I want some good book recommendations on meat rabbits.

[chicken mama 0908]

I want to raise rabbits for meat but know nothing. What are some good books/ websites? where do I start?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

I wish I could help here. I have meat rabbits myself, and am mostly learning by doing, and by talking with people who have done for a long time. Most of the websites I have found, even reputable sources like the Conservancy, have been geared towards things other than meat rabbits. and plenty of places have provided recommends that are simply impractical, suggesting they are repeating another source, lacking experience of their own.

As result, I had to completely dismantle my original pens and build cages instead. I'm not fond of cages, would prefer not to cage my critters, but meat rabbits are simply unmanageable otherwise. and VERY little will stop their digging (while my clay soils make many things - like buired wire - completely useless, corrodes too quickly).

I wish you every fortune in this hunt.

Where to start? Visit breeders, look for BIG bunnies. Continentals are very popular for meat rabbits - large, fast growing. SO are California Whites (smaller, but also fast growing). Rotate your breeders - I breed four, each one at least a month apart, then swap out for the second male, repeat. Gives a varied bloodline with time for doe recovery between breedings. I expect to average about 4 kits per breeding, and I have had more than a couple breedings fail to take. Keep an eye on the offspring, look to replace breeders periodically. Kits should be taken to freezer camp about 6 - 8 weeks.

That's all I got, haven't been doing this long, learning by making mistakes - lots of them.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

There's a Storeys book on rabbits if I remember correctly. Honestly, I'd talk with breeders. Some sell their bad rabbits, a lot eat them though if they don't fit standard

 

[U_Stormcrow]

There is a Storeys on Rabbits, and its good, but very general. Meat rabbits were NOT the focus. Wish it were otherwise.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

There is a Storeys on Rabbits, and its good, but very general. Meat rabbits were NOT the focus. Wish it were otherwise.

I'll see if I can find my books. I know I had a few books that (while still lacking), had dedicated chapters to breeding meaties, if not actual processing

 

[chicken mama 0908]

I wish I could help here. I have meat rabbits myself, and am mostly learning by doing, and by talking with people who have done for a long time. Most of the websites I have found, even reputable sources like the Conservancy, have been geared towards things other than meat rabbits. and plenty of places have provided recommends that are simply impractical, suggesting they are repeating another source, lacking experience of their own.

As result, I had to completely dismantle my original pens and build cages instead. I'm not fond of cages, would prefer not to cage my critters, but meat rabbits are simply unmanageable otherwise. and VERY little will stop their digging (while my clay soils make many things - like buired wire - completely useless, corrodes too quickly).

I wish you every fortune in this hunt.

Where to start? Visit breeders, look for BIG bunnies. Continentals are very popular for meat rabbits - large, fast growing. SO are California Whites (smaller, but also fast growing). Rotate your breeders - I breed four, each one at least a month apart, then swap out for the second male, repeat. Gives a varied bloodline with time for doe recovery between breedings. I expect to average about 4 kits per breeding, and I have had more than a couple breedings fail to take. Keep an eye on the offspring, look to replace breeders periodically. Kits should be taken to freezer camp about 6 - 8 weeks.

That's all I got, haven't been doing this long, learning by making mistakes - lots of them.

Thank you!

 

[NatJ]

Years ago, I read "Raising Rabbits the Modern Way" by Bob Bennett.
I think second-hand copies are still available for reasonable prices (places like ebay), but it's even better if your local library has a copy you can borrow for free! (My library doesn't.)

The author is more focused on show rabbits than meat rabbits, but he at least mentions meat rabbits, and has a lot of basic advice that works well (things like how to build a cage that rabbits do not escape but let the droppings fall through the floor for easy cleaning; how often to breed a doe, when to put the nestbox in her cage, when to wean bunnies; what & how much to feed; etc.)

I do not agree with everything that author says. For example, he gives medications regularly to try to prevent certain diseases, while I have raised rabbits with no medication at all and they were healthy too. But he does have a lot of good information in that book, and much of it is missing from the pet-focused sites that are easy to find on the internet at the present time.

 

[chicken mama 0908]

So, are most books on show rabbits not meat rabbits?

 

[U_Stormcrow]

So, are most books on show rabbits not meat rabbits?

My impression is that most books are on PET rabbits, with a little bit about showing, and a little less about meat.

and like @NatJ, I don't routinely medicate either. Though I only have a year of "experience", so that's not even anecdote, merely a footnote on the way towards anecdote.

 

[chicken mama 0908]

What use is a pet rabbit?