Bunnies in colonies

by Abigail
(Rockford, IL USA)

If I have a bunch of girls in one pen and they all are pregnant and they have their babies in the same cage with others in it will they kill each other?

****Karen Sez****
The short answer is I'm not sure, but not necessarily.

The longer answer is: Much depends on the individual does in the cage/pen. This is why the answer is not so simple. If you end up with two very dominant does in a not-so-large pen, all bets are off.

I don't have much experience housing pregnant does together, Abigail, but I've heard tell of others keeping several does with a buck in a colony setting. With some close supervision you might make it work, but it is far more work than you might think. It is easy to lose both does and offspring to predators and disease.

Giving each breeding animal its own cage is far safer for it, much more healthy, reduces their anxiety levels, and enables the breeder to keep proper records.

Just sayin'...