I got some meat rabbits!

[redrstr29]

beautiful!!!! I have Meat mutts!!!!!

 

[RatherBfarmin]

That is awesome! I am also leaning heavily towards a "screw the system" lifestyle as well. CL seems like a great place (hit and miss at some times though) to find buns at reasonable prices. So far we have 3 pure white NZ (2 female, 1 male) and are looking into getting another male (black NZ). Looking to start breeding in the fall...haven't done it yet, so it'll definitely be a learning experience! Don't have the land for the other animals I want to get (you know, chickens, cows, goats, sheep, etc) but I wanted to start something. Everything I have read about (and people have said) rabbits were a good starting animal to familiarize yourself with...and my hubby really likes rabbit meat, so I figured why not?

This will definitely be an interesting experience, but we're both really looking forward to it!

Wish everyone else raising animals for self-sufficiency the best of luck with your endeavors! I'll upload some pictures as soon as I take some current ones xD

 

[EweSheep]

I would like to get into getting some meat rabbits too and I do like the broken Rexes I've seen on a website. They are beautiful!

Mind you, I don't have an indoor facility but an outdoor hutch that the next door neighbor no longer wanted. He had rabbits in there but he lost interest in them. So I got for twenty dollars. That thing was so heavy, nearly 100 lbs and my Dad and I installed shingles on it. I've used it for baby chicks and it worked well for me. Now I wanted to buy at least two, t does and a visiting buck or a pair.

Should they be related? I used to raise NZ/CA rabbits when I was in 4H but that's almost 30 yrs ago. I forgot most of the feeding part but we did bred a father buck to daughter......what a mess! Some breeders said if they are to be meat purposes, who cares, fatten them up and butcher them. Now I like to sell some to 4H kids.

My interest is in the Champagnes, then the NZ and CA and Rexes. I also like Satins.

Heat is the biggest thing.

 

[FloridaRedneck]

I have been doing the meat rabbit deal for several months now and have actually had surprising results out of it. I bought mine on craigslist, 2 bucks and 2 does with the hutches for them. Not a bad deal, but one buck too many and one females was very aggressive, so they got put into the pot. Upgraded by getting 2 NZ / FG cross does and have had massive fryers with good meat to bone ratio at the 2 month butchering time.

 

[bachbach1]

I prefer the size and taste of New Zealand Meat rabbits. Second choice would be Californians, but they are a little smaller. I have 15 does and 2 bucks, with 10 to 13 in a litter. I breed them every other month, from October to June. I skip August, because of the heat. Hot weather is not easy on pregnant or nursing does! At 12 weeks, a 5 1/2 # fryer will dress out at 3 - 3 1/2 # I sell most young at 6 weeks as breeding stock to people who want to grow their own healthy food, as they are a very good source of protein and much cheaper to raise than chickens. Feed to meat ratio is about 3:1. I sell 6 week olds for $12 each, and usually only have less than a dozen a month, left to process for the freezer. I have never had a tough rabbit at 12 weeks, but you must let them rest, refrigerated, for 3 days, before freezing, so rigger passes and the meat becomes tender. Too bad you live so far away!

The distance makes it hard, I looked and I am about 400 miles away. I am getting a shipment of CornishX chicks shipped through the mail, so and that made me think about shipping small rabbits. I think they have special services for live animals. I am going to ask when I pick up the chicks from the post office. If it is possible would you be willing to ship any of your $12 rabbits, If I pay for shipping. Give it some thought.

 

[chiklee]

Just another stepping stone towards my, "screw the world" lifestyle I found an ad on CL for a guy getting out of his meat rabbit venture and ended up with 3 bred Californian does, 1 younger Cali doe, a Cali buck, and 3 younger NZ cross does.

My original plan was a Cali trio and a NZW trio, but the lady I am getting my NZs from won't have my babies for another couple of months. I jumped on this deal figuring it would get me started and any I don't like I can cull and keep a few to breed until I can get better breeding stock, but these girls look good. However, one of the does was bred sooner than he told us and kindled the 2nd night we had them...on the wire. I managed to save 2. So in less than 48 hours I went from 0 rabbits to 8 rabbits to 10 rabbits...and I still have to get my NZs!

Rabbits seem to be a lot more work than chickens, for sure, but I think it will be sooo worth it!

Yes I raise them too and always have rabbit in the freezer I love it If you like liver its Delicious my fav part a lot of work too here is some advise for you keep a good record of who mated who go on www.azrabitts.com and print off the doe and buck record charts to help you keep track of your breeding's That is wonderful to have. Especially if you want to sell them it gives you the info people wants to know at your finger tips.

 

[wyoDreamer]

The link to the record keeping didn't work. I am thinking of raising rabbits, and if there is an easy way to keep track of the matings, I would love to have/see that info.

 

[chiklee]

http://www.azrabbits.com/useful-information/doerecordsheet.pdf
hope this works

 

[wyoDreamer]

Thank you, chiklee! I went and retrieved the buck record sheet and the hutch tracking also. That looks like an excellent site for information.

The place we just bought was an old homestead and has 7 outbuildings. It is in northern WI. Exploring turned up 5 big wire rabbit cages and 3 smaller cages. My husband offered a friend a couple of cages, so that will leave me with 6 cages - so that should be enough to raise a little bunny for the freezer. He is not sure that he likes rabbit - we have had wild rabbit a couple of times and he likes that OK, he just never had domesticated rabbit.

The building I would like to put the rabbits in is an old sheep shed, at least I think that is what it was used for. I will see this winter how cold it gets in there, but I don't think it gets very much natural sunlight. It may just seem that way because what windows in there are really dirty, and about 1/2 of them are covered with boards because the glass is broken.

Do rabbits need a bright sunny area? I will definitely make sure the windows are clean and functional. But I don't want to put skylights in. There are a number of vents that you can open and close that extend out the roof, so ventilation shouldn't be a problem. I think heat and humidity are more of a worry than anything else, but it seemed to stay fairly cool in there this summer, considering that it is closed up tight.

 

[chiklee]

I keep all my rabbits out side all winter and summer the cages are under apple trees for protection of the sun the warmer the rabbits are kept the more fur they will shed. My cages are all old dog pens wired up so they don't escape I put roofs on them add strong sides in winter and I put a 5 gallon bucket in their so if they are cold they have a place to keep warm with some straw but they are not in their that much they seen to not mind the cold If you think about the climates where do the wild rabbits live in the winter they don't have any warm houses to live in . they live in the wild all year round . I just don't breed in the winter I reduce my stock keep the biggest bucks an does fill the freezer up with the rest and start again in February . I live in the mountains in Pa. And we get the snow cold and wind . My rabbits are friendly , happy, and healthy. Also in the winter their fur is thicker too they are like cats and dogs they have winter coats so I am sure they are warm .
AS for your meat I would go with Flemish doe Californian doe and New Zealand buck you still have time to breed before summer is over that way they are old enough to survive the cold .
Flemish doe with new Zealand buck and the New Zealand buck with California doe . That will start a nice size meat rabbit for you this year . They don't have to be pure but make sure your trio is big to start with.
Mine weight out at 5 lbs at 2 months old so that's what you are looking for to start. mine are all mutts but fat ones color is not a problem with me either I only worry about the meat size.
To bad you live so far we could go rabbit shopping I like to see what other people are doing with their rabbits.