Hello...and a breed question

[Marinea]

Hi everyone! I am new here (been lurking a while now), and relatively new to rabbits. Right now, we have two lionheads. They are great and we enjoy them, but we are looking to change our focus from pet rabbits that give us lovely manure to rabbits that can can be raised to be pets OR meat. We would prefer to stay with a smaller breed. I know that limits us greatly, but we are looking at Dutch rabbits. Is there a better choice for a smaller to medium size rabbit that could be used as a meat rabbit?

Oh...since I am familiar with the "pics or it didn't happen" rule, I present Boris and Natasha (as of a couple months ago).

 

[MamaSheepdog]

:welcomewagon:

Glad you came out of hiding! :hiding: RabbitTalk is much more fun when you join in!

Dutch are a good choice. You might also consider Florida Whites if you like REWs (Red Eyed Whites), and possibly mini Satins... but I am not sure how productive or meaty the mini Satins are, so await further input on that!

Boris and Natasha are very cute. Can we expect to see any popple pics from them soon?

 

[Marinea]

Thanks for the welcome! Boris and Natasha are the children of...Rocky and Bullwinkle, two "bucks" we were given by a lady who could no longer care for them. We took them home, and a few months later

That was the point at which I learned how to sex rabbits. Boris and Natasha are now kept separate. I don't want to breed them until I am decided about what breed I actually want.

I have been reading this site for a few months now and have learned so much. I hope to continue to learn. and hopefully I can pass along things as I learn. Ooh...I can pass along a step by step as we build our new rabbit condo in the spring. Hubby brought home a huge metal shelving unit I am going to turn into something nice...I hope.

 

[tm_bunnyloft]

Thrianta 6lb, Silvers 7lb, Satins 6-8, Mini Satin 4-5, Mini Rex 3-4, Standard Rex 6-10, Havana 6.5lb, florida white 6, Dutch 5.5......Just to name a few medium size breeds.
There are some pretty neat breeds to choose from.

 

[3mina]

I raise Florida Whites for meat, they're the same size as Dutch and they're really easy to handle. I raise Rex as well, I get nice carcasses from them. There are tons of options regarding breeds since, ahem, all rabbits are made of meat :mrgreen:

Sorry, I couldn't help it
Seriously, Dutch, Tans, Florida Whites, Silvers and Standard Chinchillas are all around the 6 lb mark. Some of these breeds are easier to find than others depending on where you live and how popular they are. For example, Silvers and Standard Chinchillas are on the rare breeds list and can be rather hard to find in some places.

Welcome BTW

 

[ZRabbits]

Hi, Welcome to Rabbit Talk. Love your Lion heads. Have a few of my own.

Dutches are a good breed to start for meat and pets. Love their markings. Tans are really a nice breed and colorful. When I thought "meat" rabbits, I looked into Florida Whites. Though a excellent "meat" rabbit, it may be hard to sell as pets. Some people get "freaky" about the red eyes. And they are just white.

Depends on how you want to set up your meat/pet breeding program. Selling more pets than actually processing meat rabbits for your own family. Or vise versa.

Hope you post what you decide. Wishing you all the luck. This forum has lots of good information to help with set up, processing, breeding and also receipes.

Karen

 

[Demamma]

About 7 years ago I raised florida whites. A very nice meaty breed. I had some big meat mutts and when I went to butcher the florida whites had just as much meat on them as the big meat mutts. I also love the red eyes on white. Welcome to RT.

 

[Marinea]

Thanks for the feedback. I have considered the Florida Whites, but am leaning against them from the "pet" part of my wants. From what I have seen, not everyone wants a white bunny, and not everyone loves the red eyes. I am going to do some research into the Satins and Mini Rexes. I may have some more questions soon.

 

[ZRabbits]

Wishing you luck on your research. Was curious about the Mini-Satin. Found out about another recessive gene found. Interesting reading.

http://www.asrba.org/history.php

Can't wait to hear what you decided.

Karen

 

[tnelsonfla]

I was going to suggest FW or Havana's. If the REW thing is a negative, try the Broken variety of Havana's; they come in Blue, Black & Chocolate. There are a few really nice breeders in your area of the country.
[URL=http://imgur.com/880Xc][img]http://i.imgur.com/880Xc.jpg[/img][/url]

 

[Marinea]

Tom- I HAVE to respond to something...your signature, of all things! It reminds me of a true story from several years ago...

I had a potbelly pig named Porkchop. He and I would go for walks daily. One day, we were walking, and a lady drove by. She passed us and stopped. She got out of her car and walked over to us. Porkchop, being a ham (ahem), was expecting treats and attention, and sat down at my feet. This lady turned to me and asked "What kind of dog is that?". After I collected my wits, I advised her that he was a potbelly pig. Her response?

"I've never heard of that kind of dog". She turned and left.

Porkchop recovered from the slight. And I no longer take much of anything for granted.

As far as the bun decision, I have done a ton more reading today, and am still leaning towards the Dutch, with the Havanas being a dark "horse". They are adorable. I guess my Dutch leanings is partly influenced by the fact that I know a close, good breeder. I may look for a Havana breeder and see if I can visit (with clean clothes, clean hands and shoes, and no contact with my buns prior to going, and a good clean up when I come home. Hope I didn't miss any steps)

 

[MaggieJ]

Your pot-bellied pig story is hilarious, Marinea!
:rotfl: :rotfl:

Welcome to RabbitTalk! :welcome:

 

[rabbitgeek]

I suggest the Dutch. 1/2 the size of "regular" meat rabbits, 1/2 the space required. Great show and pet sales potential.

If you want something a little bigger, the Standard Chinchilla is ideal at 6 or 6 1/2 lbs. Good commercial body types and great soft fur.

Have a good day!
Franco Rios

 

[aflenk]

I have 3, 1 yr old sisters and and a choc buck for sale, but I am in Central Texas. PM me if you want. I also have black broken kits and black kits for sale too 10-12 WKS.

 

[akane]

I have to second dutch or standard chins if you can find them. They are both old small meat breeds. Standard chins were a major meat breed over seas for a long time. Then in the us they were bred bigger in to the american chin with a few crossing to flemish for giant chins before they were mostly forgotten and are hard to find now. I'd have started with them for meat if I had the money to drive all around the country collecting a good enough gene pool. We ended up with american sables after creating some mutts for awhile out of whatever we could get. Sables aren't a real big rabbit either but just removed from the rare breed list. We just so happen to live next to one of the main breeders in bringing back the breed which was down to I think 15 individuals at one point so we have good sources for them that most don't. 50 showed at state here.

 

[GBov]

I raise Florida Whites for meat, they're the same size as Dutch and they're really easy to handle. I raise Rex as well, I get nice carcasses from them. There are tons of options regarding breeds since, ahem, all rabbits are made of meat :mrgreen:

Sorry, I couldn't help it
Seriously, Dutch, Tans, Florida Whites, Silvers and Standard Chinchillas are all around the 6 lb mark. Some of these breeds are easier to find than others depending on where you live and how popular they are. For example, Silvers and Standard Chinchillas are on the rare breeds list and can be rather hard to find in some places.

Welcome BTW

Yep, and they all taste pretty much the same too

We have even gotten a few good meals out of ex-pet lionheads so really, what ever breed you like will be good. I find the more colors I have the more interesting they are, even REW are nice if they come in a crayon box of a litter.