Put a add at the place you buy your feed I get a lot of mine sold from that source.
I use a picture add so they see what they are getting .
Raising our New Zealand Meat Rabbits *Start to finish - Birth to processing* Possible Graphic pics*
- Thread starter Angelicisi
- Start date
Put a add at the place you buy your feed I get a lot of mine sold from that source.
I use a picture add so they see what they are getting .
this week is it I have 5 does ready to drop
1 champagne
3 Flemish
1 Californian
OH the anticipation
pictures soon I hope
but here's the 4 week olds I did get
1 champagne
3 Flemish
1 Californian
OH the anticipation
pictures soon I hope
but here's the 4 week olds I did get
Any news. You're probably busy counting kits. Good Lord 5 pregnant does at the same time. I'm a newby so that sounds insanely busy for me. On another note...
I harvested my first rabbit last week. I used the broomstick method. It did not go as smooth or as quickly as the hundred or so Youtube videos I watched. It took me that many videos to get my nerve up. It also gave the family a chance to accept not all the rabbits found homes and I am moving forward with my intended purpose in raising rabbits. I just bought myself a pellet rifle. I think it will work better for me and certainly seems like it will be quicker and more humane since I'm not skilled in any particular method. We will see if that's true. Thanks for being there through this process.
I harvested my first rabbit last week. I used the broomstick method. It did not go as smooth or as quickly as the hundred or so Youtube videos I watched. It took me that many videos to get my nerve up. It also gave the family a chance to accept not all the rabbits found homes and I am moving forward with my intended purpose in raising rabbits. I just bought myself a pellet rifle. I think it will work better for me and certainly seems like it will be quicker and more humane since I'm not skilled in any particular method. We will see if that's true. Thanks for being there through this process.
Yes I got a bunch in the last two days
here's the total
agouti mixed had 9
black Flemish pure had 13
Flemish oldest had 9 believe this or not she had 2 yesterday and had 7 today that is crazy never had that before
Californian had 7
champagne de argent had 8
now lets total that
47 rabbits new + the 4 that are a month old =51 rabbits omg I never expected this many usually not all does will take when I breed them
but They gave a 100% this time
and yes when I butcher I use a 22 short its quick easy .
I use my garden to feed them and I buy 300 lbs. of pellets every 4 months- 5 months about 120.00 not bad I must say and the dent store keeps me supplied with free veggies fruit and -bread their favorite have to give them just a small amount of that or they will get to fat-.all fresh stuff I have very healthy rabbits . right now I have most of the rabbits sold so its a win -win situation.
I am keeping a few babies and the older breeders are going to be sold or to the pot. I will pressure cook them for tenderness very delicious that way.
they eat apples -pears --dandelions- beets- beet greens - all kinds of good stuff I grow for them -
I am self sufficient. buy cheap eat cheap You won't see me in any Wal-Mart store.
I am keeping a few babies and the older breeders are going to be sold or to the pot. I will pressure cook them for tenderness very delicious that way.
they eat apples -pears --dandelions- beets- beet greens - all kinds of good stuff I grow for them -
I am self sufficient. buy cheap eat cheap You won't see me in any Wal-Mart store.
Hi! I'm new here! Really love what I've read so far!! I raise New Zealand & Cali rabbits. Its fun & entertaining! My doe Cali today just had 11 babies but all were dead...I about cried! This was her 1st litter & I've read that they can be confused with their 1st litter, she pulled tons of hair, & when I went to look this evening to see if she had them yet, they were dead, she was looking over one, & the rest were scattered in her box (we have cages that have a box built on with hay in the box)
But that was awful! The person I bought her from stated she was born Dec 24th, 2014, she was 6 months when I 1st bred her, do you think that was to young?
I read the last post that stated they feed their rabbits bread (but in small amounts) what kind of bread? I never thought of feeding a rabbit bread! Great idea! I do feed them lettuce & carrots, I'm always Googling what they can have & what they cannot!
I raise them for the meat but have yet to butcher any, I do have 16 babies they will be 12 weeks old this Tuesday, but are not 5 pounds yet, why they are not I cannot figure that out?? I feed them 18% protein pellets.
What is the best way to cull them? Any information on this I would greatly appreciate! I will not be doing it, but my son will.
Thank you in advance for any information you maybe able to give me!
breer
But that was awful! The person I bought her from stated she was born Dec 24th, 2014, she was 6 months when I 1st bred her, do you think that was to young?
I read the last post that stated they feed their rabbits bread (but in small amounts) what kind of bread? I never thought of feeding a rabbit bread! Great idea! I do feed them lettuce & carrots, I'm always Googling what they can have & what they cannot!
I raise them for the meat but have yet to butcher any, I do have 16 babies they will be 12 weeks old this Tuesday, but are not 5 pounds yet, why they are not I cannot figure that out?? I feed them 18% protein pellets.
What is the best way to cull them? Any information on this I would greatly appreciate! I will not be doing it, but my son will.
Thank you in advance for any information you maybe able to give me!
breer
So sorry to hear about the lost litter. That's a big loss in my opinion. I am new to raising rabbits. Have had my does for about a year and half and each has had one litter. One doe had 8 and the other had 5. One kit did not survive from day one. All others did great. I do not breed my does when the triple digits hit in our area (which is now). I also am raising for meat and don't have one in my freezer yet.
