Anyone use minilops for meat?
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any rabbit can be used for meat. 
I've heard of other breeding using them for such a purpose.
I've heard of other breeding using them for such a purpose.
Any rabbit is made of meat and I always wondered why certain breeds were supposed to be used for meat but after having many different breeds, I can answer that question.
Mini lops are much smaller and wont give you the amount of meat to be cost effective.
Mini lops have a much smaller number of babies. You wait and feed for so long to get around 3 small rabbits. That's not very productive.
There are many meat rabbits that are smaller and easier to handle. I know a lot of people use dutch or dutch mixes. Satins are a great choice with some color options. As far as biting goes, I have many different meat breads and lops, the only biters I have ever had is a lop.
Mini lops are much smaller and wont give you the amount of meat to be cost effective.
Mini lops have a much smaller number of babies. You wait and feed for so long to get around 3 small rabbits. That's not very productive.
There are many meat rabbits that are smaller and easier to handle. I know a lot of people use dutch or dutch mixes. Satins are a great choice with some color options. As far as biting goes, I have many different meat breads and lops, the only biters I have ever had is a lop.
I don't eat my mini lops, but I could see why you would say that about their temperament. I think handling at a young age has to do a lot about their temperament as adults. The ones I've gotten from bigger rabbitries that don't get to handle them daily, have skittish temperaments. Male temperaments tend to be better than females. Females are VERY protective about their nest. (Doe ripped the barrier I was holding to check the nest and thus attacked my hand. :? )
MamaSheepdog
Well-known member
I'd definitely go with one of the breeds mentioned by Legacy, or Rex (my favorite!), or Cals or NZs if you want good production. If you want to breed MLs, by all means do so and cull for meat if you don't have a pet market you can sell to, but get a good meat breed to use as your main source for the freezer.
mini lops are a big rabbit... and every mini lop owner I've seen has generally 6-8 kits per litter.
HOLLAND lops are a small rabbit. But even they can be eaten.
Depending on what you want in the way of meat rabbits, go with what you like. Even my polish make a good soup!
HOLLAND lops are a small rabbit. But even they can be eaten.
Depending on what you want in the way of meat rabbits, go with what you like. Even my polish make a good soup!
SterlingSatin
Well-known member
mini lops are just big enough that they could be used for meat effectively IMO. however, it would be more cost effective with something larger (8+ lbs) with large litter sizes. 3-6 is big enough for most uses, but if you want to be really cost effective you should try to aim for more like 8 per litter. so basically, yes, i think you could effectively raise them for meat, they are certainly more suited for meat than some other breeds, but if you seriously wanted to get into meat, shoot for New Zealands or something similar *cough*"satins"*cough*
my hollands...even my SMALL hollands regularly have five in a litter... so ML's which are larger than HL's I'm surprised to hear that others get the same in their litters that I get in my hollands.. hmm... wonder if it's a line issue?? I just find that interesting.
There are always "Better" meat rabbits, it all depends in what one is looking for I suppose. Florida whites are said to be good meat animals too but they are smaller as well. So that's why I tend to tell people go with what interests you, all rabbits are meat.
There are always "Better" meat rabbits, it all depends in what one is looking for I suppose. Florida whites are said to be good meat animals too but they are smaller as well. So that's why I tend to tell people go with what interests you, all rabbits are meat.
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We have a very, very sweet minilop who is the sire of our meat rabbit herd. I wrote about him and our herd in this thread: post59935.html#p59935
He maxed out at a little under 5 lbs, and it took almost a year for him to get there. The one litter he fathered (before he decided he was just too much of a gentleman) maxed out at a little over 5 lbs per rabbit, and that took a pretty long time. Pinto, his son, is our buck now, and his kits, with all three does, have grown to be almost his size by about 14-16 weeks, which is longer than typical fryers, which take 10-12.
The minilop was a rescue somebody dumped when they moved, and we certainly do get meat. We didn't cross him with a minilop doe, though; rather, a Flemish cross (possibly Flemish x Rex). Pearl just recently died, and I plan to replace her not with a kit we have raised up, but with a New Zealand Blue or a Silver Fox -- both rabbits which will produce meaty kits faster (and possibly on less food) than I get now. Each of our current breeders will be replaced with a more meat-type breed as they die off.
If I had bred our minilop to a minilop doe, I would still have gotten meat, but it wouldn't have been as much, and probably would have taken even longer.
Silver Foxes are supposed to have very sweet personalities in general. But, like everybody else has said, all rabbits are made of meat. It's just a matter of how much, and how quickly.
He maxed out at a little under 5 lbs, and it took almost a year for him to get there. The one litter he fathered (before he decided he was just too much of a gentleman) maxed out at a little over 5 lbs per rabbit, and that took a pretty long time. Pinto, his son, is our buck now, and his kits, with all three does, have grown to be almost his size by about 14-16 weeks, which is longer than typical fryers, which take 10-12.
