I’ve raised rabbits in colonies for several years and love it! One suggestion, have a second pen ready for the young females by 8 weeks old. Harvest the young males at that time. Once the females are 4-6 months old, you can return them in with your buck or add a second buck to the new pen to increase the genetic diversity in your herd. Welcome to rabbit raising and congratulations on your first litter!

Rabbit videos bring out the quacks. It doesn't matter how "perfect" your setup and practices are, there will be "experts" that come out of the woodwork to tell you how wrong you are. I've been raising rabbits for nearly 15 years and while I have reasons for not doing a colony myself, I think your colony looks great and your rabbits look healthy and happy, and that is really what matters!

The only thing wrong with your setup that that it’s making rabbits and not bacon! 😂

If people would do just a little research before jumping the gun, they would find out that your set up is perfectly fine.

Yessss! Colony raised bunnies all day every day! You do you! As my momma would say “there’s more than one way to skin a cat.”... maybe not the best saying, but it applies so much to this homesteading lifestyle we live. Different strokes for different folks. Love you guys! Keep up the awesome work!

All of our rabbits burrow, We stack hay bales cut the strings and allow them to chew into the center which provides extra warmth and a natural hiding area. Inside a bale there are many flakes just cut remove strings and pull them slightly open but still leave the square. Allow them to cut out their own burrows.

I love the confidence in your decisions and your humility that you know you are learning as you go too! Great job!

I have 8 rabbits in my finished basement and although it’s very nice in the winter. I do not have them in cages… they live as a colony in X pen area of 9X 20. My first bunny came from a friend of a friend…. I had him fixed and then a year later someone dumped two bunnies in a park so I rescued them. Both were girls…. One was pregnant and my friend found a dumped one all on the same day. 6 weeks later 4 babies were born from one of the females. Now we have 8 bunnies and it was a pretty big surprise when the babies appeared one morning. As much as it wasn’t my plan to breed. That day was an exciting day… now my babies are almost grown up and everyone gets along well but 8 bunnies is a messy business…. So I can’t wait to create a set up like yours and I also am thankful for this video because it has given me the confidence to do it. I have a big insulated bard and a small chicken coop inside so this is going to really work well! Thank you again for this video! ❤️ from 🇨🇦

One suggestion, rabbit toys. Make them yourself or buy, chew toys for the teeth and for boredom. A house rabbit channel would have info about what shape and materials are the most popular with rabbits. Those bunnies look so cute, sleek and shiny and plump, you are obviously doing a good job with them.

My Mom and I raised rabbits for years (for show) and I was heavily involved in the 4H. We had over 100 rabbits at any given time (in custom made cages) and we had the best gardens because of it! This is a really cool way to raise them! Thanks for sharing!

The only real suggestion I would give is to make the spacing in the gate smaller. Maybe by putting chicken wire behind it. You would be suprised the small spaces babies can fit through, but maybe I think it is bigger then it actually is. Good luck on your colony!

Seems like your little bunnies are fat and shiny. I'd say they're doing great!

I also have a rabbit colony and followed Dona Thompson’s teachings. I do have a different, even simpler set up; I fenced (5 ft tall) with also a horizontal perpendicular fencing set up. The whole area is 3/4 of an acre. I made 2 ft deep (sometimes more sometimes less) holes and cover them with plywood wrapped in tarps. Inside of those holes there are nesting boxes. The whole area was initially tilled and planted with clover ( 23% protein) and alfalfa. There are also about 60 fruit trees that will provide further nutrition to the rabbits and chickens that have their coop on the same area. I truly enjoy to see them running and digging and they seem truly happy. In the middle of the area we have a mini barn 4x4 ft that has a large opening and I supplement pellet rabbit food and water. Also, about a 1/3 of the area, were I located the burrows, I installed netting since we do have a lot of hawks and owls. Most “ rabbit raisers” criticize my set up, but the pros really are way above the cons. My colony will grow exponentially and, I do predict problems..... but so far we are very content. Again, very happy to see the idea of rabbit colony spreading!!! Rabbit is probably the healthiest meat, and I noticed an increase in “ gelatinous” materials observed during the harvesting process. We assume those are a consequence of higher levels of omega’s due to the free range status.. I did notice also that does are not getting “ immediately” pregnant after delivering, so the idea of “ self reproductive” control might be truth. As a physician, I truly became very excited knowing that rabbit consumption is an option for some. Free ranging will even further increase the “ healthy “ aspect of our project. Thanks for posting and congrats on your homestead achievements!!!

