# your veiws on colonies



## bunnychild (Sep 15, 2011)

hi i was wondering what you think of colonies and how would you do it? if you don't know what a colony is it is a pen with rabbits (simular to free range)


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## BlueCamasRabbitry (Sep 15, 2011)

I personally wouldn't tackle it...at least not without a lot of mentors to help. It seems like a tricky set-up with more stress/management than separately housing rabbits. Bonding rabbits is a hard process, and that'd obviously be the first step - and if you're bonding un-fixed rabbits to have in a breeding colony, then it'll be even harder. 

Of course there are tons of people out there who have done and have successfull colonies. If you're interested in starting one, perhaps chatting with breeders who have colonies will help to give you ideas on how to set-up and manage one of your own? 

Emily


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## bunnychild (Sep 15, 2011)

i am not planning on doing this because there are many snakes in my area, but i would like to learn more about it

i found a picture of a colonie or tractor 







sorry so small


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## GorbyJobRabbits (Sep 16, 2011)

I wouldn't do it either. Even though rabbits are in close contact with my hanging cages, they get individual attention, I can immediately detect who is 'off'... whose not eating right, drinking, I can look below and i know who poos where so I can see if any of that is off. 

Not to mention my rabbits are show rabbits, not rabbits who dig around out in the ground and are essentially 'wild'. 

I can go on and on why I would never do it.


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## hillrise (Sep 16, 2011)

My biggest concern with colonies is that the does will be constantly either nursing or pregnant or both, which drastically cuts down their lifespan and quality of life. They can usually work a break in if you give them something like a quarter acre for a colony of 5 rabbits (read somewhere it should be a tennis court per rabbit).

I agree with Crystal, too: it's easier to know who's got what problem when rabbits are housed separately.

I've also had a friend who's pet lawn bunny accidentally got bred and ended up having her kits under their shed. Catching 8 feral babies at 3 weeks old is not an easy task (and you'll have to do it every time a litter looks to be getting around 6 to 8 weeks old so they don't end up bred, too).


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## GorbyJobRabbits (Sep 20, 2011)

And my biggest concern is wild rabbits.... My rabbits catching a disease from them is one thing.... but I've seen what pasturella does to a state, worked out in wyo, NO rabbits anywhere, because it went through and had wiped them out.... Though there is still a chance for a wild rabbit to come up to my hutches, I doubt they would since I'm out there so often... but having them in a huge open pen, where wild rabbits could come near them on ground level, just scares the daylights out of me of something being spread even easier.

not to mention what Hillrise(def need to learn your name since we're on a few forums together =p)said about them being pregnant often.

Not to mention my does just putting them by a new doe in hutches want to kill each other.... I can't even imagine the possible damage being done by putting some together.


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## mistyjr (Sep 20, 2011)

I agree'd... I have had bucks and even does fight with each other. Drew blood, pulled each other fur.. Its not an good thing, I keep mine separated with an divider between the cages!


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## Nancy McClelland (Sep 20, 2011)

not even remotely interested in something like that. We like the smaller, more intimate contact we have with our babies.


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## MiniLopHop (Sep 20, 2011)

All my fuzzies need a hug every day. That would be impossible in a colony setting. 

When I was in GA there was a cool petting zoo situation where there was a colony of bunnies. They were all fixed and rescued from the local shelter. These are animals that would have been euthanised otherwise. They have a cute barn and hide holes in the yard to get away from children when they want to. Some of them were very friendly and liked the petting. I think this was a nice alternative to death, but I wouldn't do it with my own pet rabbits.


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## bunnychild (Sep 20, 2011)

i think this would be something the a meat breeder would do and rabbit colonies have been around for centuries


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## akane (Sep 21, 2011)

We have colonies in a building and really very little of any of the issues people are concerned with. Right now we have 8 and previously 16 adult does in one group and 4 bucks in another with a few rabbits who don't play nice or can't raise litters in colonies in cages. Most of the time I pull rabbits out and put rabbits back with minimal disagreements and no introduction steps. They bounce around in to each other and make a good showing but I've learned it's 90% bluff so long as everyone has enough space to get away from everyone. We've only had 1 actual injury as a result of a fight and it involved a slightly torn ear which required no further care. It was determined those 2 does were too dominant to form a combined colony and each was given it's own colony to rule for awhile. Recently they seem to have come to understand colony life better and we are back to one doe colony. Usually within 24hrs of reintroducing a doe they stop jumping around or chasing and everyone is good again.

