What Rabbits Do You Have? Show Off Your Rabbits Here!

[jrpettit]

I have New Zealand Whites that I raise for consumption but the Sire and two Does are the pets, (Max & Ruby). Next week I will be picking up a new Sire, an Altex. I'm excited about introducing a new "pet" to my little bunny grotto.

 

[EweSheep]

Hello!

It has been a long time since I've raised rabbits and need some refresher course on raising rabbits for pets and meat.

We used to have CA buck to cross over our NZ girls for meat and 4H show. And used their offsprings for meat. I do remember having Purina Rabbit Chow and crocks of water but don't remember giving them hay...we had alfalfa and grass mix hay for our horses at that time.

We had them in the cow barn, basement part that walked out to the front, all had open cages made, had nesting boxes for them. Manure troughs on bottom of pans that runs into a bucket, empty daily. Never had issues with frozen bunnies or too hot bunnies, all because they were in the interior of the cow barn.

Do they need sunshine? Give me all the ins and outs of raising them! I'm just a bit scared of problems of rabbits, dietwise and health wise. I have a double room hutch, open two sides and center divider is solid wood. Hardware wired on two walls and bottom. I live in the city. Wanting to get two rabbits. Maybe three if I need to get a buck if I can not find a "visiting" stud. The openings of the hutch face north and the back end is the tall privacy fence on the south side. West side is privacy fence. East side is open. The top has shingled roof.

I'm interested in the following breeds....Champagne, Silvers, Sables and CA.

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Hello!

It has been a long time since I've raised rabbits and need some refresher course on raising rabbits for pets and meat.

We used to have CA buck to cross over our NZ girls for meat and 4H show. And used their offsprings for meat. I do remember having Purina Rabbit Chow and crocks of water but don't remember giving them hay...we had alfalfa and grass mix hay for our horses at that time.

We had them in the cow barn, basement part that walked out to the front, all had open cages made, had nesting boxes for them. Manure troughs on bottom of pans that runs into a bucket, empty daily. Never had issues with frozen bunnies or too hot bunnies, all because they were in the interior of the cow barn.

Do they need sunshine? Give me all the ins and outs of raising them! I'm just a bit scared of problems of rabbits, dietwise and health wise. I have a double room hutch, open two sides and center divider is solid wood. Hardware wired on two walls and bottom. I live in the city. Wanting to get two rabbits. Maybe three if I need to get a buck if I can not find a "visiting" stud. The openings of the hutch face north and the back end is the tall privacy fence on the south side. West side is privacy fence. East side is open. The top has shingled roof.

I'm interested in the following breeds....Champagne, Silvers, Sables and CA.

Hello! I don't know much about meat rabbits, but I can give you a basic care guide for pet rabbits. I will divide it into sections.

Feeding: rabbits should be fed a daily diet of rabbit pellets (popular brands include Purina, ManaPro, Nutrena, Blue Seal, but there are also others. I use Purina.) There are different kinds of rabbit feed, usually three. They are Show, Regular, and Pro formulas. For meat and fur rabbits, the Pro (also known as higher protein) formulas are recommended because large and wooly rabbits especially for meat, require more protein. The Show formulas are good for show rabbits because it has special ingredients that increase the coat condition. The Regular is for non-show, smaller breeds. With the breeds you are interested in, they are all heavy enough to eat the higher protein whether they are for pets or meat. As for hay, DO NOT FEED ALFALFA. It is good for nursing does and kits, but it is known to give rabbits diarrhea, and kidney stones due to calcium build up. They can be fed Timothy Hay, or Orchard Grass hay. As far as fruit and vegetables go, fruit should be fed sometimes to help with digestion. Greens can also be fed once to a few times a week, although greens are not necessary. I feed my rabbits greens and fruit daily, in small quantities, which can be a nuisance to time and money, so unless you are willing to dedicate more time and money to feeding your rabbits, you don't want to feed them greens and fruit daily! When feeding fruit, know what is good for rabbits and what is not. Know what is deadly and what is not. (Ex- make sure apples do not contain seeds, apple seeds are deadly. Carrots should only be fed on occasion for they contain high amounts of sugar and are bad for rabbits. They can even cause cancer if fed too much.) give them fresh water daily in unspillable crocks, or water bottles. Make sure you check the bottles and crocks for winter freezing if rabbits or outdoors, or even in barns (if frozen, thaw out, but make sure you have spare bottles or crocks handy as thawing takes time and if a bottle were to crack, you would need a new one) In the summer if it is hot out, change the bottles daily for they will get extremely hot and the rabbits won't want to drink the water.