We have been using a rabbit colony setup and changed how other people colonized for 10 years plus. We have had ZERO rabbits kill kits. In fact, we have less breeding because they breed less in colonies. It's a preservation idea. It's better for their health, fitness. Overall welfare. The stalls make it easy to clean, Easier to keep good fitness, better size and muscle tone as well as just Totally happy bunnies. We have used several breeds, We use some heat and cooling in our barns so Bear that in mind. We remove the ammonia density in air, it's a clever way to preserve their natural habits. If one rabbit behaves badly they are removed, we dont wait to see if it will worsen, we try various rabbits together. It's far easier to feed water and clean. Caging rabbits on wire is uncomfortable for them. Our rabbits are Far cleaner in colonies. Inside colonies are best. You can have outdoor areas. If your rabbits dont get along change around bunnies until you have good results. It's also more economical to colonize.

Kits will forever now be known as “Fu-Fus”

Awwww, look at those cute little silvery grey blue bundles of joy. I didn't really like the hutch way when I was raising them as a kid. Watching other channels showed me colony style could work, but you don't get to control the breedings. (And therefore have less control about butchering seasons.) Tractors would be nice, but I don't have the lawn room for permanent tractors. I'm resigned to the fact that I'll have to hutch style, but I still want to figure out a run or tractor to go with the hutch for exercise and fresh grass / weeds. (Oh, I suppose I should also get my husband on board...)

Livestock being a gamble is very true! I got some small fish for my aquarium from one store and some shrimp for the same aquarium from another store. Both were imported from Asia, the fish died in a few days from the stress of being shipped and the shrimp which are also considered delicate when shipping are still alive.

Aww such cute babies, mamma is doing such a good job.

I love the colony system! If we had more land and fewer neighbors, with dogs and cats. We would defiantly do a colony, if our situation were different. Don't let folks get you worked up with their comments. There are many systems to choose from, plus y'all do your research diligently. People just have to understand that, one must do what is right for them. Plus nothing as far as raising livestock, is the same in every state, country or climate. Just like raising a garden. We raise Silver Fox / NewZealand and have been raising meat rabbits for almost 3yrs. Our doe, Quick Silver, just kindled a week ago. These are the first kits that have been born on our homestead, in over a year. Due to my health, I have Crohn's Disease, and have been dealing with a flare since Feb. 2019. But I am doing much better now. I love your content! Keep up the good work! You guy's were like the second channel I began watching when we started our journey. I am going to have to check the book out, for when we can do a colony system. You also should look into quail. The eggs are worth it alone, but the meat is Even better. Quail are said to be a really good choice for allergies. Especially the eggs.We love raising them and they are even more simple than rabbits. Check out our channel if you would like to know more about quail. We raise Coturnix Quail. Thanks for the update! Blessings ~Marella

What a lovely family and great kids! An idyllic upbringing - abundant love and harmony with Nature and each other. How refreshing to see! (I'd have to bribe my kids not to fight on camera....haha).

Thank you for sharin', super happy for your first litter. :)

The first thing you learn about rabbits is that everyone thinks you're doing it wrong. If your setup works, is maintainable, and the rabbits are in good health it works. I've never seen a colony setup that is maintainable for more than a year or two without a massive colony collapse due to disease or fighting. Watership down is not too far from reality.

Just remember to set up some feed near the babies when they are around weeks old so they can start nibbling it and adjusting to eating it so that if mom did get immediately rebres they will be started on pellets a bit before they get weaned when mom has her second litter. They dont like to wonder far from the nest yet at that age so might not have found the main feeders before they get weaned by mom having a new litter

Congratulations on the new litter. Willow Creek, they have a large out door colony. It’s great. Thank You for sharing.

