So my meat rabbits are Cal NZ x s and they are 7 weeks old. They don't look like they would be big enough to be butchered yet. One of my does had only three and they are like twice the size as the babies from the doe that had 5. I have read that economically speaking 6 weeks is cheapest but most people for for 8-11 weeks. So then that would be next week for the bigger ones? What if the smaller runts still don't get up to a good size in a couple of weeks?
It takes 8-10 weeks for them to reach optimum size in my opinion. I just cull the bucks and keep the does for future bunnies. Since it is spring, you might choose to sell the bucks as pets for $15-20 each. You would make more selling them for pets than you would eating them at this time of year.
What are they crossed with? This could make a difference in the growth rate. 8-10 weeks is the norm for meat. You would only want to keep the best looking does for breeding. If you do your own butchering, the meat is a good value for you. Not to mention, healthy!
Quote:Yes they do, but a few months down the road they don't want that cute bunny anymore. Some people just let them loose if they cant give them away.
No, I won't do these as pet. These are dinner. When these grow up they wont be so cute and they could end up in a shelter. I was just wondering if they really would get big enough by 8-11 weeks.
