S F Meat Rabbit vs Cal/NZ Meat Rabbit Grow Out

[anthonyjames]

I picked up some or what I thought were New Zealands (5 does), 2 Cal, NZ J (does), 1 Brkn Satin (Buck) and 1 White Satin (doe). I can tell you none of mine get up to that weight that fast. I am getting to 5lb live weight around 14 - 16 weeks.

I have tried to find Cal's and NZ here but I have not had much luck. I would like to get up to those weights faster.

Here are my set ups.

Rabbits and Chickens set up together
http://gallery.me.com/anthonyjames420#100306&bgcolor=black&view=grid

Rabbits in their tractors

http://gallery.me.com/anthonyjames420#100423&bgcolor=black&view=grid
http://gallery.me.com/anthonyjames420#100439&bgcolor=black&view=grid


If anyone has any contacts in SE Wisconsin please pass my way.. I would like to expand my rabbits and would like Cals and NZ

Thanks

 

[ChickenPotPie]

This thread interested me as I am a rabbit lover.

Good read. I'm dying to know how the experiment turns out.

To give a little input of my own, a trio of my American Chinchillas (a meat pen of 2 bucks, 1 doe) were 4, 4.5, and 5 lbs respectively at 70 days. Not too shabby, huh?

Since Chins are my first meat rabbits, I decided to watch them grow, learn, and get an "eye" for meat rabbits (future ARBA registrar and judge here

). I'm going over rabbits today for final culling decisions before processing but after that, I'll be breeding and getting my first home breds.

I really think that if you want to keep the rare heritage breeds or any purebred for that matter, that good management/nutrition, and culling hard can get you the faster grow out rates you want. That's all. Just wanted to put my two cents in.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

anthony, im no authority, but your calis. look pure, but the NZ look like they are crossed with something else. just going by appearances.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

i use the AM. CHins as a cross. to the NZ. at 1/2s they are good. good growth, and feed conversion. bred 3/4 to the NZ side, they are even better. same time frame of growth, but a more solid build. better quanitiy of meat.

now you take the breeding the other direction, 3/4 to the chin side. you lose the quality and quantity of meat....and when butchered, there is considerable more fat on the inside of the carcass. takes longer to get to weight, and you loose "meat weight" b/c your picking up fat now.

pure Chins. from my experience cant compete. much lower meat quality and quanitity. more fat. longer growth period to get to weight. much worse feed to weight ratio.

all this is just my experiences.

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
If would just breed and cull then your rabbits down the line will be bigger. If you mark and weigh your kits only keeping the fastest growing you should have nice meat rabbits in no time at all.

 

[sandspoultry]

Quote:
Thanks for your two cents. I appreciate all comments. I can not wait to see how this works out either. I love the SF and their laid back way. The CA/NZ mix is not as laid back or friendly. I have no mean rabbits they are just alittle more stand offish then the SF. I am hoping that the SF will catch up with the meat mix or at least come close.

 

[anthonyjames]

Quote:
Well I only kept 2 this year. By request of my 4 & 5 year old daughters. Other than that I sold 100 to a nature center for their birds of prey program. And I currently have 35 - 40 out in tractors growing out that won't be ready until December/January.

This is my first year with rabbits so I am still learning and not sure what I am looking for when keeping rabbits to breed. But I still only have the one buck. Should I try to find a buck out of all of my new ones to keep? I haven't kept very good records this year as I have been way to busy with my full time job with fedex, my concrete countertop business and I raised and sold 400 meat chickens with 100 still on pasture for another 3 weeks, 100 turkeys still out on pasture with the chickens to be processed same week and then my 100 hens and 10 roos I have so that I can start breeding and trying to create my own slow growth meat bird. So record keeping as been on the bottom of my list.

I have to figure out what I am supposed to track for all of the animals and hopefully find some software or some spreadsheets that people have used that I could modify for my own use.

If anyone out there has any thing that would be wise to use I am open for suggestions. But I use a MAC so trying to find software or programs is tough.

 

[Dead Rabbit]

Quote:
Thanks for your two cents. I appreciate all comments. I can not wait to see how this works out either. I love the SF and their laid back way. The CA/NZ mix is not as laid back or friendly. I have no mean rabbits they are just alittle more stand offish then the SF. I am hoping that the SF will catch up with the meat mix or at least come close.

your right, the NZ and calf. have what i call an "attitude" i believe the NZ is the worse of the two,,,,and the am. chin is the exact opposite. the crosses seem to retain more of the NZ personality. but not quite as bad.

 

[Liamm_1]

Interesting thread. I just recently learned that people actually eat rabbits lol. I've heard the meat is good, I'd like to taste it sometime. I'm having a hard enough time trying to convince myself to process roosters, I can't imagine processing cute little rabbits lol

 

[sandspoultry]

As promised here is the weight on the 2 kits that were 2 weeks old yesterday.
14.4 oz and 18.2oz

These are from my old mama doe, she is NZ/cal mix. She had 3 and 1 died from the beginning. I can not believe the size of these 2 kits compared to the other litter of 7 or the Silver Fox litter of 7.
Has anyone else noticed how much bigger a small litter is compared to a larger litter? Also wonder if the other litter of 7 will catch up with these 2?
If I was not doing this experiment I would of divided the kits up between the 2 NZ/Cal does to even them out more as I have done in the past. That is why I always breed 2 does at the same time. If you have good does you can swap kits around and the does will raise them as their own.

I will post pictures of these 2 tomorrow.