Anyone with Rabbits??? - Page 5

I'm going to a show next month. My NZ won a best reserve in show when she was younger. She also won a leg at an ARBA show, but now she has saggy skin and low shoulders. And she just made a huge mess of my living room. There is hay everywhere! 

I have rabbits!  I've got a meat heard of 6 and 1 pet rabbit.  I used to show rabbits was way way back in the day.  Dh had meat rabbits growing up.  We both decided that we wanted to get back into meat rabbit husbandry to help ease the grocery bill.  So we raise meat rabbits and meat chickens.

I have 2 Californian does, 1 Champagne D'Argent doe, 1 Black New Zealand doe, 1 NZ/Cal cross buck, and 1 Silver Fox Buck.  They are my meat heard breeders. The Champagne is Maggie and she kept her first litter of 6.  Her kits will be ready to process in another week.  One of the Californians is Cali and the other is Poppy.  Cali kept her second littler and those are only a few weeks old yet. Cali had 16 or 17 kits 10 of which made it through the first few days and eventually she lost 2 more.  She has 8 just starting to hop out of the nest box and one of those is a broken black that is adorable.  

The NZ is Lucy and she is going to the stew pot.  She is beautiful but is a terrible mother and a very flighty rabbit.  

The Proud papa is Kiwi my Cal/NZ buck.  He is a love bug and I call him "big bear".  

 Poppy is new to the heard as is the SIlver Fox buck- Kirby.  I got them this weekend as a poultry swap and they are in quarentine right now. After they are cleared to join the rabbitry I'll breed them to see to see how they pan out. If they don't work out I'll process them.  

I am also thinking to add another Champagne D'argent. I love Maggie.  She is the best bunny.  Cali is pretty cool too.

My big project for this spring is to make rabbit tractors so I can pasture them.

I orginally was just going to go with the 4 but decided to add another buck and wanted to get a replacement for Lucy, so it all worked out.

The Pet Rabbit is a broken black Mini Rex.  He name is Harrison aka HarryBunny and he is a slug.  His cage is by the TV and he is super friendly and loves to munch on sticks from our apple trees and timothy hay.  He is also litter box trained.  Not much phases good old Harry. He also love dehydrated papaya and if he does not get his "fix" right before bed, he stays up all night and trashes his cage.

Quote:

Originally Posted by MustLoveHens 

I have rabbits!  I've got a meat heard of 6 and 1 pet rabbit.  

 

I have 2 Californian does, 1 Champagne D'Argent doe, 1 Black New Zealand doe, 1 NZ/Cal cross buck, and 1 Silver Fox Buck.  

 

 

 

 

 

I am also thinking to add another Champagne D'argent. I love Maggie.  She is the best bunny.  Cali is pretty cool too.

My big project for this spring is to make rabbit tractors so I can pasture them.

I orginally was just going to go with the 4 but decided to add another buck and wanted to get a replacement for Lucy, so it all worked out.

Have you thought of getting a "little" Florida White as a buck? We had one (he died and must be replaced) and he was FABULOUS! Although small, when crossed with the Champagne D'Argent's, they produce a really meaty baby; they dress out incredible well, with a very high meat to bone ratio. I have read that the Florida White, although small, has the best "meat to bone" ration of all rabbits. You might consider it. (O love the silver Fox - we keep the pelts of all out rabbits - a fox or two would be nice) Oh, we also have Standard Rex (black otters).

I breed Dwarf Hotots and just got my first pair of Lilacs! The Lilacs are Juniors (young) so they will be shown before being bred. I breed for showing (ARBA). Love my buns! You can see them here http://www.facebook.com/pages/Clover-Field-Farm/221489381228068

Quote:

Originally Posted by Totalcolour 

Have you thought of getting a "little" Florida White as a buck? We had one (he died and must be replaced) and he was FABULOUS! Although small, when crossed with the Champagne D'Argent's, they produce a really meaty baby; they dress out incredible well, with a very high meat to bone ratio. I have read that the Florida White, although small, has the best "meat to bone" ration of all rabbits. You might consider it. (O love the silver Fox - we keep the pelts of all out rabbits - a fox or two would be nice) Oh, we also have Standard Rex (black otters).

Actually the Florida White is one of the breeds that I was seriously considering for my heard.  But alas, where I live they are very rare and very hard to find.

Oh thanks! The lilacs have an AMAZING personality. So sweet and playful. I love the color too 

I have two rabbits! Timothy, an albino mixed breed, and Chester, a golden-brown lionhead.

Oooohhhh.... lucky! I want a lionhead SO badly.

But, I currently have four rabbits.

Charlette - Checkered Giant

Brownie - Purebreed Brown Mini-Rex

Skittles - American Chinchilla

Cuddles - Purebreed Broken Torte. English Lop

Quite a variety, eh?

All of them are girls, except skittles. Skittles, Charlette, and Brownie live in a hutch together. Cuddles is currently living inside, since she is an indoor rabbit. (She's liter trained!!) But once it gets warm enough, we're moving her outside. I don't have pictures of the bigger hutch yet, but yesterday we just moved Cuddles into a BEAUTIFUL wood hutch.

Brownie

Charlette

Skittles

Cuddles

New Hutch