What age do bucks need to be separated from does?

[LaneyMaee]

I put both does in a cage and after a while they settled down. Same with the Bucks. I dis a lot of research to understand their behavior. So far they are all being really sweet, they even play with my kitten! She sleeps ontop of the cages and plays with thang using her paws and tail. Its pretty funny.<br /><br />__________ Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:39 am __________<br /><br />They are about 11-12 weeks. When do rabbits hit puberty? I really dont want to have them in the same cage when this happens.

 

[SatinsRule]

Tell you what, Laney. Put 2 adult does in a cage together and 2 adult bucks in a cage together and see what happens. Smart money says there will be a time when they settle down--it's when one completely destroys the other.

There is no rhyme or reason to it, but most bunnies should be separated around 2 weeks after being weaned from their mom. You can milk that timeline if you want, but in many cases, it's much like playing jacks on I-40.

 

[ZRabbits]

Agree with SatinsRule. When I first got into bunnies, I wanted two. Breeder and Vet advised me that it was 50/50 chance of working. Well, I learned the hard way when I woke up Halloween morning to my Sable Marten barbered by my Polish. I got really lucky. Could have been much worse. So they all live together separately. Will never do that again. I cherish my entire tribe and treat them as individuals. To loose one, because I wanted them to live together, is just not worth it. Hoping that I get the rare case of two that will live in harmony forever.

There is no rhyme or reason to it. My boys were together from Day One. Hit that 5 month age, and wham. Some can live in harmony, but with one incident, it all could go bad. Bunnies are individuals and need their individual space.

Karen

Thought I share what I woke up to.

 

[Stormy]

... However the Does were shoving eachother with thei noses and running around after eachother. Is this okay? I currently have them separated, but what should I do? My Californian buck, Hewitt, doesn't like to share his cage with anyone but his sister. Is teratorial-ness normal in rabbits?

Hi LaneyMae- I suggest poring over the Rabbit Colony section of this forum - lots of great advice there from people who do raise their rabbits together in one pen - at least the girls. Its usually recommended to keep the bucks separate but some people have successfully raised bucks together if given enough room, and good natured enough. 4 months is still young enough the does should settle in together - but that is a "should". The important thing to note is there WILL be a power struggle - chasing, boxing standing on their hind legs, etc. jumping on each other, fur pulling - it looks ugly but the girls rarely hurt each other if they're still young. Its introducing adult does that gives them a bad name for territorialness - because the does, once used to being dominant in their own space, will joust much harder for dominance and can become much more stubborn.

Rabbits are super social creatures - give them the opportunity to remain as social as they are in their family litters, and they will remain social. Separate them and they will lose their socialness.

For instance, I kept two sisters co-housed, even in a fairly small cage while I built their 10'x 4'x 6' pen. They had dominance struggles at some point, especially when they got hormonal. One sister got sick and died from an intestinal issue, and the other got severely depressed, went off food, stopped exercising or bouncing around, etc. I went back to the breeder and got another young doe - this one 9 weeks, the other 4 months now. She was delighted to have company again - though they went through the domination dance, they are now very good friends, highly compatible. Neither doe ever had the chance to develop an attitude about being the sole queen of the castle. They both have had litters and they take care of each others babies as if they were their own. In fact they both decided to kindle in the same litterbox, both times! Hows that for love? I can't even tell the little ones apart, was the drawback...

Its highly rewarding to me seeing them live socially as they would in the wild. I used to raise rabbits one to a cage and its a much more lonely existence for them. They enjoy flopping out together, grooming each other, taking turns caring for the little ones...

Hope this helps.

__________ Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:59 pm __________

I've never had a purposeful litter out of anything under 5months but I had an accidental litter out of a 12 week old that got pregnant by her siblings at 8weeks. For most 12 weeks should be fine. I've left a few hundred to 12-16 weeks without litters before butchering so far. It was just that one odd time.

