My Rabbit Journey~New Pics pg 17

Since I cannot have chickens where I live due to noise restrictions we decided to go with meat rabbits.

I just got my young buck yesterday, he's only 8 weeks. He's a purebred REW Satin.

My two does are a Champage D'Argent and one New Zealand/Flemish cross (3/4 NZ and 1/4 Flemish). We are planning on several litters a year and will probably do a litter every 3-4 months or more depending on demand. We have several families interested in our rabbit meat. We are going to grow our babies out in tractors after they are 6-8 weeks, until they are between 12-16 weeks old. I guess I'll have more specific ages for this after a couple litters and really getting a feel for what this entails. I will be giving updates here on the weights of these mixes and culling my adults as I figure out what mixes work best for us.

The breeders I got these bunnies from have offered me stud service of their NZ and Champage so that I might see what qualites the purebred litters have. From there we'll cull accordingly.

I'll get some pictures sometime over the next couple days.

Your plans sound very thought out! I can't wait for pics... I just got interested in raising rabbits for pets/meat!

Thanks!

I got my girls home this evening. The NZx is huge!!! I don't remember what her birthday was but she's..around 12-13 weeks and is larger than most adult bunnies I have seen. The Champage D'Argent is GORGEOUS!!!!! I've seen pictures of the breed but don't think they do this girl's breed justice. I am also enjoying her temperament so far more than my Satin buck or my NZx doe. The NZ is very pushy and I can tell she won't mind getting territorial with me. I had both girls in one hutch while I prepared the other pen and the NZ really thumped on the D'Argent. The D'Argent is pretty good sized too, though she's a bit younger than the NZx.

I have only one double hutch and the cage size is 36" x 36". I have the girlies in there and my young buck, who my 3 year old daughter named "Do Mi So Mi" (part of a song form the Movie Aristocats), he been moved into a dog crate for now because he's smaller and obviously doesn't have the space needs. He's still got a spacious bachelor pad though. The crate is 28" x 20.5" so plenty of room for him temporarily.

Pics of my herd and hutches tomorrow.

Very cool!

I too am looking to start raising my own meat rabbits. I'm researching hutch plans right now.

I figured I will wait till after Easter to get the rabbits. Big interest in them this time of year.

Where in WA are you? I need to find a good breeder to get my stock from.

Cheers!

I am in Port Orchard Across the Sound from Seattle.

pics please

There lot of good info on backyard herds a sister site of BYC look at the bottom of the page for the link.

Haha, as soon as I read the "do mi so mi" it brought me back to that movie scene where the little white kitten is singing.
They sound beautiful! Good luck!

Sorry about no pics everyone. I have been dealing with a lot this week. Bunnies are doing very well. I will be making some temporary poo and pee catchers to contain the mess they make. The saying "breeding like rabbits" is accurate but the phrase "pooping like rabbits" should be more popular.

Quote:
Is your hutch wire bottomed? Is most of the mess below the hutch... or do they still get messy on the inside?

I imagine the dog crate your also using would be a different story.

Look forward to seeing your setup and rabbits.