Flemish Giant Rabbits?

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

I'm gonna put my bunnies on the pasture, Salatin Style.

 

[gypsy2621]

Quote:
Thats perfectly fine way to raise rabbits, its being done a lot more now by pet owners and a few meat breeders.
I would like to add though I have heard of perfectly healthy herds and herds in poor health raising them this way.
There are Pros and Cons to every style of raising rabbits.

The only words of caution I have for this type of raising is disease, predation and over population.

unless you plan on altering the rabbits you can easily be over whelmed with rabbits in a very short period of time.
concider 2 rabbits in 2 months can have 16 + babies.
Domesticated rabbits have less immune systems than their wild cousins and can pick up a host of diseases that can be fatal to them.
Flying, digging and jumping preditors will find an easy mark with pastured rabbits.

Good luck to everyone in their housing of rabbits, rabbits can be a lot of fun and joy.

 

[chinbunny]

Quote:
Thats perfectly fine way to raise rabbits, its being done a lot more now by pet owners and a few meat breeders.
I would like to add though I have heard of perfectly healthy herds and herds in poor health raising them this way.
There are Pros and Cons to every style of raising rabbits.

The only words of caution I have for this type of raising is disease, predation and over population.

unless you plan on altering the rabbits you can easily be over whelmed with rabbits in a very short period of time.
concider 2 rabbits in 2 months can have 16 + babies.
Domesticated rabbits have less immune systems than their wild cousins and can pick up a host of diseases that can be fatal to them.
Flying, digging and jumping preditors will find an easy mark with pastured rabbits.

Good luck to everyone in their housing of rabbits, rabbits can be a lot of fun and joy.

I took it as they were joking. At least i would hope so anyhow. Seems that there is a lot of people that think turning a rabbit loose like that is OK.

Anyhow, dug out my standard. It recommends using solid floors on large breeds. Cage size requirements are 18inches deepx24inches longx12 inches high for small breeds less then six pounds. 6-11 pounds 24inches deepx26-36 inches longx18 inches high. over 12 pounds 24x36-48 inches longx18 inches high. This the minimal for show rabbit standards. by the group that helps set the standard on how to keep them(not house rabbit groups). This is also how most rabbits are kept. Does not mean you have to follow it. Just a general idea of how much space you can use for certain sized rabbits.

 

[cutiepieacres]

I have a Flemish and I love her. I got her and a buck with the intent to show and breed. I raise and show Texel cavies and also did Netherland dwarf rabbits at one time. I did a lot of research and it is suggested because of their weight Flemish Giants be kept in solid cages not on wire floors. I went out and had custom cages made to the biggest dimensions that were recommended by breeders for a mom with kits, one for my doe and one for my buck. At the breeders house these were not the size cages the rabbits were kept in they were smaller(probably closer to the minimum for 1 of this size of rabbit) so I felt these would work out nicely.

In the end I thought they were too small. Its not like the were crammed in there but they couldnt run or jump freely. I ended up selling the buck to just keep Izzy as my pet. I dont show her because she is kept in a big outdoor run, formally a pygmy goat pen. She has a large dog house for shelter and she loves to dig and run. It is very safe because it was made to house one of my show pygmy bucks so I already had it predator proof. She loves it and I wouldn't have it any other way. I dont mind if that means I dont show her she is a wonderful pet and I rather have her as she is then a show bunny any day. I would recommend anyone wanting a pet rabbit to look into Flemish giants they have huge personalities and a really neat compared to the other breeds I have had. Though like I mentioned they are not your average house pet and do take a lot of extras to have what I feel is the proper care.

baby Izzy

Grown up Izzy

 

[Dread Pirate Roberts]

Quote:
Thats perfectly fine way to raise rabbits, its being done a lot more now by pet owners and a few meat breeders.
I would like to add though I have heard of perfectly healthy herds and herds in poor health raising them this way.
There are Pros and Cons to every style of raising rabbits.