OMG that is crazy! Pregnant at 8 weeks? I have never heard such a thing.
I notice one of the 9 week old Americans who is a male, and one of the largest, does not have "junk" but he is rubbing on things like he's marking his territory. Its cute but it got me worried. Do they need to have dropped testicles and fully developed penises in order to impregnate? Anyone know?<br /><br />__________ Sun Jul 15, 2012 11:04 pm __________<br /><br />

I routinely begin breeding my does at 16wks. I separate bucks and does around 10-12wks at the latest. 8wks is better for me, but I don't always have the space at that time.

OneAcre- May I ask what kind of rabbit you are raising that is developed enough to breed at 4 mos? My American doe accidentally got bred at 4.5 mos and I had no idea she could even have babies at that age. I had gathered 6-8 months was the starting age, so they could develop fully themselves, gain their weight, etc. so was feeling bad about that. I am curious if there is an impact on their size or otherwise, if they start making litters at 4 months?

 

[SatinsRule]

May I ask what kind of rabbit you are raising that is developed enough to breed at 4 mos? My American doe accidentally got bred at 4.5 mos and I had no idea she could even have babies at that age. I had gathered 6-8 months was the starting age, so they could develop fully themselves, gain their weight, etc. so was feeling bad about that. I am curious if there is an impact on their size or otherwise, if they start making litters at 4 months?

I'll jump in on this one. Satins have been known to do so from time to time. In fact, one of Londa's baby blacks born in March of this year is already lifting, making her right at 4 months old. She tips the scales right now at around 6-7 lbs.

I won't put her in with a buck quite yet, but she's ready, willing, and able.

 

[MamaSheepdog]

OneAcre- May I ask what kind of rabbit you are raising that is developed enough to breed at 4 mos?

I'll answer for OAF (she is my "Sistah", after all!)... she raises Californians primarily, but has recently added Rex. I don't know at what age she has tried breeding the Rex.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

I routinely begin breeding my does at 16wks. I separate bucks and does around 10-12wks at the latest. 8wks is better for me, but I don't always have the space at that time.

OneAcre- May I ask what kind of rabbit you are raising that is developed enough to breed at 4 mos? My American doe accidentally got bred at 4.5 mos and I had no idea she could even have babies at that age. I had gathered 6-8 months was the starting age, so they could develop fully themselves, gain their weight, etc. so was feeling bad about that. I am curious if there is an impact on their size or otherwise, if they start making litters at 4 months?

Stormy, that waiting 6-8 months idea is a completely human idea. Rabbits can and will breed as soon as their bodies tell them they are able to, which can be as early as 8-10 wks in rare cases, but more likely somewhere around 16-18wks for does, 18-20wks for bucks. I raise Cals, NZW, Rex (not MR) and American Blues.<br /><br />__________ Tue Jul 17, 2012 8:00 am __________<br /><br />

I put both does in a cage and after a while they settled down. Same with the Bucks. I dis a lot of research to understand their behavior. So far they are all being really sweet, they even play with my kitten! She sleeps ontop of the cages and plays with thang using her paws and tail. Its pretty funny.

__________ Sun Jul 15, 2012 10:39 am __________

They are about 11-12 weeks. When do rabbits hit puberty? I really dont want to have them in the same cage when this happens.

LaneyMaee, it really depends on WHERE you did your research...the House Rabbit Society and H$U$ will have you believe that it is cruel and inhumane to house rabbits separately, but I have had more rabbits hurt each other, some seriously, by trying to keep them together. I had to put down a promising young buck at 12wks because his two littermates tore him up so badly that they stripped the fur and skin from his entire left side and it became acutely infected. They were just fine the day before this happened....I just recently had to remove a Cal/Rex cross doe from a cage with some other young does because she was starting to beat up on them. Rabbits are each different, and what works for one may not work for all. For every story of sweet rabbits living in harmonious accord, there are two or three stories of terrible injuries and maiming. If you MUST keep them together, go the colony route and ensure that they each have LOTS of space and places to get away. House your buck separately until you need him for breeding.