# My Rabbit colony experience



## Legacy

I have had my rabbits in a colony for over a year. I know I am new here (newly registered anyway, but a long time addicted reader) but since so many people keep asking about rabbit colonies, I thought I would post my experience.

First the facts:
I raise meat rabbits for our family to eat, not pet rabbits.
I have had up to 15 grown rabbits (not counting babies) including 3 bucks at once in the same colony. 

The pen I have my rabbits in, is also my chicken/duck pen. My chickens/ducks are mostly free range, getting out of the pen in the morning and coming back to the pen to lay and to roost.

The pen is very large. I think that is the secret to my success so far. It is rectangle-ish. It is roughly 60 or 70 ft long by about 0' at one end about 25' at the other end. In the center is a building that serves as my chicken house. The rabbits don't use that. They do burrow under it though. (the main drawback I have found)

The rabbits have a few different shelters in the pen ranging from an old camper shell to an old cast iron mowing deck. And there are large oak trees that serve as shade. The fence is made out of whatever scrap rolls of fencing we had and then we used 3' chicken wire around the bottom covering the fence. We actually folded the chicken wired against the ground about 3 inches and buried it that way if the rabbits do start digging against the fence, they will hit wire and be dissuaded from digging there.  

The rabbits do dig, yes even the males but they don't burrow.  The mostly dig for roots and other yummy things to eat or a comfy place to lay. The can dig some pretty big holes though. The females do burrow but like I said, that is under the building that is in the middle of the pen so usually not a problem as far as getting out.

What I have found:

Pluses to the colony:
Easier to feed and water.
Happier bunnies (It's hard to beat watching bunnies run and play with each other) 
Friendlier bunnies (I have heard that doing a colony makes bunnies more wild and less people friendly, not so in my case. The bunnies come running anytime someone walks out there. And because they can run any where and every where, I guess they feel more confidant so our bunnies come right up to us and let us pet them and feed them. They only thing they don't like is us to run our hand under them to pick them up. As long as we don't do that, they don't run from us.
They can stay cooler easier in our Texas heat by digging a little and laying in the cool dirt in the shade.
They can stay warmer easier in the cold wind. Give them access to hay and the freedom to bed down wherever they like and many different areas and they are happy.
They rabbits do not seem territorial except the biggest buck. He will chase the other bucks if they get in his way but there is lots of space to avoid him. One female was territorial once when I introduce a couple of new does but within a few days, they were cuddling up to each other like best buds. Rabbits do prefer company.
Catching the rabbits isn't hard because I bought a fish net and have it with me when I feed. They all come running for feed time and so they see the net as part of feeding time making it where they aren't afraid of it. We can usually pet them while they are eating and then swoosh, they are in the net.

Draw backsthese draw backs are specific to my set and may be reduce by a different set up)
No access to babies
No control over who breeds who.
If one gets sick, they all get sick.
Harder to check on their health or condition
Babies can get out of tiny holes in the fence that big bunnies can't. It's hard to makes sure they are secure.
Meat rabbits tend to not bulk up as much when they have more room to exercise and competition for food, like our Muscovy ducks that eat everything and eat it fast.

I hope I'm not leaving anything out but I probably am.

With all that being said, I want to also say that I love my rabbit colony and love watching them run "free" but I have decided to change my set up.

Mostly the 2 main reasons being, I want more control over babies and I want my rabbits separate from my chickens/ducks. Because my chickens/ducks can free range, I don't want to feed them but since they are all in one big pen, I can't feed the rabbits without the ducks eating it.

I will be changing it up and having 2 smaller colonies with no chickens/ducks in them. They will each have a buck and 4 does. I will have nesting boxes and will prevent them from burrowing.


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## doo dah

Interesting, let us know how the new colony setup goes


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## rabbitman

Here is a link to my colony setup. http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=9699
The burrow shown in the picture was dug up. I placed a very large PCV pipe where it was and dug a 2'x2' box into the ground with a hinged lid, I havent came across taking pics but I recomend you do something similar. The kits are so much safer and plus it makes them feel like real rabbit...


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## Legacy

I was considering something like that. 

Right now, i have most of them in cages until I get the colony altered.

I had 2 litters born within 4 days of each other. One momma was in a cage throughout the pgcy the other momma was in the colony. 5 in one litter, 7 in the other. Similar sized mommas and daddies,  yet  the bunnies born to the colony momma are considerably smaller even though they were born 4 days earlier. I put her in a cage 2 days before kindling.

I'm wondering if it's because she had so much space to move and run and had to forage more for her food.

When it comes to meat rabbits, smaller is not better.


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## rabbitman

It was probally becasue she had exercied allot. A colony cage that big would provide them with plenty of exercise. I am sure once the babies are old enough to come out and forage on their own they will eat plenty of grass and food and they will fatten up. 
I dont raise mine for meat. I raise mine as pets. But I like my pets to be happy. I have soem of mine in cages too. I havent really noticed a diffrence in litters from caged to colony.
 I am building my new Peacock aviary and will place the rabbits with them. I will take down my chain link fence that the rabbits are in and build a big cage where they are now. That way I dont have to dig new burrows. I am sure I will though just because there will be more than 1 doe.


