Well, for some reason, I've been on a rabbit kick. I want to go on a rabbit hunt, and now I want domestic rabbits. Their poop is supposed to be excellent straight from the rabbit into the garden. Plus, I can breed for meat as well, to make them productive for the family. I would also like to tan hides, for fun as well as maybe an extra buck here and there. I personally love the rexes, because they're so darned soft. I also like the californians, but mostly the rexes. Can I breed rexes for meat production, or are they unproductive as meat critters? I haven't heard anything on them in the various meat rabbit threads that I've read. Anyways, onto the main question... how much do they normally eat? How many pounds in a week per rabbit on average? How much should I expect to be feeding a female with a litter until the litter reaches maturity? I know that these are hard and will be rough estimates, but an idea to ride on would be very helpful.
we like the san juan rabbits for pets, meat, and dog training. 25 lbs. rabbit pellets at southern states; $7, 16 ounce bale of petco timothy hay; $4, cabbage leaves from garden; priceless.
Standard Rexes or Mini's? For comparison, I have 15 rabbits right now including two pregnant does and a doe with a brand new litter of 7. I am going through a 50 pound bag of Blue Seal Show Hutch Deluxe every 16 days. I have two Mini Rex's, one Hollan Lop, one Rex/Angora, and 11 Jr and Sr French Angoras. My largest FA is 10.5 pounds and he eats less than one cup of pellets a day plus a tablespoon of show supplement.
I go through 200 pounds of rabbit feed a month. Costs about $40-$50 a month, I have around 35 rabbits at all times. If you want rexes, the best to use would be the standards. they don't get as big as some of te other meat breeds. But they have nice size to them. Some you might want to consider for meat production would be some of the colored breeds, like black, and red newzealands, silver fox, champiagn d'argents, creme d'argents, american chinchillas, the name a few.
Why don't you get a few of both? A Rex buck with maybe 1 or 2 Rex does and 2 Cali does. The Cal/ rex crosses could be your meat rabbits, and the pure Rexes for the soft fur.
