I have put together a comprehensive guide to raising meat rabbits in a colony to get you started on your way to raising your own colony of rabbits. You may want to seek out people raising in colonies for your brood stock. A domestic or domesticated rabbit oryctolagus cuniculus domesticusmore commonly. Rabbit reproduction raising rabbits ebook on breeding rabbits. Depending on the environment, numbers of rabbits, and nutrition, you can expect to find rabbits that need medical attention. They come into heat upon stimulation from breeding, so its recommended that you breed her, and then breed her again 12 to 24 hours later. Mar 06, 2015 raising rabbits in colonies is not a new concept, although it may seem new to the modern rabbit breeder. Colonies make for efficient use of space, and provide good opportunities for the comparison of many features of rabbits whether free moving or in still life if the lighting is good. Choose the rabbits you put into a colony with care. When the virus was first introduced, the rabbits died in large numbers, but the death rate. We have selected our affiliate products carefully with the purpose of improving your experience, both on the raisingrabbits website, and in the ease of the care. Volume 3 of the urban rabbit project series is all about colony. We use a plastic storage tote from costco, pvc elbows, a jigsaw, pvc glue, and duct tape. This extensive pdf file contains full instructions for knitting and finishing off a little knitted ram with a nubby sweater and shorts.
An important part of keeping rabbits is knowing how well they are producing for you. Jan 21, 2016 while colonies let your rabbits live similar to their natural lives out in the wild, there are some disadvantages. Apr 12, 2015 raising new zealand red rabbits in a colony day one putting them together and breeding for the first time. Thanks for the quick answer postcard maker is a software that will allow you to dll mon jan 10 2005 7 04 58p. In an attempt to reduce the rabbit population, a deadly virus was introduced in 1951. When we kept our rabbits in colonies, we frequently had issues with one doe bullying another doe, who then felt her only survival option was to hide. I raise meat rabbits for our family to eat, not pet rabbits. Experienced contain hidden threads, please click to view all. Unlike most other animals, rabbits do not have a regular heat cycle oestrus. Affordable and search from millions of royalty free images, photos and vectors. Thats kind of the point of a colony, so that your rabbits will have more freedom. Remembering which rabbit has been bred to who does not have to be one more thing to. The file is 17 pages long and contains 50 detailed step. The simplest form of a rabbit colony is to maintain a buck and a few does in a large group, for instance in a large pen, a converted stall, a fenced yard, etc.
One nice characteristic of the colony, though, is that we can quickly feed and water several rabbits at the same time. Farmer megs digest raising rabbits in the colonystyle. Rabbits have social hierarchies and does, can especially, be territorial. When i brought home our american chinchilla breeding trio, i had researched raising meat rabbits extensively. Z download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. There are some serious issues with keeping rabbits either in colonies or with chickens. Teeny tiny knitted toys julie williams littlecottonrabbits free. See more ideas about meat rabbits, raising rabbits, rabbit hutches. Our animals live a stress free life, with plenty of healthy, natural food, fresh. But, the main advantage of colonies for your rabbits is that you have less control over their life. To feed the rabbits, we made a rabbit feeder comparable to our poultry feeders. The types of rabbits to choose from rabbit farm, rabbit breeds. It may take a few years of selective breeding for temperament to get rabbits that really do well in a colony setting.
Syphilis may be present in the rabbit colony and will manifest itself by the presence of facial and genital lesions. Colony raising rabbits isnt hard, but there are a few considerations that can make setting up a rabbit colony go more smoothly. Im writing to respond to an article in the janfeb 03 issue about raising rabbits in colonies. Rabbits in colonies are easy and fast to feed and water, and i find cleaning a colony of rabbits to be light work. And while i do need my rabbits to be useful and productive to me, it is my job as a rabbit owner to be sure that they stay as happy and healthy as possible. Include, but are not limited to, free range rabbits, abusivenegligent practices, inhumane caremedical negligence, and caging to address a colony issues. Thompson as she discusses the benefits of raising rabbits in a colony rather than in individual cages. This presentation on rabbit production is by susan schoenian, university of. All youll need is adobe reader to open and print the pattern files. See more ideas about raising rabbits, rabbit and meat rabbits. European colonial expansion saw the introduction of. Rabbit reproduction raising rabbits ebook on breeding.
