which breed grows the fastest

[bunhallarabbitry]

I'm going to be breeding some rabbits for use as snake food. What would be a good breed that grows quickly, and is economical to raise. 5-8lbs is what the snake eats, so the quicker the babies grow to that size, the better

 

[akane]

Any of the commercial meat crosses as well as the breeds used to make them like Californian and New Zealand would be known as the fastest but most of the meat breeds wouldn't be far behind. Individual lines and how you feed them will have more impact. People looking for fast growth tend not to go the natural feeding route or often even feed much hay and instead try to get as much of a high protein commercial rabbit pellet in them as possible. With more natural feeding though while I have to butcher mine a month later for the same weights the meat tastes amazing and seems much healthier including a lot less fat around the internal organs than the ones we raised on kent 18% rabbit pellets. It's a trade off and since I have a colony where we don't notice a litter hanging around another month and it's much cheaper to feed them on lots of hay with supplements than a commercial pellet it really comes out the same in the end for us.

 

[OneAcreFarm]

An Altex buck crossed with either a Cali or NZW doe will give you a slightly faster growout. They reach butcher weight (5lbs) 1-2 weeks sooner. Even better I told, is a Cali/NZW doe and an Altex buck. Not sure if anyone raises them around where you are though....<br /><br />__________ Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:29 pm __________<br /><br />

5-8lbs is what the snake eats, so the quicker the babies grow to that size, the better

Umm...that sounds like a BIIIIIGGGG snake! LOL Did you mean 5-8 POUNDS?

 

[bunhallarabbitry]

An Altex buck crossed with either a Cali or NZW doe will give you a slightly faster growout. They reach butcher weight (5lbs) 1-2 weeks sooner. Even better I told, is a Cali/NZW doe and an Altex buck. Not sure if anyone raises them around where you are though....

__________ Tue Jul 19, 2011 7:29 pm __________

5-8lbs is what the snake eats, so the quicker the babies grow to that size, the better

Umm...that sounds like a BIIIIIGGGG snake! LOL Did you mean 5-8 POUNDS?

No Altex around here at all sadly I have no idea where the closest one is at all. I might go with typical commercial meat cross of something. I heard that Flemish/NZW or californian crosses grow pretty fast. I have no idea if that eat a ton or not though. I really wanted to get Satins as our meat supply, so I may just get a couple does and a buck of another breed for just snake feeder makers

And yes I did mean 5-8lbs! The people I'm supplying are a close friend of the family and they have a 17ft 80lb reticulated python. My boa will be eating little 1-2lb baby buns since she's only 8ft and 17-18lbs.

 

[JueLee]

If you get another extra doe or two and stagger the breedings, then once the first litter eventually reaches weight, the next litter won't be far behind. Keep them bred on a regular schedule and you shouldn't ever run out of feeders.

17ft 80lb -- Wow! How often does your friend's snake eat?

--Jue

 

[akane]

I'm wondering what size cage you put that in or if you just give it it's own room? I so want a snake but my husband won't allow it. I wasn't even looking at anything huge. Maybe something that maxes out between 3-5'. You know corn snake range or there was a 5' king snake on CL last week but I got yelled at for asking about snakes again.

 

[curlysue]

My son wants a reptile we are thinking small snake or bearded dragon.

 

[Robin]

My son wants a reptile we are thinking small snake or bearded dragon.

my cousin breeds bearded dragons. they are so cute when they first hatch.

 

[Devon's Mom Lauren]

Three questions.. #1 What is an Altex?? #2 I hope these rabbits will be butchered BEFORE they get to the snake? Third, could a snake that large eat a couple smaller rabbits instead of one 5 pound one? The larger the parent breed the more YOU need to feed and the bigger your cages need to be etc. etc. Flemmies will affect your bottom line on their upkeep when a smaller rabbit won't as much. You need to do the math but it seems keeping something smaller like Florida Whites or Dutch and keeping the kits a bit longer might be easier, also if you show them you can take out your keeper and finance it with the rest of the litter.

 

[eco2pia]

An Altex is a super commercial meat breed developed by a texas university...i think it is an f1 hybrid and has to be outcrossed or something...

