Colony Breeding

In my continuing efforts to get babies, I've decided to try colony breeding.

For those of you that aren't really sure, colony breeding is where you put a buck and several does (usually two) together for a month (or longer).

I'm not looking forward to this, because at Day 31, a nestbox has to go in and STAY in until you reach over Day 65- or until babies show up. OR if you can palpate, you can save a lot of time. Anyone want to teach me?

My plan is to use my large cage (36x36) to house two does and my least valuable buck. If you know me, my "weakest link" buck is still nice, because I believe the buck makes the herd.

I'm going to leave the animals together, in the sunniest place I can find in the rabbitry, with additional lights on (as outlined in my last post). Then, I'm adding apple vinegar to the water. After about a month, I'm going to remove the does to their separate cages, give them nestboxes and hay, and hope.

I'm gonna keep a close watch on the trio, to make sure they get along with each other. I'm especially worried because I hope to grand one of the does, and the other is usually a 2nd place rabbit, so it's possible she could grand as well. However, what's the point if I can't get them started?

-Kristen
Keep's Rabbitry