Altex, and meat rabbit questions

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tnelsonfla

tnelsonfla

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Hey all, I never raised rabbits for meat, even thou as a kid raising Checkered Giants we always had a good supply. The litters were big and we culled hard looking for the "perfect" markings. Anyway was at my local feed & seed yesterday and the manager asked me, since I supply him with "pet" rabbits(my Havana's I don't keep for show) if I raised or had a source for "meat rabbits". Well I do and called that man and he has just started breeding again and won't have a litter born and weaned for 8-10 weeks. Now the man at the store said he believes he wants 10-12 young rabbits a month and he adjust his order as needed. My question is if my friend who raises:New Zealand, Californian and Giant Chinchillas can't keep up with the demand is it feasible for me to keep a trio to help with demand? Also we have not set a price for this, he sells the pet rabbits fro $29.99, I sell him them for $15.00 each. He is not sure if he should charge more for meat rabbits or less...what you guys think? If I got a trio to breed has any one had experience with Altex, I have another friend who raises these just for himself and family. Sorry for long post, thanks for reading.
 
Altex bucks are used as a "terminal sire". They are bred to a Cal, NZW or a Cal/NZW cross doe to produce fryers that are NOT kept for breeding. That would give you a great setup for raising for rabbits that will be EATEN. Now, if you are wanting to raise rabbits that can be bred to PRODUCE meat, then Altex are not the way to go....Altex does, in general, are harder to breed, have smaller litters and are not the best mothers. Is he wanting to sell them for meat or sell them to people who want to RAISE meat?
 
OneAcreFarm":nokzlah2 said:
Is he wanting to sell them for meat or sell them to people who want to RAISE meat?
Click to expand...

He nor I am really certain. He says he gets alot of request for "meat rabbits" his belief is a majority (60-85%)would be for people willing and ok with harvesting but do not want to spend the time and effort to raise them.

I can give him choices and sell him both if he'd like. He also wants me to do a weekly or bi-weekly "meet the rabbit expert" on Saturday's and then pay me to my account for my feed bill.
 
Getting an Altex buck would be expensive, and sounds like it wouldn't be the best option for you. It sounds like you just need a dependable, relatively inexpensive source of good, solid meat rabbits. Probably one of the more standard meat breeds would fit that bill very well.

If you wanted to experiment with maximizing your meat output for yourself, that's when you might want to consider Altex. :)
 
My advice would be to stay away from Altex unless you can source a buck from a university project. The private source rabbits I have seen and heard about are usually innocently misrepresented. Usually you get a mutt californian rabbit that the breeder thinks is an Altex. You might get a fine rabbit but not an Altex.

If you do find a source for the real thing I want one too.
 
Thread necromancy V2 ;) ...

I tried to find Altex rabbits from Texas A&M, but they indicate that they're a research facility only. They give out of state references as far as where to buy. I'm afraid that I'll need to trust a 3rd party breeder for my Altex terminal sire if and when I get one. I'm hoping it works out ok.
 
I would just find a good trio of MEAT rabbits that way you could sell both meat and breeders, its a win-win. The altex will be just meat and harder to find. If your thinking of makin profits you must cater to as many needs with minimal cost to yourself. Find a good cali or nz line or even something with color and you can sell them as pets as well although I think you stated you sell havanas as pets. Good luck, I love my rabbit business.
 
It's just for meat, but I read that Altex crossed with Calis and NZs have a high heat tolerance. I would have thought that Texas A&M would sell them since they were co-developing them. They're also relatively local.

I had a plan to extend the hybrid vigor a couple of generations by using one separately on my Cali and NZ does. I'd save a buck from a later litter from each line and cross them with the other line. If I find another unrelated doe, I could expand the advantage laterally and perhaps extend it another generation.
 
TMTex":12icuihk said:
It's just for meat, but I read that Altex crossed with Calis and NZs have a high heat tolerance. I would have thought that Texas A&M would sell them since they were co-developing them. They're also relatively local.

I had a plan to extend the hybrid vigor a couple of generations by using one separately on my Cali and NZ does. I'd save a buck from a later litter from each line and cross them with the other line. If I find another unrelated doe, I could expand the advantage laterally and perhaps extend it another generation.
Click to expand...

Not sure who you talked to, but I speak with Dr. Lukefahr all the time. They do not raise Altex anymore, they sold all their stock and are working on a new crossbreed. They still raise and sell their awesome like of NZW that are heat tolerant and great producers. I have stock from there and I help people buy directly from TAMUK all the time. The only places I know of that you can get real Altex from now are ChiggerRidge in Tennessee, Sealy's Ark in FL and Cottin Pickin Rabbitry, owned by Tara Keener, also in FL. I sell my TAMUK stock as I have it available, so if you are interested, I can certainly either sell you some or hook you up with Dr. Lukefahr.
 
Thanks OneAcreFarm! I was just googling heat tolerant rabbits and went to TAMUK's website for the info. The Altex looked like a good choice. It might not be if the local bloodline is in question or I have to travel so far. I'm limited on time, especially right now.

I might take you up on your offer after I get better established.
 
I've personally been to Chiggar Ridge in TN and saw their rabbitry. Awesome lines, great big litters and have been bred to be great market rabbits.

If you want quality NZW, or true Altex, go to them.

Joe
 

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