They are really tucking up your pretty barn though. Those are some active kits. They were probably saying, "Close the front door. We're you born in a barn!" Lol

Good for you folks.great idea. we've had rabbits in colonies outside and strip grazed them..no they didn't dig their way out..but we did have wide holed wire netting laid out on the grass to stop that..else i think they wud have escaped..they thrive living naturally..well done..i heartily endorse this system of yours..nz

I also raise my meat rabbits in a colony. The rabbits never have bad feet from the cages. They all have inground burrows. Seems so much healthier than being in a small box.

Thank you!!! I have been wanting to give all our animals the "Heritage" way of Homesteading! Please do follow up for babies !!

I love my colony! You will have wins and loses but just have fun with it.

Remember that rabbits are at the bottom of the food chain. They will self regulate the production based on space and food availability and pressure from predators. In Seattle there is a large urban feral rabbit population that will go through cycles but has never gone way. Even with urban coyotes and feral cats. Your setup looks great. We have our rabbits in a cage system but we are in the city and on a small lot. Someday we hope to relocate to a larger area.

Thank you so much for the update I was worried. Nice of y’all to reassure us 😎

We've been discussing switching from cages to a colony.

We bought a buck and doe from a person that raised them in a colony. We didn’t know they kept their bucks in with all the does all the time. The main problem with their colony is that they kept a few bucks from the litters in the colony as well. And they kept most of the doe kits to build their colony. The doe we got was so inbred that she was only able to have two or three kits in a litter. Sometimes she would have four. But she never had more than two live out of her litters. Avoid the inbreeding at all cost.

Absolutely adorable little ones. Great job, keep crushing it.

In the wild they have km of space. So you need to keep an eye out for fights. Also try growing some fodder and give them its a lovely treat :) the one I had in the past also loved to play with balls and apple branches.

Hopefully this will work out well. Do the rabbits get sunshine, vitamins? You might ask a veterinarian if there's anything they need to stay well. I'm a new subscriber, you follow many of the things we do in gardening :) Can't wait till spring to see what you do with all that!

That rooster in the background!!!🤣🤣🤣

I imagine you have done your research but do rabbits need sunshine like we do? They seem happy enough. I raised rabbits in cages. I did notice that the mothers fed the babies at night and otherwise didn't stay with them much. I love the gray bunnies. I had one gray doe but I think she was a throwback. I got her from a place that wasn't caring for them. I loved them but can't butcher them so don't raise them anymore.

I love your setup and if I had rabbits I would do the same, I used to have a rabbit when I whas a kid, my parents kept him in a cage, I felt sorry for that animal because he couldn't jump and run that much like rabbits do, so I took him outside as much as possible for a walk and he loved that, I am very pleased to see that they have that space to go a bit crazy and they can hop without hurting themselves and they have no wire under there paws, so they can't have messed up feet because of that, love it xxxxx

Y’all are adorable. Love your Homesteady. From East TX.

Clearly the rabbits are happy and healthy. And the daddy bunny seems to be a proud daddy! We under estimate animals and their parenting skills all the time. Most of the time it's just best to let nature take it's course and that's when we see more abundance in the animal world. And healthier groups of animals. A lot of times we will step in to "save" and animal instead of letting them breed a stronger line. Sometimes saving a sickly animal and then breeding it later is just breeding that into your stock. And with that being said I have been guilty of stepping in to save a life many times. *slaps my hand* lol

All of this work now will pay off for a lot of good meat in the future!

Great job with the colony, regarding the litter you should build a raised area with mesh on top over a collection basin for easy cleaning below the feed area.

We raise Silver Fox rabbits on our homestead Burr Oak Acres in northern IL. and we love them. The females are very territorial and will fight each other so I would be nervous to try a colony.

We have colony rabbits. I’ve noticed the mamas get much more protective of their nest when they have kits in the nest. But the others just learn to stay away. Everyone gets along. We have 11 does and bucks together. (5 nests right now)

Anytime you see that a rabbit has been pulling out fur, they are either really close to giving birth, or they already have. I’ve seen rabbits raised both ways. We raised rabbits in cages for many years. We had a dairy farm, so we really didn’t have the space to raise them in a colony. If you have more than one buck in the same space, the chances of one of them killing the kits goes up. They will do that to bring the doe back in heat quicker. You should avoid any inbreeding. So if you plan on keeping the doe kits for breeding you should use a different buck.

