Bunnies for meat.......

[AK-Bird-brain]

Craigslist, Got My first bunny for $5. he was so calm and gentle I went back and got his mom. Both are New Zealand cross.
Then a while later I was at the feed store and the guy next to me in line was purchasing 200 pounds of rabbit food so I got nosey and asked him what breeds he had that he needed so much food for. Turns out he has the only breeding Californians in our area. So I managed to talk him out of 1 female.
Recently AK button momma contacted my wife for button quail and offered to throw in Thor (pictured above).
That's how my breeding program came about.

 

[Nikki28]

Quote:
Very cool. I always forget about Craiglist and we have a feed store right around the corner I could always just ask them if they know of any breeders. I have so much to learn in the next year regarding chikens, bunnies and veggie gardens It's nice to have this forum to talk to people that actually have experience in all of the above.

 

[FarmGirl01]

Heat is the enemy of rabbits. I would put frozen jugs in with them on the really hot days. They learned to get up next to them to cool off. I would also plan the litters to be born in the fall and spring months. Not during extreme temps. When its time to butcher we would aim at the back of the neck with a pellet gun. Works really fast.

 

[Maidservant]

Looks like I'm the only one here that uses a .22! Our pellet gun costs more to use than the .22. I slaughter and gut, then my fiance prepares the heads (he saves the skulls) and the pelts.

Since my fiance saves the skulls, I shoot mine straight through their neck. I hold their back legs in my hand, lay their front down on the ground (be sure that it is soft ground, we don't want and reflected bullets!), calm them down, and thank them for giving their life. Then I'll pick up the .22 and place the barrel directly on their spine at their neck. You can feel it if you're on it. Pull the trigger, they are dead instantly. Out of approx. 150 rabbits, I've only had one twitch afterwards. They will tighten up for a second or two and then go limp.

Only slaughter one at a time! My first traumatized me to the point of making me physically sick. That was all I did that day. A few days later, I did another. Now it doesn't bother me, and I can go from alive in the cage to cleaned and in the cooler in 15 minutes.

Anything over 85 degrees in the summer can lead to temporary sterility of bucks and does, and that sterility can last for a few months. Mine love their frozen bottles. I breed right through the winter here in NC, although I do sometimes bring the kits inside at night if it is going to get below freezing.

I agree with checking Craigslist! Post on the farm and garden section, not the pets section if you want meat rabbits. You can also check out the Homesteading Today forum "raising rabbits for profit" section. www.homesteadingtoday.com is their website. A few of us on here are trying to get a Back Yard Rabbits forum together. I hope that we get it!!!

Emily in NC

 

[hatchaholic]

I have a question...Soon we will be getting some New Zealand rabbits for meat. Do any of you do anything with the pelts?

 

[Maidservant]

We have sucessfully tanned some of our nicer pelts. The pelts from the fryers (8-20 weeks) are very thin and will tear if you aren't extremely careful when you are working them. We have started just tanning them to taxidermy standards. They may still be stiff, but they are pretty, and we don't have to worry about them tearing. Any older or retired breeders that we do in usually have nicer, thicker pelts that can be tanned and worked to garmet quality. I use the salt and alum method, since both can be bought at our local feed store for really cheap!

Hope this helps,
Emily in NC

 

[foxonfire]

The book ?----I went to the local library and raided all their books on rabbits

Since I work at a vet- I also read all the medical texts on rabbits- not a whole lot since my vets are dog/cat vets.
All of storrey's books are great! Although Everbody seems to have different opinions!

Joined meat rabbit yahoo group and californian yahoo group- these are GREAT groups!

Checked out some very awesome websites
This first one is one of the best sites, I've ever been on- LOTS AND LOTS OF GREAT INFO!
http://www.rudolphsrabbitranch.com/rrr.htm

AL'S Cals- Great breeder of Californian rabbits
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/alscals/25403/Buy+Californian+Rabbits+Here.html

This Site is very nice, great for calcualting drugs for rabbits!
http://homepage.mac.com/mattocks/morfz/rx/drugcalc.html

About rabbit diseases and meds
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?
http://www.bio.miami.edu/hare/ileus.html
http://www.medirabbit.com/EN/GI_diseases/Food/feeding_en.pdf
http://www.healthypetcorner.com/rabbit2.html

Building your own nest boxes!
http://www.thenaturetrail.com/BuildingNestBoxes.htm

Meat rabbit organizaion
http://www.prma.org/

Rabbit Equipment
http://www.klubertanz.com/
http://www.bassequipment.com/Default.aspx?TabId=43

Hope this helps....

oh be careful of rabbits you may get off freecycle/craigslist or the flea mkt/auctions...you can get great animals or you get sick, poor stock and run the risk of severe diseases getting into your herd...I speak from experience! Sometimes it's worthwile to get animals from a pedigreed herd, even if you aren't going to register and show, just because you may get better quailty. Not to say breeders who don't raise papered stock, don't run a clean ship, but well you know....for every 1 good breeder there's 2 that don't care......

 

[hatchaholic]

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What do you do with them after you tan them? Is there any kind of market for them? Do you use them in any way, ie. crafts?

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
Very good advice:

This is also a good group to join its fast paced but questions are very quick to be answered and if you go through the archives there are tons of information on butchering, methods and whats new improved and what works and what doesnt work.
this is one of the forums I recomend for anyone breeding for meat purposes.

http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/Meatrabbits

 

[ChickieWhickie]

We too have decided to raise rabbits for meat. I was going to ask these same questions. Thanks for beating me to it and all the great answers.

We found a rabbitry about 25 miles from us. They have Satins, Flemish Giants, American and New Zealand. They also have several mini breeds.

Does anyone know about the Flemish Giants?

I talked to a man that used to own a rabbitry. (I'm buying my cages from him.) He preferred to use New Zealand does and an American buck. The best of both breeds for meat. What do you think?