Raising Meat Rabbits

[nayeli]

We decided to buy the TSC $40 complete kits. I like the poop trays =) We got one free and bought the second that matches!

 

[chiques chicks]

I actually paid the money for bass cages for my breeders. Quality its excellent. So much nicer than the ones I have from tsc.
As the weather warms, I'll buy rolls of wire and build my own. I made chicken cages before, so it shouldn't be hard.

 

[misbhaven]

You should call local fencing guys. I know one in my area sells truck or truck and trailer loads of recycled lumber for $11 a trip. Some of it has never been used, it is their "culls".

hahaha i live in the land of corn and bean fields no fences not even around farms they plant right to the road...

 

[nayeli]

My husband really didn't want to make them, which is fine... Even though they are $40 a piece I really like them for their easy cleaning and they are holding up just fine so far! We just got done making a quail cage though =)

 

[juststruttin]

I actually paid the money for bass cages for my breeders. Quality its excellent. So much nicer than the ones I have from tsc.
As the weather warms, I'll buy rolls of wire and build my own. I made chicken cages before, so it shouldn't be hard.

I bought wire from TSC but then ended up having to buy the doors, locks and bottom support bar from Bass. I think the cost to build them turned out to be only slightly less than buying them built. I think I will buy more when I need them.

 

[misbhaven]

My rabbits are outside ...my weather has been ~20 to 105 in the last year so our cages are half wire and half wood to allow for hay during the winter and venaltion during the summer. we built the door ourselves one on the front one on the back ..used window latches. To secure the secure the doors we buil them 2 high 3 wide for about $200 total. Poop just falls on the ground and gets raked up

 

[juststruttin]

Anyone feel like posting their "story" or what it was like when you first got the rabbits, their cage/hutch etc?

I raised and showed Netherland dwarf rabbits as a kid, and was a 4-H rabbit leader as a teen. I have not had rabbits for over 20 years and am just now getting back into them. But this time, I am raising meat rabbits.

It all started when a friend introduced me his neighbor who raised meat rabbits. I decided to buy a couple to take home to see if my family liked rabbit meat. At that time, I had only eaten rabbit meat in restaurants and did not know how to cook it. My husband and I googled some recipes and found a roast rabbit recipe that was delicious. After eating that meal my kids were hooked and constantly bugged me to buy more rabbit. At $30 per processed rabbit it did not take long before I realized I needed to raise rabbits to provide affordable sustainable rabbit meat for my family.

The woman I got the processed rabbit from also offered rabbits purebred/papered breeding stock. I purchased 2 American Blue does and she bred them to one of her unrealted bucks. I also purchased an unrelated buck so if I decide to keep any females from the first littersI have that option. I also bought two American Chins does and hope to buy a Amer. Chin buck at the Reno, NV show in May.

Only one of the American blue does took so on March 14th I welcomed 6 babies (4 blue and 2 whites) to the family.

Last week, I purchased a Red New Zealand from a judge. He bred her for me to one of his broken red bucks so I will hopefully have a litter of New Zealand Reds and Brokens in 30+ days.

I decided to purchase purebred and papered breeding stock so I could sell processed rabbits and breeding stock to fellow homesteaders. I understand rabbits do not need to be purebred to have babies and that crossbred rabbits have hybrid vigor. However, I figure I can always breed my Americans and Chinchillas together if I ever want a litter of strictly meat rabbits.

I feel very fortunate. We have a USDA rabbit processing plant 30 miles from my house. They charge $4 for white rabbits and $5 for colored rabbits. The cost of processing will add $ to my overhead but since it is USDA approved facility I will be able to sell the meat to the public. I know I am not going to make $ on this rabbit endeavor but I am hoping that selling the extra rabbits will help to provide affordable food for my family.


Here is a photo of my American Blue does. I decided to let them live together colony style in a corner of the barn. When the babies are older, I plan to let the rabbits have the whole stall and I will American Chins and the New Zealand Red to the colony. The boys will be housed separately so I don't end up with un-planned litters.