I do like your rabbit colony and family homestead project. As a matter of fact here in France we often build artificial warrens in an enclosure to raise rabbits that are "semi-wild", it makes things much easier, except for catching them... I personnally used to catch them with my ferret and nets every two or three months, it's as if I'm a hunter in my own garden... but now my kids have made ntheir mission to find and cuddle the kittens so now they can grab them easily. And of course we shouldn't be scared of the buck "eating" th kitten or harassing the does (provided they're at least 2 does), they live in extended family/colony in the wild...

That is super true by the way, our lady bunnies were always happier when they could get their mommy on.

My buck and doe live together 24/7 with the 3 chickens. They all dog pile together in a cuddle puddle at night LOL. Trust me she sure controls the breeding!! She will not lift for him and theyve been together for a few months. They are best buddies though.

You can also make outdoor pens you just have to bury some mesh fencing so they don't dig out or make tunnels as you cant catch them once they make underground tunnels and houses lol. That and have some kind of wire over the top like chicken wire to keep birds from getting to them. If I did rabbits I'd have a stall like you have with an outdoor area attached so they could go in and out. But what you have is more than adequate!

Thank you for sharing this. I really like this idea.

We use goat feeders for New Zealand rabbits and hog feeders for other breeds. We use boxes and wood for them to chew and stall mats so they cannot dig out of the barn.

I have a new colony setup with two does and one buck. I'm also new at raising bunnies, too. Both does are pregnant and due any day. They have dug lots of holes (on dirt) but I can't tell if anyone has kindled yet. I'm excited but I have say, it is hard not seeing results as easily. BTW, I totally relate to how you can't always remember the names or nouns ! I've done that all my life! Some sort of dyslexia I'm told. I wonder if you are also extremely visual and good at design like me, too?

We are in the middle of kitting to. We bread long haired mini lops (pet Rabbits) i think it is absolutely awesome for the kids. Mine have learnt so much be careful touching baby kits before their eyes open mum might disown them.We use a litter box inside for our house bunny. I leave my bucks in with Mums and have never had one eat a baby

Congratulation on your first litter of Kits. You could switch to straw for the main bedding and only put the hay in the litterbox. Rabbits love to eat and poop at the same time.

The only thing in here that bothers me is that you're using hay instead of stray for your bedding. Switch to straw. Other than that, it's all good. I've also decided to switch over to colony-raising my rabbits, and have really enjoyed it so far.

Them babies will be running around within the next 10 days! Love my American buns🙃

I suggest be careful when you are doing a colony method with raising rabbits. Be careful not to overcrowd. If you see any rabbits biting, scratching or chasing each other, you will have to separate them or cull any aggressive rabbits. Typically males will fight each other. Rabbits can be easily stressed and may take aggression out on you. You don't want to breed aggressive temperament even if you use them for meat, you'll get bitten and scratched to no end. So take precautions. I've seen the cute and ugly side to raising rabbits for meat or pets. They can be wonderful livestock/companions when it works out though. I like the idea of the setup. Much more comfortable and natural than isolating them in cold lonely wire cages. Rabbits are indeed social animals. But they surely need space.

We placed a litter box and dig box in our bunny's pen and she is already use those both as her litter box and I haven't seen pee all over her pen nor poo. We want her to be a free roam rabbit so we are training her to use the litter box.

This is so refreshing to see. I'm been researching how to raise meat rabbits like crazy, because I want to start this spring. And I prefer giving them room to roam, but I also live in a townhouse and have 4 cats that are very prolific hunters 😅 so I need to find a way for cats and rabbits to co-exist peacefully(safely!) We have a big, fenced in garden, but I also have a giant(it's humongous!) 4 hutch setup to start with. I've asked local homesteaders if I can see their setup, but no luck yet, and most videos show and recommend the smaller wire bottom hutches.

Thanks

Oh My Goodness!!! How cute is that? I seldom comment other than to give you 'kids' an 'atta-girl' or 'atta-boy' because... this older 'farm-gal' thinks you are doing an awesome job.

I’ve kept rabbits for over 40years as pets and I find that they do live ok together, the problem will be the males who “could” fight to the death. When I’ve had kits “babies” the buck “dad has taken a active roll in spending time with his young. Rabbits are not as easy or cheap to keep as people expect, and in my opinion not a good children’s pet, they bite and I’m sure a small child could lose a finger if it got in the way or the rabbit was scared.

