For those of you that have used rabbit tractors or colony breeding situations, hopefully you can offer me some advice. We have been raising meat rabbits for a several years now. First, I'll explain our setup:
We have a large, fenced rabbit yard that we had originally intended for raising colony-style rabbits. We fenced most of the ground to prevent burrowing out, created simulated tunnels and nest boxes that we buried, and created what we call the "community house" with lounging platforms, access to tunnels, and feeders. You can see the actual yard design here:
http://redgatefarm.wordpress.com/201.../the-hare-pen/
In addition, we also have a quad hutch on standby, with cage space running about 24"x36" plus the nest box on the end. You can see design here:
http://redgatefarm.wordpress.com/201...-bunny-condos/
Our current set up is our favorite buck, an American Chinchilla who runs free most of the time in the fenced-yard colony set-up (a roughly 20x25 foot yard). He is by far our sweetest, most gentle and friendly rabbit. He meets you at the gate, loves to be petted, etc. He is going on 4 years old now. He is also our "babysitter" for newly weaned kits. We have a second buck who mostly stays in one of the cages, as he is quite aggressive toward our AmChin buck. A couple times a month, we put the AmChin buck in a cage for the day, and let the other one out to play.
We have tried several different methods over the years, but currently, our does are bred to the buck of our choice. After a day or two, we turn the does loose to play in the yard until about 4 days before they are due to kindle. At that point, we put them back in a cage with a nest box, where they deliver and raise their kits. At weaning time (around 6-7 weeks), we typically re-breed the doe, then turn her loose in the yard again to start the process over. We also turn the weaned babies out in the yard around 8 weeks, where they get tons of romping and playtime. We usually have big litters (7-12), so I like giving them the extra space to play while we grow them. Our AmChin buck is a big teddy bear, and has never threatened to harm a fly. In fact, on cold nights, he is the first to welcome and cuddle up to the young kits to keep them warm. He shows them where to find the feed and water, and they mimic what he does.
That all being said, the biggest problem we have is when the new, male kits hit about 10 weeks old (we butcher around 12 weeks). In every litter, we seem to have an aggressive one or two who begin attacking the AmChin buck. He won't fight back, but just runs away, which often leaves his little hind end full of tiny bites. The first sign of it happening is the bits of his uniquely gray hair around the pen. When possible, we try to figure out who the culprit is, and put him in a cage. That isn't always possible though. If it gets bad, we are forced to catch all kits, separate does and bucks, and put all bucks in a cage. This sometimes worsens the problem though, as the aggressive male will begin attacking his litter mates.
Seems like a minor problem, but any suggestions for handling this in the future? Butchering a single, difficult rabbit is not really an option on a regular basis (though we have done it). We prefer to butcher in batches. Our future plans are to eliminate the colony set-up and hopefully the cages altogether, and move more toward the pastured rabbit-tractor set-up. I am planning to put several does in one tractor (I did this very successfully in the past), and the weaned litters in a separate tractor. I fear we may have similiar issues with the aggressive males, however, so I am curious what your experiences have been? I am still trying to figure out what to do with our other aggressive breeding buck. He is fine with does, a great breeder, throws incredible color, but fights like the dickens with other bucks! I really hate to build separate tractors for each buck. What a pain! Finally, there is always the option to keep the does/young kits and bucks in cages, and only raise the growing kits on pasture in the tractors. I am open to all ideas. It's always fun to try new things to keep our buns happy and healthy!! Thanks in advance!