 

[nayeli]

I raised and showed Netherland dwarf rabbits as a kid, and was a 4-H rabbit leader as a teen. I have not had rabbits for over 20 years and am just now getting back into them. But this time, I am raising meat rabbits.

It all started when a friend introduced me his neighbor who raised meat rabbits. I decided to buy a couple to take home to see if my family liked rabbit meat. At that time, I had only eaten rabbit meat in restaurants and did not know how to cook it. My husband and I googled some recipes and found a roast rabbit recipe that was delicious. After eating that meal my kids were hooked and constantly bugged me to buy more rabbit. At $30 per processed rabbit it did not take long before I realized I needed to raise rabbits to provide affordable sustainable rabbit meat for my family.

The woman I got the processed rabbit from also offered rabbits purebred/papered breeding stock. I purchased 2 American Blue does and she bred them to one of her unrealted bucks. I also purchased an unrelated buck so if I decide to keep any females from the first littersI have that option. I also bought two American Chins does and hope to buy a Amer. Chin buck at the Reno, NV show in May.

Only one of the American blue does took so on March 14th I welcomed 6 babies (4 blue and 2 whites) to the family.

Last week, I purchased a Red New Zealand from a judge. He bred her for me to one of his broken red bucks so I will hopefully have a litter of New Zealand Reds and Brokens in 30+ days.

I decided to purchase purebred and papered breeding stock so I could sell processed rabbits and breeding stock to fellow homesteaders. I understand rabbits do not need to be purebred to have babies and that crossbred rabbits have hybrid vigor. However, I figure I can always breed my Americans and Chinchillas together if I ever want a litter of strictly meat rabbits.

I feel very fortunate. We have a USDA rabbit processing plant 30 miles from my house. They charge $4 for white rabbits and $5 for colored rabbits. The cost of processing will add $ to my overhead but since it is USDA approved facility I will be able to sell the meat to the public. I know I am not going to make $ on this rabbit endeavor but I am hoping that selling the extra rabbits will help to provide affordable food for my family.


Here is a photo of my American Blue does. I decided to let them live together colony style in a corner of the barn. When the babies are older, I plan to let the rabbits have the whole stall and I will American Chins and the New Zealand Red to the colony. The boys will be housed separately so I don't end up with un-planned litters.

Wow, you really hit the ground running! If you keep this up you will have LOTS of rabbits =) I think I'll get another doe. Mine aren't pedigree, but I don't really plan on selling them so it wasn't an issue for me nor worth the extra expense.

 

[juststruttin]

Wow, you really hit the ground running! If you keep this up you will have LOTS of rabbits =) I think I'll get another doe. Mine aren't pedigree, but I don't really plan on selling them so it wasn't an issue for me nor worth the extra expense.

I got lucky because the woman, Sarah, that I got my bunnies from did not charge extra for the purebred papered rabbits. She charged $25 for the Amer. Blues and $30 for the Chins and is willing to breed them each for me 1 time. Her processed rabbit meat is $30 so it is actually cheaper to get a live rabbit than a processed one.

I have another acquaintance that raises rabbits and she raises crosses for meat and sells to restaurants and markets. She swear the X bunnies make better meat rabbits. I think she said her favorite X is the Satin X New Zealand as they have the best meat to bone ration at 12 weeks. She is investing in more cages and retaining more breeders as she cannot keep up with the demand for her rabbits.

Yes, I kinda jumped in with both feet. I have a two teenage boys so we need to cook two rabbits at a time. I figure we could potentially eat 2-4 rabbits a week so I need an average of 12 rabbits a month just for my family. Since rabbits typically have 8-10 babies and because I am only planning to breed my girls 3 times a year I figure I need to have at least 5 rabbits just to sustain my family, and more if I want to provide meat to friends and extended family.

 

[chiques chicks]

Now I don't feel so bad.
My start:
Two Californian does, one buck
One doe, one buck champagne d'argent
Two does, one buck new Zealand
Two Nz x silver fox does
Still want a Californian buck and another champagne doe

Most are under 6 months, but the one Californian was bred, so I have three babies about a month old.

I plan to experiment with crosses to see what grows best and fastest, as well as be able in time to create more stock that is purebred to sell and or replace mine in time.