What breed should I be looking for?
I already raise goats for milk and game birds for meat and to sell, so I am no stranger to raising my own food. I am thinking about converting my rabbit hutches back into rabbit hutches, now that I have adequate housing for all my game birds. I will be looking into rabbits primarily for meat, but I also want something with a really nice pelt because I intend to use every bit of each animal I butcher. I really dislike killing an animal so when it comes time I like to use everything I possibly can. I want something big enough to be worth the work of butchering, and with a nice coat, preferably not solid white. One other consideration is that I live in the pacific northwest. The climate here is tempeate: summer highs rarely reach the hundreds and winter lows occasionally reach the teens. The rabbits will be in a sheltered area, housed in hutches. There is wind and rain shelter but not much protection from the cold. I have only a basic knowledge where rabbits are concerned, but that is why I am here: to ask questions before I add a new critter to my homestead.
I already raise goats for milk and game birds for meat and to sell, so I am no stranger to raising my own food. I am thinking about converting my rabbit hutches back into rabbit hutches, now that I have adequate housing for all my game birds. I will be looking into rabbits primarily for meat, but I also want something with a really nice pelt because I intend to use every bit of each animal I butcher. I really dislike killing an animal so when it comes time I like to use everything I possibly can. I want something big enough to be worth the work of butchering, and with a nice coat, preferably not solid white. One other consideration is that I live in the pacific northwest. The climate here is tempeate: summer highs rarely reach the hundreds and winter lows occasionally reach the teens. The rabbits will be in a sheltered area, housed in hutches. There is wind and rain shelter but not much protection from the cold. I have only a basic knowledge where rabbits are concerned, but that is why I am here: to ask questions before I add a new critter to my homestead.
