Meat rabbit cross

[Timbers Happy Hens]

So I currently keep standard Rex and breed for confirmation for show. I send less than exceptional kits to freezer camp. A dual purpose program. So far I’ve only had one litter. My program is in the ‘garage’ phase. My question is, is there a breed I could cross with my standard Rex buck to create a faster growing meat mutt? Something exclusively raised for meat? Or am I better off breeding pure Rex for the freezer as well?


Pic of my opal otter doe for tax

 

[NatJ]

You could try using New Zealands (especially whites) or Californians. I think those are among the best meat breeds. You might get larger litters and faster-growing bunnies as compared with litters from your Rex does, or you might not get any improvement at all, or there's a chance the new does may even be worse than your Rexes. It will depend on how good each doe is, which of course you don't know until after she has some litters for you.

But if you are breeding Rex for show, you might want to just breed more Rex, so you can pick the best few bunnies from a larger total, and then butcher the rest. That can help you produce better Rexes to show, as well as filling your freezer with meat. If you make a point of keeping Rex does that are good mothers and raise their bunnies well, you might end up with does that are just as good as does of specialized meat breeds in those respects.

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

You could try using New Zealands (especially whites) or Californians. I think those are among the best meat breeds. You might get larger litters and faster-growing bunnies as compared with litters from your Rex does, or you might not get any improvement at all, or there's a chance the new does may even be worse than your Rexes. It will depend on how good each doe is, which of course you don't know until after she has some litters for you.

But if you are breeding Rex for show, you might want to just breed more Rex, so you can pick the best few bunnies from a larger total, and then butcher the rest. That can help you produce better Rexes to show, as well as filling your freezer with meat. If you make a point of keeping Rex does that are good mothers and raise their bunnies well, you might end up with does that are just as good as does of specialized meat breeds in those respects.

Thank you, I do think I might just go with breeding the rexes. I’ll have to raise more to produce the same amount of meat as a larger meat breed, but I think it’d be the same amount of feed to raise a larger faster growing breed anyway.

 

[NatJ]

Thank you, I do think I might just go with breeding the rexes. I’ll have to raise more to produce the same amount of meat as a larger meat breed, but I think it’d be the same amount of feed to raise a larger faster growing breed anyway.

On the amount of feed, probably close but not quite equal. The faster-growing ones might eat a little less feed per pound of meat. And if the meat-type ones let you raise fewer total bunnies, especially if there are more per litter, then you don't have as many breeding does to feed, and you don't need quite as many cages.

But overall it should come out close enough that it doesn't make much difference either way, so you might as well go with the rabbits you like better. If you like the Rexes, then raise more Rexes

Edit to add: Rexes have about the same target weight and body build as New Zealands or Californians anyway, so if you select strongly for meat qualities without sacrificing other points, that may give you an edge at shows. I don't think there is anything in the Standard that would make them bad for meat, just emphasis on fur and color that distracts people from focusing on the meat traits. Matters would be different if your preferred breed was Netherland Dwarf

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

On the amount of feed, probably close but not quite equal. The faster-growing ones might eat a little less feed per pound of meat. And if the meat-type ones let you raise fewer total bunnies, especially if there are more per litter, then you don't have as many breeding does to feed, and you don't need quite as many cages.

But overall it should come out close enough that it doesn't make much difference either way, so you might as well go with the rabbits you like better. If you like the Rexes, then raise more Rexes

Edit to add: Rexes have about the same target weight and body build as New Zealands or Californians anyway, so if you select strongly for meat qualities without sacrificing other points, that may give you an edge at shows. I don't think there is anything in the Standard that would make them bad for meat, just emphasis on fur and color that distracts people from focusing on the meat traits. Matters would be different if your preferred breed was Netherland Dwarf

Thank you so much, that was very helpful! There would definitely be variations between breeds and their feed intake but yes I agree. It would be better to just breed more rexes and increase the quality of my stock and just cull harder than to try and manage breeding multiple types of rabbits.
My Rexes have been averaging 9-12 lbs before processing so they are on the larger side of the breed.

 

[MamaPoult]

I agree our new Zealand Rexs were awesome they would feed our family of 4. And after raising them we penciled it out and had 11 dollars per rabbit!

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

I agree our new Zealand Rexs were awesome they would feed our family of 4. And after raising them we penciled it out and had 11 dollars per rabbit!

That’s amazing! Almost the same as a whole chicken but so much better for you! What was the hanging weight of your rabbits?

 

[MamaPoult]

That’s amazing! Almost the same as a whole chicken but so much better for you! What was the hanging weight of your rabbits?

Yeah way more protein! The rabbits were more my bros forte I'll ask him when he gets back from town though!

 

[NatJ]

My Rexes have been averaging 9-12 lbs before processing so they are on the larger side of the breed.

What age are you processing them?

When I used to raise some rabbits for meat, we processed around 8-12 weeks, and of course at that age they were much smaller than the weights you list. I suppose if you aren't sure of their quality for show purposes, it would make sense to raise them until you are sure which ones to cull. I don't know how much you can tell of their quality at what age.

 

[Timbers Happy Hens]

What age are you processing them?

When I used to raise some rabbits for meat, we processed around 8-12 weeks, and of course at that age they were much smaller than the weights you list. I suppose if you aren't sure of their quality for show purposes, it would make sense to raise them until you are sure which ones to cull. I don't know how much you can tell of their quality at what age.

We didn’t have time to process at the 12 week marker, so I think they were closer to 16 weeks. Close to sexually mature and a lot easier to weed out the culls. At that age they’re not going to do a ton of changing, just some thickening out. So basic confirmation like shoulders, good hips and overall roundness is a little easier to look for. We only had 4 in our first litter so a small and easy start. One of the does was almost 12 lbs on the table. She liked food tho lol.

The doe the litter came from is around 11.5- 12 lbs and was selectively bred to be a little bigger in hopes to produce larger babies.