Pdf 20091129 06 32 dw c windows system32 filters 20090828 19 14 28,672 a c 092 windows 092 system32 092 apphlpdm. Click here for more information on what it takes to raise rabbits. We have, however, lost a couple to bull and rattle snakes, which were fortunately discovered and disposed of. Your rabbits will need hiding spots to get away from each other, without being backed into a corner. Rabbits in colonies the urban rabbit project book 3 kindle edition by craven jr. Some breeders keep their buck in their colony, but that makes it impossible to prevent unwanted pregnancies. In the us, it is illegal to intentionally release domestic stock into the wild first, they compete with native species for food and resources, second, they can interbreed with the native stock, hybridizing the population and third, they can introduce. The rabbits are cool under the ground we still have 90degreesf days, even in october. Raising rabbits in colonies new rabbit raisers often ask about raising the animals in colonies, much like the walled gardens of the romans we mentioned as being the first kept rabbits. Solving the disadvantages of colonies the binky bunny.
As easily as rabbits seem to multiply, there are a surprising number of glitches in the process of raising litters of rabbits. Jun 22, 2012 the cages require twice the effort and time, at the least. I have had up to 15 grown rabbits not counting babies including 3 bucks at once in the same colony. Apr 25, 2017 but, the main advantage of colonies for your rabbits is that you have less control over their life. The rabbit food and agriculture organization of the united nations. But while websites are great for this, one can only say so much per topic on a website. In rome, rabbits were raised in large walled colonies with walls extended.
The pattern is supplied as an instantly downloadable digital pdf file, so you will need a pdf reader such as. Resource with over 16,000 plans, download 50 free plans. Sep 03, 20 there are some serious issues with keeping rabbits either in colonies or with chickens. If youd like an overview of colony raising rabbits, click here. Welfare and productivity of growing rabbits in collective. This listing is for an extensive pdf file which contains full instructions for knitting and finishing off a little cotton rabbit with a stripy sweater and shorts. In the wild, rabbits have far more space than a fenced pen allows, and tunnel systems can be quite intricate. Breeds the order lagomorpha contains the rabbits, hares, cottontails and pikas. Girl mouse in a flowered dress julie williams littlecottonrabbits 94 replies 23 visit. My chickensducks are mostly free range, getting out of the pen in the morning and coming back to the pen to lay and to roost. Theres no way to put everything we know on a topic on each website page, which is why we offer our ebook publications useful and effective info in a format which you can download and take with you.
The focus is on raising rabbits to add needed protein to family. Todays domesticated rabbits are generally housed in single occupancy wire cages. Kens idea sounds wonderful except for a couple of catches. Rabbits in colonies 101 the domestication of cattle cait. Weve had folks visit us, either when we were in brooklyn or here at the farm. So far, so good, til the news gets out about all these free range rabbits. Raising rabbits in colonies is not a new concept, although it may seem new to the modern rabbit breeder. Nutrition for outdoor colonies of domestic rabbits.
Raising rabbits in a colony is the best way to ensure happy, healthy, natural rabbits. Raising new zealand red rabbits in a colony day one putting them together and breeding for the first time. Monks began keeping rabbits in warrens as far back as the early medieval times, and the idea of caging didnt take hold until the 1800s. Animals should be free of injuries skin lesions and any wounds. Requiring a minimal amount of equipment, feed, and care, rabbits are ideal livestock for yielding a relatively large quantity of nutritious, savory meat. Each cage is often no bigger than 2 x 3 in size, and is often suspended off the ground so that the animals manure and urine can drain freely through the cage mesh to a collection point below. The rabbits an interview 1998 a discussion about this picture book, shortly following publication in 1998. Minecraft is a game about breaking and placing blocks.