The minilop was a rescue somebody dumped when they moved, and we certainly do get meat. We didn't cross him with a minilop doe, though; rather, a Flemish cross (possibly Flemish x Rex). Pearl just recently died, and I plan to replace her not with a kit we have raised up, but with a New Zealand Blue or a Silver Fox -- both rabbits which will produce meaty kits faster (and possibly on less food) than I get now. Each of our current breeders will be replaced with a more meat-type breed as they die off.
If I had bred our minilop to a minilop doe, I would still have gotten meat, but it wouldn't have been as much, and probably would have taken even longer.
Silver Foxes are supposed to have very sweet personalities in general.
But, like everybody else has said, all rabbits are made of meat. It's just a matter of how much, and how quickly.I used too raise minilops and i now raise Hollands even my Holland does will have 5 or 6 babies.my minilops were much bigger rabbits and they were very good mothers.many of my hollands are big at 4 lbs or more.I have had hollands have as many as seven.many tend to go overweight.My problem is keeping the size down.
HendricksHearth
Well-known member
Mini Lops should work fine for a homestead meat situation. Dutch and Florida White are reputed to be other good choices, but I never had large litters with the Dutch in the short time I had them. The ML's on the other hand grow fast, are a nice size even for youngsters to handle, have large litters, and are easier to keep house than some of the larger breeds. Most have great temperaments, too. My very first Mini Lop litter was something like 12 kits. We had an average litter size over the past couple of years of 7-8 or so.
Like others have said, all rabbits are made of meat though, so I'd just suggest you get a breed that you'd really like to work with.
Thanks!
Lauren
Like others have said, all rabbits are made of meat though, so I'd just suggest you get a breed that you'd really like to work with.
Thanks!
Lauren
hoodat
Well-known member
Mamasheepdog I'm with you. I use meat mutts with a line I've been improving as I go but Rex blood is predominant. They are easy to get along with, usually healthy and have a good meat/bone ratio. They're real meat bricks with a thick pad of meat on the saddle. I have some NZ blood in the line to up the number of kits per litter.
endlessadell
New member
Why is rex your favorite?
this is an old thread, but I think a general consensus on here over the years has been that Rex (not mini rex) are an excellent all purpose breed--they have a good meat to bone ratio, feed efficiency, large litters, fancy hides, are usable for both show animals and pets, so they are just a solid breed for all around usage. Also, they come in fun colors, unlike the standard NZW/Californian breed. Colors are fun, but can make culling harder for some.
I really like my Rex mutts. The lady I bought my breeders from thought they were Rex/Cali. (There are just not a lot of rabbits around here to choose from. Cattle country, I guess. 
And sheep...) I culled one of the original does for being too small and replaced her with a daughter (Maizie) of the larger doe, so... not a lot of genetic diversity, I suppose, but so far everyone seems healthy. The new girl just birthed her first litter of six and is being a fantastic mamma bun.
The last litter from the small doe was nine and from the larger one (Sophie), whom I kept, twelve. I'm not trying to keep records of weights... not sure how to get then to sit still to weigh. I'm just going by eye. The bunnies seem pretty good sized to me. Plus their pelts are very pretty. I just got the stuff to tan them with, so I guess we'll see whether doing that is worth the effort to me.
And sheep...) I culled one of the original does for being too small and replaced her with a daughter (Maizie) of the larger doe, so... not a lot of genetic diversity, I suppose, but so far everyone seems healthy. The new girl just birthed her first litter of six and is being a fantastic mamma bun.The last litter from the small doe was nine and from the larger one (Sophie), whom I kept, twelve. I'm not trying to keep records of weights... not sure how to get then to sit still to weigh. I'm just going by eye. The bunnies seem pretty good sized to me. Plus their pelts are very pretty. I just got the stuff to tan them with, so I guess we'll see whether doing that is worth the effort to me.
You can weigh in a bag from a hanging scale, like a fish scale, or you can weigh carcasses at harvest if you harvest at a consistent age. I have also weighed in a small box on a kitchen scale when they are too tiny to hang in a bag. I also don't bother generally tho!
jaxmarblebuns
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As someone who had rex for about 8 years, I can confirm all of this is true. They also have AMAZING temperaments for both the buck AND does (something I've found is usually a one or the other sort of thing, usually supper sweet bucks and terrible does, or vice versa, but never really both). They sell nice in the pet market as well, if you’re into that side of breeding. Ya, they are just good rabbits all around.
The only downfall I would say is that they are more prone to sore hocks, but this can be easily remedied. Because if the unique Rex fur texture they have a lot shorter coat than most, it is also very easy for them to have poor fur density, because of this the fur on the bottom of the hocks can be very thin and short which means they wear out faster. This can be easily remedied by buying quality rabbits and being VERY strict on culling/breeding for better fur. They should also have more resting area (if using a wire bottomed cage) than normal furred breeds.
Yes, it kind of sounds like a lot of trouble.
Plus I know myself well enough to admit I'm awful at being consistent. 
I gave each of my breeders a 12" square tile to sit on. It took quite a long time for them to decide where they wanted to potty, but they appear to have sorted it out, finally, and I have placed the tiles accordingly.
