Raising our New Zealand Meat Rabbits *Start to finish - Birth to processing* Possible Graphic pics*

[Angelicisi]

Doe #1s family pic lol

Doe #1s kits are to cute and already moving around the cage.

 

[ChocolateMouse]

I sec my bunnies at 2-3 weeks... whenever I feel like their bits are big enough to tell them apart. As soon as their eyes are open and they are coming out I try checking. If I don't think my accuracy is good enough I wait a week and try again.

 

[Angelicisi]

 

[Angelicisi]

So these babies are half sold. The other half pending sex. Crazy that I have a line of people for breeders. Not meat. Well ya, meat but $$ is in the breeders and people want to wait and have us build cages etc...so I may not have one to process! Yet. We do pop off a garden raiding wild one on occassion but don't usually eat them, I quarter for the animals lol. If need be I can video or photo cleaning one. But only by request. Sorta reserving this thread for my NZ's and anyone here who is breeding their meat rabbits. I suppose its all the same meat? But we put serious effort into making ours happy creatures, think it makes them tastier lol..lol or future breeders.

Happy new Year y'all.

 

[Mahlzeit]

Do you have any pictures of the cages you keep the rabbits in? Would love to see your setup.

 

[Angelicisi]

Let me see what I got...might have to go take some. Lol

They're indoors at the moment. Cement floors,, 12 screened windows to adjust airflow and keep bugs out. We can cool this building during our brutal summers and heat should we have to but the rabbits seem to do the cold very well as long as we avoid drafts.

We use single cages for the bucks and double divided cages for the does. Cages are kept on racks with tubs underneath to catch waste we use.
We use wire. Each doe has a bottomless nest box with a "lid" on half way so that it that works as a perch for mama does also. She self cleans a bottomless nestbox. Pushed poops straight down into bins underneath. I add TONS of hay before kindling and never lost a lop bunny kit to falling thru wire bottoms and these NZ kits are big as hamsters!
The tubs that catch the waste are cheap cement mixing tubs, harbor freight tool like $2 with mailer coupon. Sign up! They offer tons of cheap tools for odd jobs. Good learning tools my Mac tool dad used to tell me. Making me learn on their cheap tool before using his good tools

 

[Angelicisi]

I'll get more pictures as we change it up. We Want auto waterers, a large waste collecting drum and move half of them outdoors under our beautiful huge oaks. Beneficial shade and fertilizer for the ancient trees.

 

[Angelicisi]

We do play, a local rock station in the rabbitry. It's not hardcore heavy metal or anything but they seem much mote laid back and friendly with a low volume music in the background lol

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Angeli; I find that noises help my rabbits chill out too. People flip out over keeping rabbits safe and quiet and then they suddenly keel over when something new happens or they eat their kits when a predator walks by... Two rauckus dogs, butchering within100 feet of them, activity in the lawn every day all spring and summer and fall, marauding cats, coons and hawks have not stopped my rabbits from acting totally normal and the only rabbit that ever ate her kits was indoors! (And subsequently culled.) I think it's all about exposure and socializing and I think ANY sounds and activity helps with that!

 

[Mahlzeit]

Wow! Is that whole building for your animals?