Breeding meat rabbits

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madisonjh95

madisonjh95

Chirping
May 31, 2018
43
52
70
Canyon, TX
My husband is wanting to start raising and breeding rabbits for meat. I'm doing some research before we dive in and we're wanting to get a trio of New Zealands. We want to build a hutch sort of on top of our chicken coop and I recognize the importance of separating the buck from the does unless they're breeding but can I house the two does together? My research is showing that housing them all separately is recommended but I'm not sure if I can swing it so does anyone know if I can house the two, non-spayed, does together while pregnant, with kits? What's the worst that can happen?
 
Does will fight. I wouldn't house them together. You haven't seen anything until you see two rabbits going at it.

Does also need peace to properly raise kits. Rabbits are territorial. It's their nature. I personally don't understand keeping them in groups.
 
Buy a book. Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits by Bob Bennett is a good one to start with. The book covers all facets of rabbit care including feeding, breeding, housing, and butchering. You can get it from amazon.com. That's where I got mine.

As for housing two does together, you are not just asking for trouble, you are sitting up and begging for it. As Bunnylady has so eloquently put it, two rabbits housed together can get along just fine until they don't. Then it can get really bloody.
 
Thank y'all for your answers! I will definitely buy that book. We aren't gonna get them until next spring so we have plenty of time to research and learn and prepare before we wing it! Obviously I don't know anything about rabbits except that they're so darn cute! I am taking all of your advice to heart!
 
madisonjh95 said:
Also, when would you say the right age is to separate the kits from their mother? And how much room would you give each bunny to live in?
Click to expand...
It depends on the situation. Weaning is best done between 6-8 weeks after all kits are eating solid foods. I let my last batch have access to mom, kits went in a different hutch at night, and all were let out together during the day in a pen, and mom continued to nurse them daily until I decided it was enough at 11 weeks when I separated them all into their own cages.

If your bunnies are gonna live their whole loves in a cage than it's recommended they be 4 feet long at least, and high enough for the bunny to stand on it's hind legs comfortably. Mine are 3 feet long because I let mine out to run in a fenced area. Lots of ways to house bunnies. You just have to figure out what works best for your situation and what you feel is humane and comfortable for them.
 
I need your guys help on a rabbit of mine, but I don't want to hijack the post, can someone help me, and tell me how to start my own thread.
Thank you
ALDO
 
chkncrazy said:
I need your guys help on a rabbit of mine, but I don't want to hijack the post, can someone help me, and tell me how to start my own thread.
Thank you
ALDO
Click to expand...
Go to the forum of your choice, hit start new thread in the upper right side.
 

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