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

[Angelicisi]

Half is the workshop where we keep ride mowers and such, the rabbits do just fine socialized and do get nervous when a machine starts up but only a bit and a treat takes there mind right off it. I handle them daily, it helps and they all seem to be better off. I have a weaning cage ready. We have a couple weeks but I like things ready. We keep each does litters separate at the moment to keep records clear lol

Wow! Is that whole building for your animals?

 

[Mahlzeit]

What age do you wean them at?

 

[Angelicisi]

When they're eating on their own. Usually by 4 weeks they'll copy mom eating and drinking.they're still Near the doe but in a pen to be able to Gove them all room, she had 8 so her nest n cage is filling fast lol

What age do you wean them at?

 

[Angelicisi]

Doe #2's litter of 6 kits are two weeks old today. They're just starting to move around the nest, not quite as bold as doe #1's litter but curious and just as big n cute lol.

This litter is mostly reserved already for breeders. Not meat. Doh. These kits are sired by our buck ODB's babies

 

[Angelicisi]

I think their bits are to small yet for ME to tell sex lol I tried and thought 2 boys and a girl of the 3 that let me. Whew they're fast lol

Maybe in a few days ill try again with good pics and y'all can help me lol until then here two pics I attempted, they're wriley!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

It's too hard to tell from those pics, but if you pop their genitals out further they should be old enough to sex. It's not easy when they are young but with experience you can tell pretty early on.

 

[Angelicisi]

Thanks, i "ovate!" You lol I have non left sry lol but I will try again with them. Hard one handed lol

It's too hard to tell from those pics, but if you pop their genitals out further they should be old enough to sex. It's not easy when they are young but with experience you can tell pretty early on.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Haha don't worry! I have a hard enough time sexing them by myself sometimes without holding a camera! Sometimes the wiggly ones can be so difficult!

We recently had a rabbit lab during our physical exam class in vet school. A lot of my classmates don't have experience with rabbits but I did 4h for many years so I was pretty comfortable with them. Our instructors told us to practice sexing and my group wasn't sure how so I flipped the rabbit over and showed them. I then had an entire group of vet techs trying to argue with me that the rabbit was a neutered male and not a female. Sure enough, we checked the tag and it was a female. I've been cursed with the strange curse of being good at sexing things...which has come in handy quite a few times! Lol!

 

[Bunnylady]

What's really fun is that there is a genetic curse that is disgustingly common in some breeds/lines, split penis. Some males can look an awful lot like females to those who don't know what they are looking for. I have seen some very experienced breeders get embarrassed by having entered a young buck in the Junior Doe class; we rabbit breeders joke about being visited by the sex-change fairy!

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

I've not yet had to sex one like that, so id definitely be thrown for a loop!