Peaches (Lynx), Darla (Tort), and Theo (Broken Blue) about to snuggle snooze
A few months after we started our official rabbitry, we came across and joined some Rabbitry Colony Facebook groups. We learned so much from them and decided to make the switch for our own rabbits after we tried both ways for comparison; raising rabbits in cages vs colony style. There are pros and cons to both of course! But we decided ultimately to stay colony style. People ask, "Don't they hurt each other?" or "Don't they just reproduce non stop?"
Well, every rabbit is different! It's a bit of an art to pick which rabbits will be roommates as well as which rabbits are best to be bred together genetically. I will use the rabbits pictured above for my examples below. These are the pros and rules to our colony:
1. Rabbits are herd animals and "homemakers"!
Despite the "pecking order" they all establish (I'll expand on that on #3), they enjoy each other's company. They are protective of each other and they create special relationships. Some rabbits, however, prefer to be alone. In the wild, they make burrows with their herd and are known as a Warren! Colony style raising gives rabbits the chance to live naturally; their instincts kick in and they become this incredible little community that I sometimes just sit and watch for hours at a time.
Our colony is made up of horse stalls. It is reinforced with steel rabbit wire starting at waist height on all four sides and extending down onto the floor. Soil and hay make up the bedding with enough room for them to dig but not get out, and predators cannot get in. Outside of the chicken wire are 8x10 boards to box the stall in and a tin roof over their heads, so they're kept from the weather elements. They have open two story hutches and totes that they can enter at any time, as well!
As you can see, the rabbits pictured above are pretty clean! We try to completely clean out the space once weekly and spot clean throughout the week as needed to help keep them nice and clean. Yes, I still clean their fur when needed for shows, but it's not often that they're dirty!
Rabbits living in wire cages aren't much cleaner than these guys, they get sore hocks from their feet rubbing on the cage floor wires, and in my experience they're more shy than colony raised rabbits. When a rabbit is in a cage, they don't have places to hide when someone opens their door- which is important for them because they are prey animals- this could make them feel very vulnerable. Whereas, with my colony rabbits, when we walk out to see them they run and hide at first until they hear me say my usual, "How's the Bunnies?!" Then they pop their little heads out and come on out to greet me. I let them come to me first instead of me going to them to let them know they are in control of our encounter. I build their trust and before long they're like little puppies chasing me around and as soon as I sit down I have an armful of bunnies checking to see if I brought treats! Many rabbits that I've purchased have never lived outside of a cage before, they don't know what to think of just being sat down and let go. It reminds me of Animal Planet shows where they release animals into the wild for the first time! They are so cautious at first. But when they realize they're free to go, they become so happy!
2. There is ONLY ONE adult buck in this space. Because bucks over the age of 3 months will almost always fight each other to the death.
The three month mark is a big deal in the rabbit world. Once a buck reaches three months, he starts to have a scent that becomes threatening to other bucks. He is of breeding age and should be separated for his and the other buck's safety.
I do, however, have yet to find a buck over three months of age who has tried to fight a younger buck under three months old. It's not to say that it has never happened in history, but since we switched to colony three years ago, we've had many bucks over that time. Typically, I will decide who my herd buck will be. I put him with his colony and there will be buck kits under the age of three months that these bucks won't even think twice about fighting. Because the young bucks have not reached the age of maturity yet, their scent is not threatening. They get routine grooming from my older bucks before they cuddle up and take a long nap together! I've even had some adult bucks that were more "motherly" than the kit's own Dam! As soon as the buck kit reaches three months though, I GET HIM OUT OF THERE!
You may hear about littermate bucks who live together their whole lives without fighting and are not neutered. I don't do this and I really don't recommend this because fighting can be fatal! However, if the bucks have very easy going temperaments and one buck is totally fine being the submissive one of the two, it could potentially work out. Again, I don't do this, and I recommend both bucks being neutered in order to live together!
3. Does can live together pretty peacefully- Peaches is the dominant doe, and Darla is alright with that.
At first, because Peaches had her scent all over their space, before adding a new doe I had to take Peaches out completely. Darla needed 24 hours to get her scent on EVERYTHING to mark her territory and settle in. Once she was comfortable, I brought Peaches back. I'd be lying if I said they didn't growl at each other and jump at each other a few times. Once Peaches stood her ground, Darla submitted and now they're best friends! I do have to say, both does are naturally as sweet as they can be. If the doe is as sweet as a lemon, I'd most definitely say, "Forget it. She needs to live alone permanently and she shouldn't be a breeder either." (this trait can be hereditary!) I like to only keep two does with one buck as a breeding trio for the sake of them having space to be alone if they want to be and I can keep a closer eye on their one on one encounters. The kits are with the colony for a short time, then they go to their forever homes.
