Rabbit Question

[lutzhomestead]

Hey all, 
New here,  but not new to rabbits. However,  when I had rabbits they were females and we kept them in separate cages. We don't currently have rabbits, but we're thinking that'll be our first homestead animal once we get started. My questions  that I have  are:
Does any one let their rabbits live in a colony? 
And does any one have any tips about neutering male's?  I've seen some information about banding them,  a process that, if done right, can be relatively painless for the animal. Reason I'm  asking is that we plan to Butcher in the winter months so that furs are at their peak and can be used for other purposes, and we hope to keep our meat rabbits in a colony. Thing is, the rabbits we hope to get ( Rex and NZ Whites) generally mature sexually at around six months, and while this isn't an problem when we are kindling and butchering in the winter, once we hit the summer months and are still kindling we would like to let those bunnies be until winter time again and they will be past that six month mark. We don't want lots of baby bunnies running around that aren't "planned", but we also in no way will be able to afford taking bucks to a vet to get them surgically neutered. Do any of you have any methods or thoughts on the topic?

Blessings,
Krista 

[AD in WNC]

You have raised an interesting scenario that I can't resist pondering.

1. How about 2 colonies? One for the males and one for the females? That way you could do the selective breeding in a separate/neutral location.

2. I think I read somewhere that 9 mos was the best age to sell pelts. Therefore, if winter pelts were my primary goal, then I would breed them in March to be a decent size in January. I would breed all of my does one month early, check that the breeding 'took' and rebreed as necessary.

3. I don't think that one litter per year would be the most efficient way to raise rabbits for meat. I think two (or three) breedings per year is a better choice. That would suggest a second breeding in the June-August time frame (too hot at my place), to have kits large enough to eat in January.

4. Also,if rabbits mature at 4-6 mos, and you keep them housed together by gender until they are 9 mos old, is there a risk that the will fight and damage their pelts?

5. Finally, I make my own cages. They cost me about $25/cage. If you assume the cages last 5 years, then they cost $5 per cage per year. If you have one pair of males fight each year, then you have lost two pelts. Then what happens if you have a hawk discover the colony? It wouldn't take much to envision it being cheaper to have individual cages than a colony setup.

Not only do individual cages control breeding, they also minimize disasters to individuals. I love the idea of colony rabbits, but in my location all I would be doing was feeding the local wildlife and my neighbor's dogs.

[lutzhomestead]

Jun 24, 2017 17:38:25 GMT AD in WNC said:

You have raised an interesting scenario that I can't resist pondering.

1. How about 2 colonies? One for the males and one for the females? That way you could do the selective breeding in a separate/neutral location.

2. I think I read somewhere that 9 mos was the best age to sell pelts. Therefore, if winter pelts were my primary goal, then I would breed them in March to be a decent size in January. I would breed all of my does one month early, check that the breeding 'took' and rebreed as necessary.

3. I don't think that one litter per year would be the most efficient way to raise rabbits for meat. I think two (or three) breedings per year is a better choice. That would suggest a second breeding in the June-August time frame (too hot at my place), to have kits large enough to eat in January.

4. Also,if rabbits mature at 4-6 mos, and you keep them housed together by gender until they are 9 mos old, is there a risk that the will fight and damage their pelts?

5. Finally, I make my own cages. They cost me about $25/cage. If you assume the cages last 5 years, then they cost $5 per cage per year. If you have one pair of males fight each year, then you have lost two pelts. Then what happens if you have a hawk discover the colony? It wouldn't take much to envision it being cheaper to have individual cages than a colony setup.

Not only do individual cages control breeding, they also minimize disasters to individuals. I love the idea of colony rabbits, but in my location all I would be doing was feeding the local wildlife and my neighbor's dogs.

Hey, to clarify more about our goals, we will have a rabbitry house set up with cages specifically for our breeding stock and any terrible trouble makers and the colony will be specifically for the meat rabbits. Our colony enclosure will consist of a shed, to give shelter from the elements, and a roofed run to prevent air born predators and the likes away from our bunnies. From what research I've done on colonies, they do very well together this way and there is rarely fighting simply because they are family oriented animals, but even when there is fighting its usually the bucks (I think neutering would probably resolve this)
We will also probably practice a semi - intensive breeding schedule so we have rabbits aplenty in the freezer for ourselves, but also for our dog (who we hope to put on a raw diet). This provides about 5-6 liters of kits per year per doe (we may find we don't need to breed as often to meet our needs). The two colonies might be a great solution, but would cost more on cages and housing which would be a downside.
Because we are breeding for meat, pelts aren't of a major concern, rather a nice byproduct that we would rather not see wasted.
As for you making your own cages, I would love to hear more about how you do this and what materials you use!

