Setting Up The Colony

After reading several blogs and doing a little research of our own the hubby and I have decided we would like to try colony raising with our rabbits. We are hoping it will aid in ease of feeding and watering, since most the rabbits will be in one cage instead of each one needing their own feed and water bottle in individual cages. We are also hoping to be able to feed them more naturally this way. It will be easier to provide large quanities of hay and grass that otherwise would fall through a cages wire. We will also be able to provide large hunks of wood to chew on, their favorite past time, and they will have lots more room to hop around and socialize. After reading alot! We decided to do a modified colony. Our pen will have a floor so the rabbits can not dig burrows. I wish they could so it would be more natural, but digging down 2 plus feet to install wire so they can't escape and trying to get them out of their holes when you want them just seemed like too much work. We are only housing does in the conoly, bucks will remain in cages. We like to keep a good eye on who is having babies and when and how many. So this way the does will be removed for breeding so we know exactly when they are due, then removed again about a week before their due dates. We are excited and hopeful that this idea will work, if it doesn't we will go back to cages, but we like the idea of freedom the colony gives us and our rabbits so we'll see how it goes. We will keep you updated

Hubby near the posts I set for the doorway you can see the wire fastened along the sides of the bunny barn the open end is secured to t posts.

The door.

The wire covered floor.

Hubby after hanging the door, now ready for rabbits.

Turning the first group out. If they do well and stay in we will add more rabbits. We didn't want the whole herd to escape in case they found a hole. We plan on adding straw bedding to cover the floor, but we wanted to give it a trial run first. So far we are 12 hours out and no escapees. We will post more pics when we get the bedding and all the other amenities set up, but for now the rabbits had so much fun hopping around and exploring. It made me smile to watch them run and play with so much room to move in. Now lets just hope they are all still there in the morning.

Our daughter playing in the colony pen with the bunnies another plus, easier play time for us.