There is nothing wrong with your set up. After raising rabbits for over 15 years now, caged rabbits has some advantages but it seems like they aren't really worth it. Although these days I see very little advantages with it at all. Most people are too used to rabbits in cages since the majority of books recommends it for various reasons. They are not familiar with the fact that before cages our ancestors raised them in warrens/colonies. I am planning of switching to the colony set up for my meat rabbit herd. Although mine will be a what I refer to as a controlled colony. Just the does will be together and the bucks will be separated so that I don't get over run with rabbits and end up with more animals than I have an outlet for. Currently I have over 20 adult rabbits of a few different breeds. So for me being able to regulate the breeding myself will still allow me to do specific pairings and control the population growth. Running a buck with multiple does would result in a rabbit boom. So for me also having multiple bucks a free range buck in a doe herd would not work. After my research on colonies it seems that the rabbits are happier because they get to be rabbits and do what they do. They have plenty of room to move and exercise creating better muscle tone in your meat animals. They don't seem depressed like I have noticed in some of my caged animals. They get to interact with each other and have that mental stimulation they need. Plus sore hocks from heavy rabbits being on wire will be a thing of the past. Resting boards only do so much to keep mine from getting sore feet. People say meat from a happy animal is healthier and seems to taste better. Animals raised in a more natural environment will have better immune systems and he heartier. The main issue I have noticed with allowing them to dig their own burrows is that they can dig them so deep that you cannot check the nest and remove the kits that didn't make it. If the mother does not take care of it, the kit will rot in the burrow. This can be an issue with new mothers. Some rabbit mothers never get the hang of it and some are just naturally awesome. This is not good for the nest overall and the rest of the litter has to stay down there with their dead siblings. To try to avoid this I plan to create some underground nesting areas that I can access to be able to check the nests for issues. Giving the does some premade nesting options might give them the incentive to use them out of convenience than digging a burrow themselves. The bucket burrows that some people are using seem to work well for rabbits in colonies that I have seen. Ones small enough that can easily turn around in a bucket. Although most of mine are too large to use a bucket. I might offer one or two bucket burrows for the does that can fit in one. That would give the smaller does nests that they won't have to compete with the big girls for. I have also seen people using the plastic totes much like the bucket burrows. Which would be better for the larger meat breeds. One of the largest advantages to the human I have noticed from the colony set up is it not a hassle to provide a water source that can be kept from freezing. Anyone with a large rabbitry outdoors using water bottles knows that struggle in the winter. Also should you need to have someone take care of your rabbits for a bit it is not going to be such a hassle for them if you have quite a few rabbits. They only have to worry about filling a few feeders and one or two water sources rather than going from cage to cage individually. It's quicker, simpler and saves a lot of time. After having around 100 rabbits in a cage system at one time this is a huge advantage. Plus you get to watch your animals actually enjoying their lives to a degree they never will in a cage. The colony set up from both the animal and human perspective allows the both of you to have a much better quality of life than a cage system. I'm glad to see someone else documenting their rabbit colony here on youtube. Hopefully it will continue to catch on with homesteaders. I think it is a better way for the animal.

Hey. Guys, I just watched Willow Creek Homestead, Jonah, just showed how he made bucket burrows , they have there bunnies outside. I think it's a great idea , I've found out side the flies get them So Cool! You might have champions at the fair , there beautiful! JO JO IN VT 💕☃ 😊

Great video thx. I raise meat rabbits in a colony in a stall as well. Lots of fun !! 🐰

3rd view.. haha wow! Love your channel guys, new subscriber currently binge watching!!

Back in the 60s family was rasing rabbits didnt have term for it but we had a lage 3 sided building 4 side was screened in and footing were deep to keep from burrowing out there was a divder to keep buck and does separate. Lived well out in sticks no electronic or plumbing Sothing came up and we were going to be gone for a while so we opened the doors let them out so could forage for themselves in a year at sunset rabbits out to feed you couldn't count them all . We would catch the young ones and mark the ears so could tell does from bucks and time to time would harvest for meat .

Brother in law did colony rabbitts...the main problem he had was over population...Young bucks can breed much earlier than does.

