Breeding bonded sisters

[mygoldendoe]

A lady I talk to on Facebook has a bonded sister and she bred them. They have a really big cage (couple feet wide/long and off the ground a bit.) So they have plenty room for their own space if they want it.
She gave them their own nest box and they still ended up putting babies in o e box and take turns feeding them...If yours are truly bonded and have a cage big enough for them (plus all the possible growouts) like she did, I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[Bunnylady]

Yeah . . . . two litters in one nest box = some very fat babies and a lot of babies not making it, if they have more than 5 or so apiece. Or one litter getting injured or killed when one doe tries to do nest prep in a box that is already occupied by the first doe's litter (rabbits can be really dumb like that). Might work OK for the does, but maybe not so much for the babies.

 

[Pastor Dave]

Sounds like too many kits competing for too few teats!

 

[mygoldendoe]

Yep that's why I mentioned her set up. She had a large cage so tech it could work but like hers they ended up wanting to use same box. That would be a risk you'd have to think of. It's the same concept of colony raising on the ground. If it's large enough for your individual rabbits to have their own space they shouldn't fight too much, they could use their own nest box u provide or you could have em share, or boot out others babies for their own.

 

[Bunnylady]

Honestly, I think people put a bit too much emphasis on the whole concept of "bonding." IME, some rabbits are more civil with their own kind, and some are simply dragons. Some seem to enjoy having other rabbits to interact with, and some merely tolerate them - or not. I have put older does together in what I termed my "retirement homes" where they may have wound up living together for years, and had no problems, but then these girls were small, 'pet' breeds so a more docile temperament was something they had been bred for. On the other hand, I had a young Netherland Dwarf doe get killed by her own mother when space limitations meant I left them together in the same cage for several months. It's very sweet to see rabbits snuggling together and grooming each other, and as long as everyone is happy, well and good. But IME, that can come apart at almost any time, so anyone with more than one rabbit in one space needs to keep an eye on things, and be prepared to separate if things seem to be turning ugly. What I tell people is, "they get along, until they don't, and there's no knowing just how long that will be."