie]

Ohhh... maybe just a "new territory" thing?

I still have 3 bucks in the 10 x 10 grow out pen (can't decide which one I want to keep).
They're 5 1/2 months old now. Still sleeping together.

When I let them out of the pen to play in the yard, I have noticed in that "new" territory they will joust, but not hurt each other.
I mean, no biting ears and such ... thank goodness ... just the butt nips.

Maybe one of the other bucks just got a lucky punch?

 

[SuburbanHomesteader]

I raise New Zealands.

I put bucks and does into separate pens after weaning. At 10 weeks, I move the bucks into separate pens or they "go somewhere else".

It's rare that the bucks DON'T start fighting at 10 - 12 weeks. If not that, then they are mounting or marking their territory all over each other. All that tension, they usually don't put on any weight. So even if they aren't trying to kill each other, you've got a pen full of smelly, skinny, shredded rabbits.

Does will usually share a pen for longer, but once the hormones kick in, they go to separate pens.

Yeah, as if breeding rabbits isn't enough trouble - you also have to manage real estate!!

 

[Zinnia]

I've experimented with this and by far, they fight considerably less, if at all when given much more space. I have three bucks in a grow out that's 30" X 48" and they haven't fought at all. Twice that many in that space and they will have battle wounds.

 

[EnglishSpot]

The three are in a 24x42 and they're mostly all sleeping on each other all the time. The one who got a chunk taken out of his ear is smaller than the other two, but seems to have taken no other wounds.

Thank you all for replying!!