About 3 years ago I got an egg inside of and egg very random but still cool

Your barn is beautiful. Spring is coming. My hens have started laying better too.

All 5 of our Rabbits live in an 8x8 pen with no cage. They are pets but its better than a cage .

As the babies start to get older they will continue to burrow and spread out under the hay so just make sure you don’t accidentally step on one.

I love your setup :) what a great idea on the litter box setup. My only concern would be rats or snakes getting in & taking the babies. (we had issues with rats the size of terriers & snakes in our chicken barn). I really like your approach & look forward to more bunny videos. :) thanks

That's so cool! I raised New Zealand rabbits for years for meat and to sell. I could keep a couple of male rabbits together in a large cage for about 12 weeks after that they would start fighting but usually had them sold before they hit that age. Are you planning eating the males and keeping the females? It's always a learning experience. It's so neat to see your young children learning to care for your livestock. Really enjoyed your video!

Your barn looks better than my house...

I got 7 puppy surprises. 1:/2 American Bull dog . 1/2 Cream Lab. So cute

I think that colony style is really cool. I love how it’s set up and the buns look comfy and happy. I commented on the last video you had about some of the what if’s - which you answered. Now I’m wondering about what if the babies mate with each other? I know it’s ok for moms and dads to line breed but I thought it was frowned upon for brothers and sisters to mate. Maybe I need to get the book. Lol

I know there is a door but, rabbits can jump over that gate, a gate that is at least 36” is best for rabbits.

Your bunny set up is like the bunny Taj Mahal!

How about an update on how the colony approach is working out?

Wow this is so cool! 👍 thanks for sharing!

Your bunnies look fine and healthy!

In my experience, some does cannabilize babies too. It was rare with our does. I remember only 2 that did this. I liked the colony way of raising rabbits better.

Would doing this in something like an outdoor dog kennel that you move every few days be reasonable? Something like a 100sq ft cage witeh wire mesh on the bottom.

You should call your set-up Watership Colony.

Sorry, I dislike colony breeding. Raised them for 30 years semi-commercially, elevated wire cages are IMO the most efficient and sanitary way to produce them.

So excited to be following you guys.

My 6 baby rabbits are about 40 days old and their mother died today. They can eat regular food now. Can they survive? If not how can i save them?

I look forward to seeing your colony grow!! c:

Seems like the colony would work well with just a breeding pair, but I think for as many breeders as we have we can control breeding a bit more 👍 but everyone needs to do what works for them 😁

Will you guys please do a video on a DITL of your kids routines and basically what they do everyday? I have four kids and we recently purchased 3 acres of land with a nice sized home that we are renovating. I find myself turning on the tv everyday for them and am not sure how to get them to just go outside and play. I grew up playing outside and loved it. My kids just want to be indoors watching shows or crafting. We homeschool so we have a lot of opportunity to get them helping us with things but they whine and complain when we ask them to help. They will play outside more when it is nicer weather but I feel like they need to be out way more. Do you have any advice or tips? My husband and I are overwhelmed and really want to get into raising sheep, rabbits and chickens but there is no way we can do that if the kids aren't willing to help...our kids dont even want to play with our German shepherd puppy about 6 months old. When I was a kid I loved taking care of our pets so I am confused what I'm doing wrong here.

I love this. Great job

The buck doesn't eat the babies, but will kill them. That's what happened to my new zealand whites years ago. Once the mother starts preparing for a nest we seperated them..

Not gonna lie I'd be stressed that I'd miss a burrow in the straw and step right on them. That being said I'm glad all that fur gave away their position. It's probably one of those situations where a little bit of caution when expecting babies goes a long way.

I wanna try colonies but to me cages take up less space and less chance for disease or worms

Lumnah Acres gave their chickens some kind of dried bug treat from usa(not china) and went from 2 or 3 eggs a day to 6 to 9 a day

There about a week old expect another litter in about 3 more weeks

I may have missed this answer, but, why inside? Don’t animals need sunlight / sunshine? And grass?

Hey Mr and Mrs Austin,great idea of colony raising of the rabbits, y'all have given me some really great ideas to try, y'all are an awesome family and I wish that y'all had y'all's own TV show,may the LORD continue to bless you and your family 😇