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## Amy Bennett

Legacy said:


> I have had my rabbits in a colony for over a year. I know I am new here (newly registered anyway, but a long time addicted reader) but since so many people keep asking about rabbit colonies, I thought I would post my experience.
> 
> First the facts:
> I raise meat rabbits for our family to eat, not pet rabbits.
> I have had up to 15 grown rabbits (not counting babies) including 3 bucks at once in the same colony.
> 
> The pen I have my rabbits in, is also my chicken/duck pen. My chickens/ducks are mostly free range, getting out of the pen in the morning and coming back to the pen to lay and to roost.
> 
> The pen is very large. I think that is the secret to my success so far. It is rectangle-ish. It is roughly 60 or 70 ft long by about 0' at one end about 25' at the other end. In the center is a building that serves as my chicken house. The rabbits don't use that. They do burrow under it though. (the main drawback I have found)
> 
> The rabbits have a few different shelters in the pen ranging from an old camper shell to an old cast iron mowing deck. And there are large oak trees that serve as shade. The fence is made out of whatever scrap rolls of fencing we had and then we used 3' chicken wire around the bottom covering the fence. We actually folded the chicken wired against the ground about 3 inches and buried it that way if the rabbits do start digging against the fence, they will hit wire and be dissuaded from digging there.
> 
> The rabbits do dig, yes even the males but they don't burrow.  The mostly dig for roots and other yummy things to eat or a comfy place to lay. The can dig some pretty big holes though. The females do burrow but like I said, that is under the building that is in the middle of the pen so usually not a problem as far as getting out.
> 
> What I have found:
> 
> Pluses to the colony:
> Easier to feed and water.
> Happier bunnies (It's hard to beat watching bunnies run and play with each other)
> Friendlier bunnies (I have heard that doing a colony makes bunnies more wild and less people friendly, not so in my case. The bunnies come running anytime someone walks out there. And because they can run any where and every where, I guess they feel more confidant so our bunnies come right up to us and let us pet them and feed them. They only thing they don't like is us to run our hand under them to pick them up. As long as we don't do that, they don't run from us.
> They can stay cooler easier in our Texas heat by digging a little and laying in the cool dirt in the shade.
> They can stay warmer easier in the cold wind. Give them access to hay and the freedom to bed down wherever they like and many different areas and they are happy.
> They rabbits do not seem territorial except the biggest buck. He will chase the other bucks if they get in his way but there is lots of space to avoid him. One female was territorial once when I introduce a couple of new does but within a few days, they were cuddling up to each other like best buds. Rabbits do prefer company.
> Catching the rabbits isn't hard because I bought a fish net and have it with me when I feed. They all come running for feed time and so they see the net as part of feeding time making it where they aren't afraid of it. We can usually pet them while they are eating and then swoosh, they are in the net.
> 
> Draw backsthese draw backs are specific to my set and may be reduce by a different set up)
> No access to babies
> No control over who breeds who.
> If one gets sick, they all get sick.
> Harder to check on their health or condition
> Babies can get out of tiny holes in the fence that big bunnies can't. It's hard to makes sure they are secure.
> Meat rabbits tend to not bulk up as much when they have more room to exercise and competition for food, like our Muscovy ducks that eat everything and eat it fast.
> 
> I hope I'm not leaving anything out but I probably am.
> 
> With all that being said, I want to also say that I love my rabbit colony and love watching them run "free" but I have decided to change my set up.
> 
> Mostly the 2 main reasons being, I want more control over babies and I want my rabbits separate from my chickens/ducks. Because my chickens/ducks can free range, I don't want to feed them but since they are all in one big pen, I can't feed the rabbits without the ducks eating it.
> 
> I will be changing it up and having 2 smaller colonies with no chickens/ducks in them. They will each have a buck and 4 does. I will have nesting boxes and will prevent them from burrowing.


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## Amy Bennett

I am interested in keeping rabbits in a colony setting. I have had them in cages and and have not done well with the kits. The mothers kept throwing them out of the nest and killing them. I wondered if the colony idea would work better for the mothers taking care of the babies.


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## CDC

If you are having problems with the mother rabbits throwing babies out of the nest and killing them it may be time to cull and replace them.  I don't know that a colony setting would help much with poor mothering instincts.


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## VickieB

I would have to agree with CDC. If you have moms that have a history of killing their babies, I would check into some new does. Not only will it probably not change, but the few babies you could get from them stand a good chance of being poor mothers themselves.


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## Hens and Roos

we go with 3 strikes and then culled out of the herd.  We actually had a doe that did a great job with her babies but was very aggressive to us so we culled her, as my kids work the rabbits for their 4-H projects.

right now we are watching our French Angora doe- she is doing a great job with her babies but was giving me a hassle every time I went to feed them- we moved her and the babies to a bigger area and she is acting nicer to me.


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## GD91

We didn't have the space in our garden for a proper rabbit colony & gave up after a doe died from a double pregnancy, but we are currently pasturing our rabbits individually with their kits in the garden & it is working very well indeed.

Every night I walk the dogs & collect 3 bags of grass, shrubbery, dandelion leaves, dock leaves, clover etc etc. 1 bag is next days feed & the other 2 bags are to dry out into hay to be packed for the winter.

I couldn't see pasturing rabbits in an unsecure area being a good idea, but I'm really glad now that I'm not paying a penny for food & hay & my rabbits look stunning. No escapees & we have dogs to alert about any predators. Plus its nice to put effort into the little meals  I wonder how nice they will taste.


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