While colonies let your rabbits live similar to their natural lives out in the wild, there are some disadvantages. Pdf files are universally recognized and the most common way for people to share files. European rabbits were introduced to australia in 1859. True freeroaming rabbits not kept in any sort of enclosure dont last long predators love them, and are actually illegal in most states. Granted, raising in a fencedin colony is not completely natural. People see them as either cuddly pets or farm animals, more often the former. Who we are this group shares knowledge of methods for raising rabbits in communal structures referred to as. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading rabbits in colonies the urban rabbit project book 3. Once paid for it is available for you to instantly download.
Aug 09, 2011 perfect set up for me would be a sandy loam well drained open area, i would have it no smaller than 20x20 feet, partly shaded with a large tree, i would have a low shed for a feeding station up on cinder blocks big enough to trap the young rabbits as they are ready to harvest, and a mound of earth beside it, both the mound and the feeding hutch would be in the center of the enclosure, the. Nutrition for outdoor colonies of community rabbits by lucile c. The rabbits reproduced rapidly in their new environment, displaced other animals and overgrazed vegetation. The raisingrabbits website has already provided absolutely free the basics of rabbit mating, kindling, litter care and weaning. Rabbits in colonies are not handled as much by human caregivers so they tend to be more like wild rabbits. Because of the colony setup, we have multiple food and water spaces, all of which are checked twice a day just like the caged rabbits. Moore, phd when feeding colonies of domestic rabbits that live outdoors in a wild state it is first necessary to forget all one has learned about feeding companion rabbits, for the nutritional needs are quite different. Does can be bred for 4 to 5 litters per year, once they are kept in good condition. People have this idea that theyll run together and be best buddies and eat the same things and behave similarly and get along itll all be good and that is often not the case. Conceptions will be highest during the cool months of the year and lowest during the hot and humid months. The ultimate resource collection for raising meat rabbits in a colony. I was shocked to see that so many people keep rabbits in tiny wire cages in the uk they recommend a 6 foot x 2 foot hutch, with a 6 foot x 8 foot run minimum.
The setup cost is usually cheaper because you dont have to buy so many cages, feeding bowls, watering bottles, etc. Free rabbitry record sheets to download and print rabbit smarties. The pen i have my rabbits in, is also my chickenduck pen. Although i dont raise my rabbits for meat, i think its great that youve chosen to raise them outdoors.
Comic stores frequently sell stuff for roleplaying games too. My rabbit colony experience backyardherds goats, horses. A colony is a better opportunity for rabbits to socialize and play. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Rabbits in colonies or cages the imperfectly happy home. The active life in the colony starts with the sunset. The best way to do this is to send them a pdf version of the pedigree.
Keep in mind, most new computers will have an option to print to pdf in the print dialog box. Sample colony rabbit setups raising rabbits in colonies does not need to be complicated. New england, cottontails, native, rabbit, rabbit, animals, animal, beautiful photo, bunny, england, leaves, mammal, native. Design a perfect rabbit colony welcome to the homesteading. Present day breeds of domestic rabbits, including those used for laboratory studies, are all derived from the european rabbit oryctolagus cuniculus sheail, 1971. The rabbits shaun tan pdf download the rabbits shaun tan pdf. Little cotton rabbit patterns, free little cotton rabbit. Our animals live a stress free life, with plenty of healthy, natural food, fresh water and sunshine. Dec 06, 20 start reading rabbits in colonies the urban rabbit project book 3 on your kindle in under a minute. Unlike the caged rabbits, however, the multiple sources mean they rarely run out of food or water. Sep 28, 2017 a better way to raise rabbits join luilla p. Rabbits in colonies the urban rabbit project book 3. Thanks to our experiment raising meat rabbits in a community environment, we are learning a great deal about rabbit social issues.