As for care, it varies by season. I noticed you said you keep them in hutches with a dropping tray at the bottom. I do this as well. Clean cages every 4-6 days in the winter deepening on how clean your individual rabbits are, and do quick cleans every day or two during the summer to keep away flies and smell. In the summer, even if in a barn, make sure your rabbits are not too hot. You can help with this by freezing water bottles or tile samples and place them in the cages. Some rabbits lay on them to keep cool. Also, if you can, it would help to attatched some sort of fan to or near their hutch. If it is extremely hot, you may have to bring them inside your house until the temperature calms down. Also feed them cold snacks to help them cool down. Spraying their necks with cold water helps them control their temperature because they do not sweat. They might not like it, but it is necessary to keep them comfortable. In the winter, you want to put straw in their hutches to help them stay warm. Rabbits can tolerate cold well, but the hit summer temperatures pose a major threat to rabbits. Also, if in a barn, Mae sure they have light. Do not raise your rabbits in the dark!
For grooming, be sure to clip their nails regularly. Once every month or two is good, or when you see the nails getting long. You don't want them curling under, or breaking a quick because the nails became overgrown. Be sure to brush your rabbits every month, and regularly when molting. (Wool breeds require constant grooming, but you aren't interested in these) When molting, feeding your rabbits fruits, especially fresh or dried papaya will help move the hair through their systems and prevent hair balls. (Rabbits can get hair balls just like a cat, but they cannot puke them up, so the condition can be deadly if they are not passed through) There are hair ball remedies for rabbits, but they are hard to find and they rabbits refuse to eat them.
Rabbits need exercise. Having a big hutch is good, but they need time in the daylight. Having an outdoor playpen for them to run around in is great, or up you can walk them on a leash, although some rabbits do not like this! For a playpen, a dog pen works well. Just make sure they don't dig under and escape, or jump out the top.
When cleaning the cages, replace straw biweekly. If it is dirty, wet, or peed on, replace few day. If a rabbit is peeling in its straw, you may want to consider using a litter box. Unfortunately, many of my rabbits like to do their business in the nest area so I had to put litter boxes their. I use horse pine pellets as a substrate. Replace litter boxes when they get dirty.
I know it's a lot, but its hard to explain how to care for a living creature simply. I hope you found this helpful. The breeds you have chosen are good for meat, and make calm pets. I assume that's what you were going for? They all get big though! Again, I think you knew that already! good luck with your rabbits and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask!

 

[PoultryPower]

I have to post some new pictures of my current litter.
They turned 4 weeks on sunday night.
I have fallen in love with the sable point and have decided I have to keep her.






The tort is like: I don't know her....

 

[shadow rabbit10]

They are adorable!

 

[PoultryPower]

Thank you.

Anyone have any good name suggestions for the sable point?
She is going to free range in my room so I want it to be really cute.
I want something country/outdoorsy and "mystical-ish"
So far I have:
Lacey (eh)
Mae (not so much)
Sierra (I like it but I know someone with a similar name)
Skye (I think fits her dark coloring, but maybe not cute enough)
Dakota (Too masculine?)
Willow (I love it, but I don't want to always be thinking of Sarah Palin's daughter)

 

[shadow rabbit10]

Are you asking for human names? What about Cynthia?

 

[PoultryPower]

Cute, but maybe too human.
My room is beach themed because I LOVE the beach and ocean so I was thinking maybe Harbor or Bay?

 

[wolftracks]

Thank you.

Anyone have any good name suggestions for the sable point?
She is going to free range in my room so I want it to be really cute.
I want something country/outdoorsy and "mystical-ish"
So far I have:
Lacey (eh)
Mae (not so much)
Sierra (I like it but I know someone with a similar name)
Skye (I think fits her dark coloring, but maybe not cute enough)
Dakota (Too masculine?)
Willow (I love it, but I don't want to always be thinking of Sarah Palin's daughter)

Scary

Dakotah Sky is my youngest son's name. Willow is one of my nieces. Sierra is my youngest grand daughter's middle name. There's 5 more Sky/Skye's in the family. Then 2 Laceys. Not sure about the Mae. LOL

 

[PoultryPower]

Wow...that is kind of scary....LOL