I took it as they were joking. At least i would hope so anyhow. Seems that there is a lot of people that think turning a rabbit loose like that is OK.

Anyhow, dug out my standard. It recommends using solid floors on large breeds. Cage size requirements are 18inches deepx24inches longx12 inches high for small breeds less then six pounds. 6-11 pounds 24inches deepx26-36 inches longx18 inches high. over 12 pounds 24x36-48 inches longx18 inches high. This the minimal for show rabbit standards. by the group that helps set the standard on how to keep them(not house rabbit groups). This is also how most rabbits are kept. Does not mean you have to follow it. Just a general idea of how much space you can use for certain sized rabbits.

I was not joking. Much like pasture-raised poultry, the concept of pasture-raised rabbits is nothing new. It doesn't mean simply "turning a rabbit loose."

Small cages are so 50 years ago and living on wire is cruel.

 

[chinbunny]

Quote:
I took it as they were joking. At least i would hope so anyhow. Seems that there is a lot of people that think turning a rabbit loose like that is OK.

Anyhow, dug out my standard. It recommends using solid floors on large breeds. Cage size requirements are 18inches deepx24inches longx12 inches high for small breeds less then six pounds. 6-11 pounds 24inches deepx26-36 inches longx18 inches high. over 12 pounds 24x36-48 inches longx18 inches high. This the minimal for show rabbit standards. by the group that helps set the standard on how to keep them(not house rabbit groups). This is also how most rabbits are kept. Does not mean you have to follow it. Just a general idea of how much space you can use for certain sized rabbits.

I was not joking. Much like pasture-raised poultry, the concept of pasture-raised rabbits is nothing new. It doesn't mean simply "turning a rabbit loose."

Small cages are so 50 years ago and living on wire is cruel.

Pasterurizing them is more cruel to them then it is keeping them in a wire cage. at least there they are safe. And no it is no so 50 years ago. Gypsy already pointed out the flaws in pasteurizing above. Guess she was right then. Its Ok to let the rabbit out as long as long as everything is predator proof. With a setup like that you have no control over breedings, or inbreeding. litter losses are also much higher it that type of setup then they are in a rabbitry type one too. You have less control over where they give birth, etc. And yes, if it isn't done right you might as well be setting them free. They dig, and they can escape, and also wreak havoc on the evironnment and the neighors too(if you have any).

 

[chinbunny]

Quote:
Nice looking rabbit. I like the idea of that setup for a pet rabbit (not show).

 

[Guitartists]

Quote:
OMG! That picture is priceless! What a pampered rabbit She is very pretty

 

[Guitartists]

I had read in a book about Angoras and Holland holes. A chambered wooden box that IS the rabbits hole for life. It goes in the cage with them during the day, and then at dusk they are set outside and the rabbits forage all night, returning to their Holland holes in the morning, to be placed back into their wire cages.

It seems like a reasonable balance between caging and pasturing.

And to the original poster.... why not look for a pet Flemish and find something different for your child to show. Then you have fewer concerns about keeping it show quality... but you can still have the rabbit and house it in a way that you feel is fit.

It's just like the MANY posts about how to best house chickens..... there are MANY opinions and what works for some does not work for all. But, like (I meant Chinbunny) was trying to point out... with ANY show animal, there is far more to consider when it comes to housing and care.

 

[chinbunny]

Quote:
Gypsy and I were the ones that pointed the differences between conditioning and caging. Even with small rabbits (like mine) they have to kept in a manner where they are clean, are able to condition properly, and the environment doesn't harm them. Nappa is one that wants to pasteurize theirs. I believe that means going cage free. OK for a meat rabbit setup providing everything is done and they don't have alot of escpaped rabbits, or a whole lot of losses from it. . Not OK for show rabbits. There is also a high risk of the animals getting infected with parasites too. why a lot of show breeders arae paraniod about putting thier rabbits out on the ground.
What book was that? It actually sounds like it would be a system that could work. Not that I would use it though. I would be afraid of lack of condition on the animals. And predators getting them.