Letting does out together?

[KittyKatMe]

I have unspayed does, and obviously I keep them seprate. But I have heard of people on the forum letting their foes have supervised playtime together in a large run. I want experienced peoples' or breeders' opinions; I don't want to bond them. I know many of you are going to advise me to get them spayed, but I want to know if anyone has tried it and if it has been a success?

 

[agnesthelion]

You will hear of scenarios where unspayed does get along but it's not very often. And what works for one bun may not for another.

Generally speaking bunnies don't do well just casually playing together. Of course you can try supervised play time but just be ready to break up any fighting. And of course, even if they seem to get along, territorialness can come out at a later time as their hormones drive them to protect or claim space.

I don't think unbonded buns enjoy casually playing with other rabbits. So keep in mind that something that may seem like a nice thing to let them do can actual be stressful for them. I'm not saying it's not something you can't try, just watch for subtle signs that it's heading in the wrong direction.

 

[majorv]

We've allowed two does out at the same time to run around in our den. As long as they have room to explore without getting in each other's way, they do fine. They may meet and briefly smell each other, but they're usually more interested in everything else in the room than each other. We watch them though.

 

[Imbrium]

from what I've heard, the situations where that sort of thing works out generally involve a pretty large run space so that the bunns have room to do their own thing without constantly running into each other

 

[OakRidgeRabbits]

Domestic rabbits aren't generally social with each other, without alteration and human interaction, and don't enjoy casual play groups like some other domestic animals do. I've had very little success introducing two or more mature, unaltered rabbits without fighting. It typically starts with curious sniffing, but quickly escalates to chasing, nipping or lunging at each other. And once their minds are set on that, there's no waiting it out or trying to separate- they just keep after each other.

I've talked to other people who have had greater success with casual play dates, though. It seems that some breeds, or some individual personalities, are more submissive and will get along in some groups.

I wouldn't say it's directly related to not being spayed or neutered, based on the interactions I've seen among many domestic rabbits (both altered and unaltered). The same tendencies are seen even in altered rabbits before they're bonded. Male and female pairs tend to get along best- this is true in unaltered rabbits too, but obviously the danger lies elsewhere since breeding is a concern. Same sex pairs are more difficult, especially males.

It just seems that breeding instinct is what leads to the more violent tiffs, so altering rabbits offers a better opportunity for long-term, stable relationships. With breeding instinct still there, any bond (permanent or temporary) will be less stable.

You can always try supervised play dates, but it's unlikely to be successful.

 

[MyBabyHasPaws]

A friend that owns a farm here has a bunch of rabbits.

I visited her not too long ago and she was just about to try this "experiment" like she called it.

It went horribly bad. She put 2 does together in a horse stall while we just watched them. For the first few minutes it was great, they were exploring and I dont even know if one realized the other.. when they crossed paths, it got really nasty. We had to break them up right away and I got scratched pretty nasty in the process.

It was just too much drama, she wont be doing that again

 

[majorv]

I think it's dependent on the environment you put them in, how long you leave them together and how often you do it...and their personalities. If the area is big enough and has other distractions (like a den as opposed to an empty space) it would be better. The longer and more often you have them together the greater chance they'll fight. We don't put ours together very often and then not for more than 30 min-1 hour...and there's enough to investigate in the room that other than passing each other a few times, they don't interact much. We did this because taking one bunny out at a time to get exercise took FOREVER.

 

[bhoffman]

I have 4 bonded intact does. They do however have a large area to run in on a daily basis. They all snuggle in together very nicely a lot of the time as well.. I was actually VERY lucky and mine all hit it off at the start!Of course, I just introduced one at a time. Their run is outdoors and have access to the large garage (which is strictly theirs!). I personally would not do it if I didnt have such a large area for them.

Like others say though, each rabbit is different and what works for one person may not work for the next. I just bought a lion head doe yesterday and I honestly do not think that she would be a good match for my other girls. She is just too skittish, you cant even walk by her cage with out her stomping her foot and runnign and hiding.

Good luck with whatever you try!

 

[KittyKatMe]

bhoffman, I thought you had 3 does? You need to do a blog or update your site

 

[whitelop]

So bhoffman, you have like a colony type thing going on?
I only have one bun, so I don't worry about this, also I'm not breeder or anything. But I always wondered about the colony type breeding system. How all those buns get along with each other.
Also, whenever I think about colonies I think about prairie dogs.

 

[Blaze_Amita]

I've turned some of my brood does out together in a large pen to romp, but the does are all tested together to see who will get along and who won't. Doe A might get along with Doe B but not Doe C type of thing, I've put a couple older does together- thatwere both laid back that were at retirment age but older than I'd like to try and get them spayed or pet them out. It can be done, but much watch them very closely. I've done the same with two young bucks, I still have those two bucks and despite they are much older now, I can still turn them out together- they'll ride each other a little bit but that's it, not kicking or biting each other. My almost 7 year old holland buck-Gab- runs loose in the barn with the almost 6 year old holland buck-Speedle, but Gab can be put in the x-pen with my 2 year old tort dutch buck and they're fine. The dutch buck and Speedle are not fine being put together.

 

[Blue eyes]

I have 4 bonded intact does. They do however have a large area to run in on a daily basis. They all snuggle in together very nicely a lot of the time as well.. I was actually VERY lucky and mine all hit it off at the start!Of course, I just introduced one at a time. Their run is outdoors and have access to the large garage (which is strictly theirs!). I personally would not do it if I didnt have such a large area for them.

Like others say though, each rabbit is different and what works for one person may not work for the next. I just bought a lion head doe yesterday and I honestly do not think that she would be a good match for my other girls. She is just too skittish, you cant even walk by her cage with out her stomping her foot and runnign and hiding.

Good luck with whatever you try!

How old are your does? I ask because if their hormones haven't kicked in yet, I wouldn't consider them bonded. I thought yours were young, but I may be mistaken.

 

[ldoerr]

I have a very good friend who breeds rabbits. She has a section of a horse stall sectioned off with an xpen that she keeps anywhere from 9-15 unspayed does in. She rotates them out every so often as needed (she has cages become available/need cage space, fat does that need to loose weight, brood does not in use, etc...). She has had the pen going for over a year now and has not had a fight. She monitors them closely just in case though. It can be done.