But I want to second the above by Lauren--a smaller breed eats less, and there is no rule about when you have to butcher rabbits for snakes, they don't care about tenderness. I would pick smaller because the adults would be easier keepers and possibly dual purpose--dutch or harli's would be nice only because there are lots of mis-marked culls. In fact any sturdy non-mini show breed would be great. I do understand that snakes wont eat 2 animals back to back usually, but feeding smaller meals more often maybe? Surely wild snakes wont pass up a meal that is underweight if the snake is hungry. Plus show/breeder sales might be a nice sideline...a more lucrative one than snake food I would imagine.

 

[bunhallarabbitry]

If you get another extra doe or two and stagger the breedings, then once the first litter eventually reaches weight, the next litter won't be far behind. Keep them bred on a regular schedule and you shouldn't ever run out of feeders.

17ft 80lb -- Wow! How often does your friend's snake eat?

--Jue

That's what I'm hoping to do with them. It works well with the rats that I breed for my snakes.

They are feeding her every 2-3 weeks which is a "growing" type diet, whereas once a month would be a maintenance diet which slows their growth.

__________ Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:44 am __________

I'm wondering what size cage you put that in or if you just give it it's own room? I so want a snake but my husband won't allow it. I wasn't even looking at anything huge. Maybe something that maxes out between 3-5'. You know corn snake range or there was a 5' king snake on CL last week but I got yelled at for asking about snakes again.

They have her in a huge cage (not sure of the dimensions) and take her out regularly for exercise. Red Tail Boas are my absolute favorite, but for anyone looking for their 1st snake I'd go with a ball python (captive bred only), or possibly a male red tail which will stop growing at around 4-6ft if fed once a month.

__________ Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:45 am __________

My son wants a reptile we are thinking small snake or bearded dragon.

I would go with a snake You don't have to worry about insects, special lighting, etc.

__________ Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:50 am __________

Three questions.. #1 What is an Altex?? #2 I hope these rabbits will be butchered BEFORE they get to the snake? Third, could a snake that large eat a couple smaller rabbits instead of one 5 pound one? The larger the parent breed the more YOU need to feed and the bigger your cages need to be etc. etc. Flemmies will affect your bottom line on their upkeep when a smaller rabbit won't as much. You need to do the math but it seems keeping something smaller like Florida Whites or Dutch and keeping the kits a bit longer might be easier, also if you show them you can take out your keeper and finance it with the rest of the litter.

2) You don't butcher feeder animals. Did you mean to say, will they be put down before being fed? If so, yes they will. I feed only prekilled frozen/thawed, as well as the people I supply. I wouldn't sell anything live unless the snake refused to eat anything else, and the feeding was being closely supervised for both the prey and snake's safety.

I was looking into Satin's for our own meat supply and possibly show. I would just keep them for a week or two longer to get to that size.<br /><br />__________ Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:56 am __________<br /><br />

An Altex is a super commercial meat breed developed by a texas university...i think it is an f1 hybrid and has to be outcrossed or something...

But I want to second the above by Lauren--a smaller breed eats less, and there is no rule about when you have to butcher rabbits for snakes, they don't care about tenderness. I would pick smaller because the adults would be easier keepers and possibly dual purpose--dutch or harli's would be nice only because there are lots of mis-marked culls. In fact any sturdy non-mini show breed would be great. I do understand that snakes wont eat 2 animals back to back usually, but feeding smaller meals more often maybe? Surely wild snakes wont pass up a meal that is underweight if the snake is hungry. Plus show/breeder sales might be a nice sideline...a more lucrative one than snake food I would imagine.

With snakes that are aggressive eaters, they will generally keep eating as many feeders you will give them since in the wild, they don't know when their next meal will be. A lot of irresponsible big snake keepers do something called Power Feeding, which is feeding multiple smaller prey items in large quantities with little time between "meals". Sometimes even forcing the snake to eat by placing another prey item in their mouth while they are still swallowing the first. Generally, its better for the snake's health to eat one large proper size prey item, than multiple smaller ones that equal the same as the larger item. Its just one of those things