When and how do rabbits breed?
I have several rabbits in cages. I have questions:
- Does the rabbit count in a cage increase or decrease the chance of another rabbit spawning?
- Is spawning time based, or is it a completely random event?
- Does my presence in the area affect the chance of a rabbit appearing in the cage?
According to the breeding section on the wiki page for Rabbits:
If there are at least 2 rabbits in the cage, they will breed up to a maximum of 7 rabbits total in the cage.
So the only criteria for spawning appears to be the placement of 2 rabbits inside the same cage.
Regarding spawning time or randomness, in my experience it's random, though in game it has never taken me that long to notice my rabbits have bred (if anyone has evidence to the contrary feel free to edit this answer).
Neither my experience nor the wiki tells me that your presence affects the chance of a rabbit appearing in a cage. Either way, I'll usually place my animal traps and go do something else. When I come back, there will often be a captured animal.
Does the rabbit count in a cage increase or decrease the chance of another rabbit spawning?
- 0-1: 0% chance (you need 2 to tango)
- 2-6: 10% chance
- 7: 0% chance (cage is full)
Is spawning time based, or is it a completely random event?
The game checks for whether a rabbit should spawn when you sleep. For each cage that has between 2-6 rabbits, there's a 10% chance that a new rabbit will spawn.
To maximize your chances of rabbits spawning, I recommend that you build multiple cages, with 2 rabbits per cage. Each cage will have a 10% chance to spawn an additional rabbit each night, so you get more 'chances' to get a new rabbit.
Does my presence in the area affect the chance of a rabbit appearing in the cage?
I believe so, but haven't encountered any documentation to confirm this.
I have 2 bases and a house boat, each with multiple rabbit cages. In my experience, if I leave an area for several days and come back, I see no changes in the number of animals. However, if I spend the night a few times at a location, I sometimes see a new rabbit.
The same is true for water collectors. If I'm near a base when it rains, the water collectors collect water. If I'm away from a base when it rains, the water collectors don't gain additional water.