As for treats, ours get pellets and occasional cold apple slices. They also get romaine lettuce and their hay. Pretty simple diet. They also get free range time in the yard, when the weather is cooler, so whatever they choose is theirs. I've never tried bread.
I initially used the broomstick method to dispatch. I will not do that again. It just isn't my preferred way. I purchased a pellet rifle and that method works better for me. It seemed much quicker and more humane in my experience. I Also purchased a good set of pruners (haven't used them yet). The kitchen knives we have were not sharp enough to do the job neatly and quickly.
Overall, I am really enjoying raising the rabbits. Ours have such different personalities. Glad you joined us and post some pix of your young ins when you can.
My doe, Libby, just had her first litter today, but kind of went about it the wrong way. Instead of making her nest INSIDE the pretty nest box I had bought her, she decided to take out all of the hay and make a nest in the corner of her cage, right on top of the wire bottom. I came out this morning to check on them, only to find a pile of moving fluff on the wire. Needless to say, I was worried to death.
Through Libby's pregnancy she never was large, and fat like I read that she would be. She stayed small the whole time, so I assumed she would only have like 4 or 5 kits, right? That's a good assumption I'd say. After making a nest inside the box for her, I began to move the kits, otherwise they would have died on the wire bottom of her cage. I was insanely surprised to find 10 healthy kits in her little cage corner nest.
All the babies are doing well so far. One was laying on the wire directly when I had went outside, and didn't seem like he'd make it, but I put him back with his siblings and he seems to be pulling through. I go out every half hour to make sure he's still alive. The flies here would tear all the little babies apart if I accidentally left a dead kit in there. The heat here is ridiculous, and the flies are prolific because of it.
So now here is my question.
Will that freak her out? The fact that I moved all her babies? I returned the fur that she had pulled, and put it all on top of the kits, and she's very aware that they are there. I'm just worried she won't feed them now because of moving her nest completely. Please give your advice and thoughts on this, because I'm very worried that she will abandon them.
Libby is half New Zealand, half Dutch. The babies are three quarters New Zealand, one quarter Dutch.
Through Libby's pregnancy she never was large, and fat like I read that she would be. She stayed small the whole time, so I assumed she would only have like 4 or 5 kits, right? That's a good assumption I'd say. After making a nest inside the box for her, I began to move the kits, otherwise they would have died on the wire bottom of her cage. I was insanely surprised to find 10 healthy kits in her little cage corner nest.
All the babies are doing well so far. One was laying on the wire directly when I had went outside, and didn't seem like he'd make it, but I put him back with his siblings and he seems to be pulling through. I go out every half hour to make sure he's still alive. The flies here would tear all the little babies apart if I accidentally left a dead kit in there. The heat here is ridiculous, and the flies are prolific because of it.
So now here is my question.
Will that freak her out? The fact that I moved all her babies? I returned the fur that she had pulled, and put it all on top of the kits, and she's very aware that they are there. I'm just worried she won't feed them now because of moving her nest completely. Please give your advice and thoughts on this, because I'm very worried that she will abandon them.
Libby is half New Zealand, half Dutch. The babies are three quarters New Zealand, one quarter Dutch.
Congrats on the new litter!
If Libby doesn't feed the babies, it will most likely be because she doesn't understand that she needs to. I have had a few does that did that. If I have a doe that hasn't fed her new litter, I put her nest box in a carrier that is just larger than the box, put the doe in the box, and close the lid of the carrier. I stick around, to make sure the doe doesn't totally freak and stomp the little guys, but most of the time, the babies and the doe find each other, and the kits get fed. When it seems she is done, I put them all back in the cage. I usually don't have to repeat the process; most does catch on the first time, or within the first 3, anyway.
Chances are, you won't have any problems with her. I have had countless does that didn't want to use the nest box the first time. As you have learned, when the weather is warm enough, kindling outside of the nest box isn't a disaster. Obviously, the babies couldn't stay where they were - they would wind up scattering themselves all over the cage and probably get stepped on. You did exactly the right thing by moving them. Now you need to check on them every morning and evening, to make sure Libby does feed them. Since this is her first time, she won't have a whole lot of milk for the first couple of days. The kits' tummies probably won't look really, really full, but as long as you can see they are getting some, they should be fine. At about day 3, Libby's milk should really come in, and the babies' tummies will be round and full when they've been fed.
If Libby doesn't feed the babies, it will most likely be because she doesn't understand that she needs to. I have had a few does that did that. If I have a doe that hasn't fed her new litter, I put her nest box in a carrier that is just larger than the box, put the doe in the box, and close the lid of the carrier. I stick around, to make sure the doe doesn't totally freak and stomp the little guys, but most of the time, the babies and the doe find each other, and the kits get fed. When it seems she is done, I put them all back in the cage. I usually don't have to repeat the process; most does catch on the first time, or within the first 3, anyway.
Chances are, you won't have any problems with her. I have had countless does that didn't want to use the nest box the first time. As you have learned, when the weather is warm enough, kindling outside of the nest box isn't a disaster. Obviously, the babies couldn't stay where they were - they would wind up scattering themselves all over the cage and probably get stepped on. You did exactly the right thing by moving them. Now you need to check on them every morning and evening, to make sure Libby does feed them. Since this is her first time, she won't have a whole lot of milk for the first couple of days. The kits' tummies probably won't look really, really full, but as long as you can see they are getting some, they should be fine. At about day 3, Libby's milk should really come in, and the babies' tummies will be round and full when they've been fed.
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