[AD in WNC]

I make my cages out of light weight wire from Lowe's. It's easier on my hands and with smaller tools, light weight wire is easier to cut. All of my cages have a plastic mat or a piece or plywood for the rabbits to rest on, so thinner wire isn't a problem for their feet.

I raise Silver Fox rabbits, which are large-ish meat rabbits. My methods for raising them are a bit non-traditional.

I like the cages to be about 2 ft tall so that the rabbits can stretch up. I make the cages as deep as my arm, so that I can grab the rabbits. So that's about 2 ft deep. I read somewhere that the cages should be long enough for the rabbits to hop twice OR that they should be as many square feet as the rabbits weigh when fully grown. My rabbits get to be 8-10 lbs, so my cages are 4 ft long (2 deep time 4 long is 8 square feet). Since the cage wire is light weight, I put the cages on shelves made out of cattle panels, chained to the ceiling and supported by wooden lips around three sides.

I have both rectangular cages and arched cages. My rabbits will not eat hay from between the arched cages, but the arched cages did take less wire to make.

I order J-hooks off of eBay because they close better than the ones from Tractor Supply. The pliers that I use are antique upholstery tools - the ones from Tractor Supply don't close. First, I cut out all of my pieces, and try to get the curl out of them. Then I attach the sides to the bottom wire. They are very flimsy until I get all of the sides attached. I put the j-hooks in every 2 or 3 inches and cut wholes for the door and j-feeder out after I have assembled the cage.

I cut the wire with a pair of 14 gauge swivel head shears that I found at Harbor Freight. They cut my cage building time in half.

I try to buy wire in 2ft widths so that I have "finished" edges and fewer cuts to make. I don't have anyone else in my rabbit barn, so pointy edges aren't going to hurt a child. Bottom wire, and the first 3" up the side walls, have 1/2 by 1 inch openings. The top and rest of the walls are 1" by 1". I use 17 ft of the top wire and 5 ft of the bottom wire per cage.

I hope that helps!

[lutzhomestead]

Thank you AD in WNC! That's really helpful information!

Does anyone else have any thoughts or tips?

[dustawaits]

Male rabbits for the most part can not be kept together. They will fight and usually go for the testes. This can
cause severe bleeding or death. Males can start fighting at 6-8 weeks. As far as colonies I think you would
have to go with rabbits that are more bred for colonies. I do not think NZ and particularly not Rex are suited
for this at all. Climate plays a very big part in colonies , as soil conditions do also. Some people put out straw bales
and let them in that. But unless you know your straw history it could be sprayed.

Do serious deep research on people who have been successful. Frankly I do not know of any.

We worked with our rabbits and if one went off feed and showed signs of not feeling well we would take the rabbit outside
and allow it to eat what it pleased. The rabbitry was on the hill in open woods where there was a variety of growth. The rabbit usually
came back to the cage area when they were ready.

[katievt]

We started colony raising last fall when we moved to my parents. They were in a 10x12 "chicken tractor" all winter and did quite well. Because it was a temporary situation, located in the garden, it was just set on the ground. They tunneled out several times. Once the ground froze, they stuck to making tunnels under their housing! Babies were born and raised underground. If we were making a permanent colony, I would definitely either house them on concrete or bury wire.

If you want pedigreed breeding stock, it will be difficult to keep track of litters in a colony setting - even if you only have one buck in the colony. The rabbits did seem happier in the colony versus cages. It also made it a lot easier to care for them in the winter - the main group had a heated water bowl. No dealing with ice!

They are now out on pasture in "rabbit tractors". The sides are 1"x2" cage wire with 2"x4" welded wire on the ground. That way they can't dig out. They get moved at least once a day onto fresh pasture. They are fed pellets as well. I have 3 pens/groups: my breeding rabbits (adults with young babies), my other buck with young growouts, and older growouts.

[lutzhomestead]

Does any one else have any information or thoughts on the topic of banding bucks and colony raising rabbits?

[whisperwindkat]

We have been colony raising for several years. One buck in a colony. More than that they fight and will kill litters. Don't see how it would be possible to band bucks as their testes are long not round. Usually a vet is involved when neureing male rabbits. A neutered male rabbit would give off a different scent which might make does confused and since they are territorial the dominant doe might kill him. Our colony is strictly indoors for disease prevention. Most outdoor colonies I have known about wind up being wiped out by diseases. You can read about our old colony setup at Homesteading and Home keeping at Whisperwind Farm. We have since moved and have another colony in the barn where we are working out the kinks for this new place. Hope that helps, Kat