Meat rabbits for beginners...

[krebolj]

Can anyone recommend a good set up for someone totally new to rabbits? Breed, how many, cheapest way to feed. We are a family of four and between our pigs, sheep, and hopefully rabbits we hope to supply our own meat.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by krebolj

Can anyone recommend a good set up for someone totally new to rabbits? Breed, how many, cheapest way to feed. We are a family of four and between our pigs, sheep, and hopefully rabbits we hope to supply our own meat.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

If I had to chose one breed I would go with New Zealands, but I have Californians too and I cross breed them. You would have to decide how many meals per week you want to eat using rabbits, to try and figure how many you will need. Rabbit meat is probably better for you than the ones you mentioned and rabbit meat can be used sooooo many ways. If you keep 3 does active raising you a litter ---say every 60 days-----maybe 5 litters a year should give you 2 rabbits per week.
I grow over 1/2 of what my rabbits eat and I use their poop to fertilize what I grow for them. Some of their poop is run through my redworm beds first and the worm poop is used for fertilizer too.


Krebolj are you close to me----East Coast--Myrtle Beach SC?

[jolly rabbit]

I agree, go with an easy well known breed, nz's or calis (love my cali's) hanging cages, pellet feed is easiest but if you can supplement it helps with the feed bill. 3 does and a buck should be more than enough.

[krebolj]

Fireman, I am in the midlands just outside of Columbia but you know how small SC is so we are still relatively close I think it's about an hour and a half.

I know the pork isn't "healthy" but it is a large amount of meat in one animal, and we pasture raise everything. Lamb is delicious, and again we pasture raise that as well. I guess I'd be looking to replace our chicken meals with rabbit, our chickens are great layers but they won't sit on them frequently enough to raise our own chicken. I figure the rabbits will have far less reservations creating new rabbits for us.

So three does and a buck, I'd rather not do pellets- we are trying to get away from the feed store (GMOs) which is why we have switched to heritage breed sheep and hogs because they do much, much better on pasture. What are the best things to grow and pick wild for rabbits? What grocery store cast offs are a good diet for them? I am able to pick up all old produce from our grocery and have been giving it to the chickens and hogs.

[nostawmama]

There is a sticky in the rabbit forum that is dedicated to what to feed rabbits naturally (ie no pellets)- click here to see it

It has tons of info!

[TroutRiver]

Pick up Bob Bennett's book, Storey's Guide to Raising Rabbits. It is popular and easy to find, and a great beginners guide. It will tell you all you need to know about breeds, housing, feeding, etc. A great place to start.

[Fire-Man]

Krebolj

There is a thread in this section on feeding rabbits naturally---it is a sticky almost at the top. Take some time to read it.

I do give my rabbits some pellets in the early morning then greens in the evening. I grow alot of Collards year round for my rabbits---they love them. I just break a few leaves off each plant and more leaves later as they grow taller(not cut the whole plant down) Most of the year I plant alot of sunflower seeds and just regular field corn(not expensive seed corn). I let these plants get about a foot to 16" tall and I start pulling one plant per adult rabbit per day as well as a few collard leaves. I do leave some sunflower plants so they can seed out---then I give the seed heads to them. I keep replanting more of these seeds every couple weeks so when I get all these pulled up the new ones will be ready. I also plant some rye grass in the cooler months---over winter and let it get a couple feet tall and I cut hands fulls of it for them. There is alot you can grow for them. I just start them off slowly when they are a few weeks old. My baby rabbits will eat young tender collards/ grass etc before they ever get out their nesting boxes. I do dry them some before I give them to the babies.

I have 8 hogs and about 60 chickens now. If you want to raise some chicks from eggs---get you a few of the larger size bantams. They WILL Set for you. I got 3 right now setting on RIR eggs. I have never had a RIR hen to set on eggs but I also sell my laying hens before they get 2 years old. They bring top dollar at that age, and These bantams keep me in young hens to replace the older ones.

Cleaning a rabbit is so much easier than a chicken to me and the rabbit meat taste better than the chicken(to me). I can dress a 5lb rabbit in under 5 minutes, If that was a chicken I would not be got the water in a pot on the cooker in that amount of time----LOL, I never tried to skin a chicken though--LOL.

[krebolj]

For starting with 3 does and a buck, would this be a good set up?

[froebeli]

k--- that setup would be okay until the does have their first litters. The cage appears fairly small for a Meat breed and a nest box. What are the actual dimensions?

After the kits are 4 weeks or so, you will need more cages.... and that's a good thing. You will need grow out cages for the meat bunnies and they will need to be larger than the sections you have now, although without the divider may be big enough for one litter.