4. "Breeding like Rabbits" isn't quite like that.
Of course, we do want our rabbits to reproduce and even encourage it in some cases! Unfortunately, as I currently write this, we are on month 5 since the last litter was born without even separating our breeders! This is because rabbits prefer to have their babies in the Spring or Fall. If it's too hot or too cold, they friend zone each other like Jim and Pam, season 1. When breeding season finally comes around and they start making eyes at each other, we have to keep an eye on them, too! The doe will start to dig trying to make a nest usually around one week before she is due. I will take her out and put her into the kindling hutch so she can settle in before the big day. Once she has her kits, I keep them in the kindling hutch until the kit's eyes are open and they're fully mobile. This is where I take the other doe out (see #3) and bring the kits with their Dam back in to meet their Sire! The Dam will have already been in heat since giving birth, but whether or not she decides to breed is up to her and you will have to watch to see if she goes through with the process or if she friend zones the buck. We've had a variable amount of time the next breedings occur which was anywhere between immediately upon coming back to colony, 3 weeks later, or like right now which has been 5 months! I can honestly say that we have never been overwhelmed with kits.
24 hours after bringing Dam and kits to the colony, I bring the other doe back to the colony so she can meet the new members of the family! at 3 months I take the young bucks out (see #2) and at 4 months I take the does out. You don't want them being bred at too young of an age because this can be fatal!
The Cons to Colony
Bunnies can potentially get more dirty than they would be if they were in a cage if their space isn't cleaned regularly. I do show my bunnies and before shows I am prepared to get them cleaned up- but there's not much of them to clean! I also haven't had problems with my bucks spraying my does- but before putting up back boards, I had issues with the rabbits sunbathing and staining their beautiful coats!
It is important to handle the rabbits and give regular health checks. Especially palpating expectant does to tell how far along they are! Without health checks or palpation, this can lead to walking out in the morning and finding kits randomly spaced without a nest, deceased. Knowing when to move them into the kindling hutch is super important. Also, we make sure to have a first aid kit on hand to catch and treat any injuries right away! Most of the actually few injuries we've encountered weren't from them hurting each other, but rather for example, a piece of hay lodged into the mouth or a wire that was broken and sticking out for them to run into.
Bringing in new rabbits is always a risk. After their two week quarantine and watching for RHV, they are brought to the colony to get their scent on everything alone. This is when the rabbit will show itself, whether it will be friendly or if it will be a bad nut, which you definitely don't want to have! I bring back one rabbit at a time and watch sometimes for a few hours just to be safe. Under no circumstances do I have kits in the colony during this time. I refuse to risk a baby's safety until I know the temperament of the new rabbit. Now that we have bloodlines that I've worked pretty hard to get, I don't plan to be bringing any new rabbits into our colony for the foreseeable future.
About our breeding program
I will start by saying that not everyone should breed rabbits. There are many rabbits in shelters and rescues needing homes! A breeding shouldn't happen because, "I just loved my rabbit and wanted to have a baby out of him/her..." Each litter should have a purpose and a destination for the kits should be pre-determined. I keep waiting lists, and use very careful marketing to be sure to find responsible future owners for our kits.
We became breeders because we are interested in showing through both the 4-H and American Rabbit Breeders Association guidelines; we picked a breed that we absolutely love (Holland Lops, of course!), and we want to better the breed. We searched for high quality Hollands that go generations back to excellent show lines, so that future generations can have specific confirmational traits to put on the show tables. Rabbits who do not meet show requirements get amazing pet homes that we screen before letting them go. Any responsible rabbit breeder will take rabbits back into their rabbitry that were bred there to avoid them going to shelters or rescues, thus helping to stop the overpopulation of homeless rabbits. This being said, if you or someone you know would like a pet bunny, send them our way! We'll have some questions to ask, but we want to have future pet prospect babies set up with great homes before they're even born =)
Thank you for reading our blog!
Sincerely,
Brittney Haaby, Owner/Breeder/Rabbit Enthusiast
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