The buck can always be removed to a cage or a buck colony to give the does a break. Some just catch and take each doe to the buck and never let him loose with the colony. Eventually though after several litters or if she starts to lose condition a doe will have increasingly smaller litters and be less eager for breeding so she manages to go longer before getting pregnant after a litter. When they recover condition they pick up production again but I prefer to remove the bucks before they reach the point they have to regulate things themselves.

If you sit and watch the rabbits for awhile you know what normal is and the rabbits are used to us so usually we are tripping over them and scooping them up off the feeders so we can add more food. All the kits get carried around the whole time we are taking care of rabbits and hauled in to the house frequently. My husband usually establishes a "hood bunny" in winter who gets to ride around in his coat hood until it gets too big and he has to pick out another one. If it's warm enough out I check all kits daily but in winter with the nest boxes buried I only do spot checks pulling out one or 2 kits every other day to see if they are being fed. Until they come out on their own and prove they can handle the cold. I've had one health issue go unnoticed for a time. Somehow a doe must have torn her genitals on some of the wire along the edge to prevent digging out of the building. She continued to act completely normal and of course the wound was under her out of sight so we didn't pick up the injury until a random condition check happened to include that rabbit. It would probably have also been missed in a cage unless every rabbit is turned over and inspected every day. She was quarantined and all rabbits were inspected and then inspected again a week later but with no others showing symptoms we determined it an injury and not something contagious. The edge of the wire is now weighed down by a line of bricks.

I find the rabbit interaction very interesting and it makes me kind of sad to think about individually caged rabbits even though I know it's necessary in most setups and for most people and I have a few of my own individually caged for various reasons. When you first put down rabbits used to a cage they are completely shocked that another rabbit can enter their space. They seem set that even without visible wire other rabbits should follow this magical barrier around them. Then they get touchy over their space for a short time. Finally they accept it as their new life and everyone settles in to the herd order. They have their "friends" and "enemies". They get pissy when others are having too many arguments and the dominant does or bucks tend to step in to tell everyone to cut it out and stop running around. I've watched older bucks discipline younger bucks who are running around stirring up the colony trying to breed already pregnant does who are grunting back at them. My little broken mini rex buck was much nicer with the does for awhile after the bigger buck pulled him off a doe and pinned him to the ground until he screamed. Then let him go with no injury. I was all panicked he had a broken leg or something but there wasn't a mark on him and never again did they have issues with each other. He's gotten a bit full of himself again since he was kept caged and allowed to breed some mini rex does. He's being rough with them again and the does are starting to refuse breedings with him even when they appear ready and are eager with other bucks. It did him good getting taken down a few notches by a larger buck. 

Nests in winter vary so much from in summer even without the ability to dig. In winter nest boxes will be buried many feet deep in giant piles of shavings and straw. In summer nests will often be open topped in corners or other large areas with no roof that will still contain the kits. It's amazing that despite the limitations imposed on them by our no digging setup the good does can build a nest that works in -30F or a nest that works in 90F.


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## Brittany85 (Sep 21, 2011)

Very interesting Akane thank you!


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## bunnychild (Sep 21, 2011)

In Kansas we loose more rabbits to summer than winter, how do you keep the kits cool in the summers


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## CCWelch (Sep 22, 2011)

Bunnychild, I can tell you have not found any of the books I said you should read or you did not understand them or You would know the answer to that question yourself.

Pretty much everywhere we lose more in summer than winter, more predators, heat etc. For heat you can put frozen bottles in with mom to lay on, with the kits you just take most of the hair away and if needed remove some of the bedding. Another thing that helps with the adults if they are not exposed to the sun at all is to put some ceramic tiles (the 12"x12" ones) in their cage, they tend to stay cool (these work best in an all wire cage)


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## GorbyJobRabbits (Sep 26, 2011)

*bunnychild wrote: *


> i think this would be something the a meat breeder would do and rabbit colonies have been around for centuries



Just because they raise meat doesn't mean they care any less and don't want all of the contact many of us listed above. I raise for just that and mine are still seperated for all of my listed reasons. Anyone breeding for meat wants extremely fast growing buns. It's just easier to keep track of exc.