I'm no expert, so hopefully others will pitch in...

[krebolj]

Oh, this isn't my cage I was just looking around. So no idea on dimensions.

[SherryB]

krebolj, I am a newbie and let me tell you what I've learned already as a newbie from my personal experience.

Never have only 1 buck. You need a back up. So, start with 2 bucks. Two does may be enough but I would start with 3.

You can never have too much cage space. (Ask Fireman about all my issues from having too little space) Plan for a good size cage for each of your breeding stock (bucks cages can be smaller) plus a good size cage for EACH litter (so if you have 3 does then 3 additional cages-one for each doe's litter). AND have one cage that's for confining a particular rabbit or for separating them from the others for whatever reason.

Don't scrimp on cage size. By the time you put the nest box in with the doe the doe is getting cramped already and that is without the litter bounding around the box with her. 24 X 36 is the minimum I would suggest for a NZW doe. Bigger if you have space and can afford it. Don't get cages that are wider though or you will have trouble reaching to the back of the cages.

Do NOT double hang the cages if you have room to do a single row. I'm spending so much time trying to keep the poop cleaned from the dividers underneath the top row like Bob Bennett suggests in the book mentioned here and it's impossible to feel like you are keeping it clean enough.

Hang your cages so you can walk on the front and back sides of them. In other words, don't put them up against a wall or fence so close you can't walk behind them.

Do NOT buy from a breeder without seeing their place yourself and deciding if you think their herd is healthy. Be prepared to walk away (I wasn't and I had to doctor my rabbits and get them healthy before I could breed) if you don't think the herd is healthy. Ask the question, "do you ever have problems with snuffles?" If they say yes, then ask, "how do you treat it". If they say with medication, WALK AWAY. Look at the rabbit's ears to see if they are clean and don't look like they have ear mites. From what I can see from what he posts, I would definitely drive the hour and a half to Fireman's place and buy rabbits from him. (No charge for the plug, FM). It looks to me like going to his place would be like one of those great field trips you took as a kid when you were in school.

I'm sure I could think of more things I've been confronted with as a newbie.... but that's a start.

[countryfied2011]

First rule of thumb...make sure the does are does and the bucks are bucks..lol

My first purchase was 2 bucks and 2 does.....they were just weaned~ I Had two does in one hutch and the two bucks in one hutch. A couple of months went by and I noticed the all seemed to want to breed each other...being new to rabbits I looked online about this...I knew cows will mount sometimes as a dominance issue..evidently rabbits do to...sooooo I still decided to check sex..I looked at all four and they all seemed to look the same, by this time they were about 4 or 5 months old. I thought it strange because the breeder said 2 does 2 bucks..so I spent about an hour going from barn to house looking at pictures checking rabbits....you get the picture. A friend of ours came by and checked while I was in bed..DH said that he thought the does were boys....by this time everyone had their own hutch. Couple of weeks went by and I noticed they all started getting testicles... Sure sign they were bucks..lol

Then I had to start over looking for does, by this time the bucks were about 6 months old...finally found the two I have now that was back last summer and it was way to hot to breed, finally bred in the fall. Now I have 3 does and 2 bucks. 1 doe I kept from a litter and 2 bucks went to the freezer.

I personally like the hutches that DH built only because they are so big and I have plenty of room to get inside...heck sometimes I sit in the door opening messing with the rabbits. I know that at some point in time they will need replacing of the wood. Mine dont chew too much because I keep things for them to play/chew with. I only have a couple corners that will need replacing because of the urine...I try to keep that area washed/rinsed out. The rest stays pretty clean.

I have NZ and Cali, from what I read they are pretty easy for beginners and the meat is good.

I am still a newbie...and the folks on this forum are great to learn from~

By the way I know how to sex rabbits now..lol And as sure as you decide you wont keep any of the litter.....you will~

[Fire-Man]

Originally Posted by SherryB

From what I can see from what he posts, I would definitely drive the hour and a half to Fireman's place and buy rabbits from him. (No charge for the plug, FM). It looks to me like going to his place would be like one of those great field trips you took as a kid when you were in school.

LOL, Thanks Sherry----probably be some bored Kids if they took a field trip to my place----LOL.

But being you mentioned that, all my kids, grand, Nieces, Nephews, Family(my older sister lives beside me) like to go to the back of the farm to see all the animals everytime they come over. I sold some of these last rabbits that were born and some of the people that were wanting to raise some meat rabbits did Flip out when they came to pick them up and seen the "Meals On Wheels" trailer.