AND my main reason for absolute refusal of keeping them together is no matter how well they seem to get along fights do break out. I'm glad it's working for akane,...this is not ment to sound like its signling you out... I am glad its working for you but to everyone in the thread...


I am keeping a trio of Polish for a friend til she comes back up to Ohio. I just bought them for her and they're all 3 young... there was also a very young fuzzy of mine in with them.... needless to say the other day out of the blue they broke into a fight. The smallest polish has around her eye all ripped up and the skin hanging below her eye. and every one once blowing through their coat had bite and scratch marks. Nothing changed, they just suddenly had a disagreement..... needless to say they are all seperated and NEVER again will I attempt to house rabbits together.


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## bunnychild (Oct 7, 2011)

*CCWelch wrote: *


> Bunnychild, I can tell you have not found any of the books I said you should read or you did not understand them or You would know the answer to that question yourself.


I know how to in cages but i thought it might be different in a colonie setting.


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## bunnychild (Oct 7, 2011)

*GorbyJobRabbits wrote: *


> *bunnychild wrote: *
> 
> 
> > i think this would be something the a meat breeder would do and rabbit colonies have been around for centuries
> ...




I apoligize if ioffended you. the only meat breeders i know don"t care much for their rabbits.


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## DelightfulEccentricity (Oct 7, 2011)

"I apoligize if i offended you. the only meat breeders i know don"t care much for their rabbits."

I got into rabbits for meat. Just sayin'. Some will be pets (I will never see my beloved Jameson in the stew pot!) and some will not, but all will receive the same care and attention paid to their health and well-being. People who raise for meat who act coarsely or unconcerned about their rabbits are people who shouldn't keep animals, period. It shouldn't matter if an animal is raised for consumption or as a pet, all critters should be respected and cared for humanely and with compassion.

I raise animals for meat and I also hunt. I prefer knowing that all the meat I eat comes from animals who have never been abused or neglected...can't say the same for the cattle that get ground into McBurgers! I sleep easier with a clean conscience.  

I know raising animals for consumption isn't for everyone and I can totally respect that. My roommate is a vegetarian...she believes that if you can't kill it yourself you don't deserve to eat meat...and she can't kill, so she eats no meat. I can totally respect that. I also understand and respect that some people cannot handle knowing about or being in any way connected to the animals they eat and therefore cannot stand the thought of meat coming from living beings. To each their own. But lumping all people who raise meat rabbits together with a few bad seeds is unfair to those of us who aren't cruel or sadistic or neglectful. Part of the reason I raise most of my own meat is because I want to know for a fact that my meat led the best possible lives they could have had, and met a very swift, painless death. 

Just my two cents, YMMV.


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## funnybunnymummy (Oct 7, 2011)

Just a friendly warning: But the discussion of meatbreeding is one of the subjects that's prohibited on this forum because it is a hot topic that generally turns into a flaming pile of nastiness in no time.

Thanks for understanding.

Rue


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## bunnychild (Oct 8, 2011)

*funnybunnymummy wrote: *


> Just a friendly warning: But the discussion of meatbreeding is one of the subjects that's prohibited on this forum because it is a hot topic that generally turns into a flaming pile of nastiness in no time.




Ok i totally understand


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## rabbitgeek (Oct 10, 2011)

Having rabbits on the ground means exposure to parasites. Daniel Salatin of Polyface Farms pretty much gave up trying to raise commercial rabbits on the ground. Now he brings food to them.

Rabbit colonies are very common in Europe, where the Domestic Rabbit is native. In USA we usually keep in cages. But I have seen pictures of some nice fenced colonies where people keep managed herds. 

Usually only females in the pens, sometimes one buck. I have a friend who keeps her Angora does who are retired from going to the show in a fenced colony setting.

There are other people who keep their rabbits in "tractors" which are movable pens so the rabbits can have fresh grass every day. Search for "rabbit tractors" on the web.

I have also seen a couple of pictures of what happens when uncontrolled breeding occurs in a fenced colony area as happened to one rescue group recently.

I would suggest having rabbits in cages first to learn the basics before attempting to put in the fenced colonies.

Have a good day!

edited to add: I also prefer to keep rabbits separate because I don't like it when they fight. Sometimes we would let them out to play on a grassy fenced area and they would fight. Fighters get to go back to the cage.


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## bunnychild (Oct 11, 2011)

itanic: FREAKSanic: me out when they fight!


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